Earlier today, ESPN announced its broadcast teams for the upcoming XFL season, which starts Saturday, February 8th, at 2 pm. The Seattle Dragons take on the DC Defenders live on ABC.

Pat McAfee, who will be part of the Sunday broadcast team, recently talked about his new gig during this podcast. Explaining that he will have “unprecedented access” as a sideline reporter.

“You might see me in a huddle, or you might see me talking to a coach immediately after he makes a terrible decision, maybe talking to a ref about a call.”

“They are just going to let me roam and talk to whoever, whenever I want.”

New York Post’s Andrew Marchand spoke with ESPN about their new broadcast teams, Pat McAfee and how they plan on broadcasting the games.

“[McAfee] feels like a natural with the XFL,” Lee Fitting, ESPN’s senior vice president of production, told The Post. “He feels like a natural down on the field for us. With the XFL, we are really pushing the access piece and the in-game access piece. Live interviews on the sideline.”

“The reporters are going to have some freedom. You put those thoughts together then why not Pat? He’s going to be a natural down there and we are going to give him a little bit of a longer leash to operate.”

Fitting went on to say;

“There are going to be tons of players with mics on. There are going to be helmet cams. We will be able to listen in on coach-to-coach and coach-to-player audio in their helmet systems and spin that around as quickly as we can. We think access and audio is where we can make a difference.”

Just like the XFL from 2001, television innovation is a key to their success. Broadcasting the game of football like never before is a way to draw fans and interest in the new league.

Steve Levy, analyst Greg McElroy, field analyst Tom Luginbill, and reporter Dianna Russini will call the first game on ABC.