Some in the media have tagged it the "Extreme Football League," but NBC and the WWF, which are joint partners, have stressed that the X doesn't stand for "extreme," despite rule changes designed to enhance the defence's ability to inflict pain on the offence. It also doesn't mean X-rated, despite promises of scantily clad cheerleaders gyrating around the field.

But it isn't the X that has people wondering about the new league, it's the F. Does it stand for football or farce? Although Mr McMahon and NBC are promising old-style football and not scripted hijinks a la professional wrestling, they also are talking more microphones, more cameras, and comedy skits. All that could serve as a distraction from the game itself, and it has some advertisers wanting to make sure this isn't theatre before opening up their wallets.

"Most of our concerns have to do with Mr Vince McMahon's sensationalism," says Mr Chris Geraci, director of national television buying at Omnicom Group's media buying unit OMD.

Omnicom clients that have already agreed to buy time on the games include Gillette and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mr Geraci is optimistic that the league's low salaries and strategy of not competing head-to-head with the National Football League could spell success.

"Every client calls and asks what we think of the XFL," says Mr Andrew Donchin, senior vice-president of Carat USA, a unit of London-based Aegis Group. "If it is legitimate football, they should be able to generate dollars."

Another plus for the XFL, according to Mr Donchin, is the fact that rival sports hockey and basketball have been struggling in the ratings. If the XFL can reach lots of 12-to 24-year-olds, advertisers who avoid Mr McMahon's wrestling shows may flock to the new league.

There are eight teams, and four games every weekend. The season lasts 10 weeks, followed by playoffs and a championship game called "The Big Game at the End."

According to NBC Sports Chairman Mr Dick Ebersol, the XFL has sold about 70 per cent of its advertising inventory for the season. The WWF is handling all ad sales for the new league. In addition to being broadcast by NBC on Saturday night, Viacom's United Paramount Network will air one Sunday-night game each week. Viacom's cable channel, the National Network, will carry a Sunday-afternoon game. One game each weekend will be a secondary game for NBC, which means the network can cut away from a dull or already-decided contest.

The XFL is guaranteeing advertisers a 10 household Nielsen rating from the NBC, UPN and TNN games combined. Each rating point represents 1.02 million homes, and NBC alone has promised a 4.5 rating. Mr Adam Ware, UPN's chief operating officer, expects UPN can deliver a 4 rating with its Sunday-nightgame, while TNN is being asked to deliver the rest.

For NBC, a 4.5 rating, the equivalent of about six million viewers, shouldn't be too hard to attain. The network currently runs movies that average a 4.9 rating. The night has "been a failure for all the networks, without a legitimate hit since [NBC's] 'Golden Girls,'" Mr Ebersolsays.

Advertisers have to buy a package of all three nationally televised games. Thirty-second spots in the games have gone for anywhere between $100,000 and $150,000, according to XFL officials and media buyers.

The league's opening weekend should be heavily sampled, thanks to the $40 million the XFL has spent on promotions. Mr Ebersol said two out of three adults are familiar with the league. "They get an A-plus for promotion," says Mr Neal Pilson, a former CBS Sports president who heads his own consulting firm, Pilson Communications. "I think they will get a tune-in this weekend as a result."

From a business standpoint, the risks aren't too great for either NBC or the WWF. According to Mr Ebersol, the two expect to invest a little more than $100 million during the first two years of the league, and he expects to break-even by year three. There are salary caps for the players, ranging from $35,000 for kickers to $50,000 for quarterbacks for the season, with bonuses thrown in for winning teams.

But with the league primarily going after the younger viewers who watch Mr McMahon's wrestling shows, many wonder if the audience is enough to sustain a new football league.

"If they can get adult men up to age 35 interested in the XFL, then they have a fair chance of success," says Mr Pilson. "If it is just kids 12 to 24, I'm a little less optimistic."