Director's Take

I grew up watching my dad (Dick Ebersol) and Vince McMahon enjoy levels of success in the entertainment business few have. As a little boy, I remember napping in the dressing rooms of the shows they created and produced that became entertainment institutions like "Saturday Night Live," "Wrestlemania," "Friday Night Videos," and "Monday Night Raw." I watched them break countless records for attendance and viewership on a nearly annual basis for decades and for as long as I can remember, I always wanted a chance to tell their stories to the world.

It has been written that "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy," and that is how "This Was the XFL" came to life.

Between February 3, 2001 and April 21, 2001, these two titans taught me that character is about owning one's failures exactly the same way one owns his successes. They showed me that friendship and loyalty outweighs everything else, and true creativity is about taking extraordinary risks no matter how strong the winds of opposition. For me, the story of the XFL is much more than an ostentatious bid to outdo the NFL -- it was my MBA in character.

So when ESPN came to me and asked if I would be interested in telling the story of the XFL, I was of course sincerely honored. And utterly terrified. For years I had harbored the desire to tell this story, but the scale scared me. In fact, I have never been more intimidated than in the very moment I was sitting behind the camera interviewing my dad and Vince. My only hope in presenting this film is that it captures a fraction of the hilarious, raucous, painful, griping, and insightful roller coaster ride that was the XFL.