ARLINGTON – “Give me Stoops! Give me Stoops!”

Those are the words Fox Sports director Rich Russo spoke into a headset at one point of the telecast of a Renegades-New York Guardians XFL game on Saturday afternoon.

Russo, after directing Super Bowl LIV for Fox, hasn’t had free weekends recently because once the NFL season ended he went straight to the XFL, which is back this year after a 19-year absence.

The XFL promises a fresh look at football and has deals with ESPN/ABC and Fox to televise all 43 games this season. Considering the production work and the value of the air time, the TV deals are worth $40 million to the league, The Washington Post reported in May 2019.

Some XFL fans might be tired of the NFL. Some are curious about the product Vince McMahon, the XFL’s founder and longtime chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, is presenting. Some just can’t get enough of the sport.

The television truck is just part of the action on a busy day at Globe Life Park. A total of 85 crew members worked the Fox telecast.

Here’s Russo, one of the best at what he does, directing controlled chaos in a television truck situated at the end of the long tunnel stretching from the clubhouses of Globe Life Park to across the street.

FOX Sports' Chuck McDonald (right) and Rich Russo (center) work in the control room during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Russo is looking for a camera angle of Renegades coach Bob Stoops getting upset about a holding call. It’s nearing the end of the first half, and the Fox crew, some from New York, others freelancers from the Dallas area, are presenting the second of two games on this Saturday.

Russo gets the shot he wants of Stoops, the former Oklahoma coach, questioning the officials.

It’s hard to figure out what’s going on in front of Russo in this truck. He sits in the front row with producer Chuck McDonald, as nine rows of television screens present different views of the game.

Some screens have numbers and names on the bottom to identify one of the 11 cameras placed inside Globe Life Park and who is manning them. There’s a screen for what people are seeing on their local station back home. There’s a screen for a possible replay. Another screen for where Russo wants a camera to shoot. Eight players are miked up for the game, four each side, and the seven- to 10-second delay saves the network from problems if a player uses foul language.

McDonald says there are two people in the Fox studios in Los Angeles, called “plungers,” who will bleep out an obscenity before it gets on the air.

“There is no other league where you get the raw live access,” McDonald says.

On the field, Cam Jordan, the New Orleans Saints’ five-time Pro Bowl defensive end, is the sideline reporter, who brings impromptu interviews with players and coaches. This is Jordan’s first game covering the XFL. During the game, Jordan bounces from sideline to sideline and sometimes takes time to help the linemen with their hand placement.

FOX Sports sideline reporter and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan talks on camera during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Up in the broadcast booth, which was the Hank Greenberg luxury suite when the Rangers were based at the ballpark, are eight people with one camera standing behind them. Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt are the on-air talent, but don’t forget the two statisticians standing beside them giving them information as the game goes along. Don’t forget stage manager Jill Lewis from Dallas, who hands promo cards to Menefee and keeps everybody on time.

By the end of broadcast, Menefee has several small pieces of paper at his feet, each with information on what happened on a play. If there’s a running play of significance, someone gives Menefee information to add to the broadcast.

Sometimes the broadcasters help the stat crew. After the first possession of the game. on which the Renegades get a field goal, one of the statisticians says Dallas had an extra play. Klatt quickly and politely says no. The statistician continues to dispute this and goes over the play-by-play of the first possession. Klatt says a penalty during the first drive negated one of the plays, so the Renegades didn’t get an extra play.

No harm.

FOX Sports broadcasters Joel Klatt (left) and Curt Menefee call an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

The fans are what the XFL is about. Just ask Tom Warfield, a network engineer from Fort Worth, who has seen four of the Renegades’ five games. Warfield even flew to Los Angeles and Seattle to check out the team. (His daughter works for Delta Airlines). The only reason he missed the March 1 game against Houston was a planned trip to Barcelona with his wife, Kimberly.

“It’s just fun,” Warfield said of the XFL. “The XFL is a lot different than the NFL. These guys are trying to make a name for themselves. I can tell from their attitude, they’re very professional and it’s not just about the money for them. They’re trying.”

Patrick Ortega of Plano has attended every Renegades home game. On Saturday, he brought his mom, Susie, to her first XFL game.

“We love football, and we love the XFL,” Patrick said. “We actually are wrestling fans, and when we saw Vince was doing the football league again, we were ‘Heck yeah, we’re all for it.’ It’s affordable football in Dallas.”

Said Klatt: “There’s been a lot of reasons why this league has been a success so far. I think one of them is the fact Fox and ESPN have really committed to doing it the right way and making it accessible and giving the fans something a little bit different.”

1 / 11Dallas Renegades fans cheer as the team warms up before an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 2 / 11Fans do the wave during the third quarter as the Dallas Renegades play host to the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020, at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. (Ashley Landis/Dallas Morning News/TNS)(Ashley Landis / TNS) 3 / 11A suite that has been converted to a TV booth is labeled "TV" during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 4 / 11FOX Sports' Chuck McDonald works in the control room during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 5 / 11FOX Sports' Rich Russo works in the control room during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 6 / 11FOX Sports sideline reporter and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan talks on camera during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 7 / 11FOX Sports broadcasters Joel Klatt (left) and Curt Menefee (center) call an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 8 / 11FOX Sports' Chuck McDonald (right) and Rich Russo (center) work in the control room during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 9 / 11FOX Sports sideline reporter and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan dances on the sideline during an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 10 / 11FOX Sports broadcaster Joel Klatt (left) calls an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 11 / 11FOX Sports broadcasters Joel Klatt presses a button to make his mic live while calling an XFL game between the Dallas Renegades and the New York Guardians on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

As the Guardians close out a 30-12 victory, Menefee and Klatt begin to place items in their backpacks. Menefee has an 8:30 p.m. flight. Klatt’s is a little bit later, so he has some time. It’s almost 7 p.m., and Lewis was informed of a fast ending to the telecast. She stands behind the pair the entire game with a headset on, making sure things run on time.

Menefee and Klatt do their quick ending, and when the game is over, they head out of the suite. Outside of a few replay reviews, the telecast went smoothly.

Another broadcast day of the XFL comes to a close.

“From a telecast standpoint, the challenge is writing the game the way it happens,” Menefee says. “You’re going to have some games that it’s going to be touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, and you’re going to have defensive struggles, or not much going on, but then you get one that’s kind of in-between. You have one game in the first half that’s different in the second half.

“I’m interested and proud of the fact we can write it in the right way and show both sides.”