EAST RUTHERFORD — On Monday morning, the sports world did what it always does the day after the Super Bowl. It mourned the end of the football season.

No more meaningful games until September.

But then you talk to Matt McGloin and realize that’s not quite accurate. At Penn State, McGloin played quarterback in front of more than 100,000 screaming fans. He was a starter in the NFL. Yet this week, as he prepared to make his XFL debut with the New York Guardians on Sunday, McGloin admitted that there are nerves and excitement.

“I just love being out here, love playing the game, love throwing the football, love talking about the game,” McGloin said. “I definitely, definitely have missed it.”

The XFL returns this weekend with games across the country — including Sunday at MetLife Stadium where the Guardians host the Tampa Bay Vipers (2 p.m., FOX).

And there’s a lot at stake for just about everyone involved.

As a league, the XFL is trying to prove it can be a serious and relevant home for football, making drastic changes from 19 years ago when it was focused mostly on entertainment and folded after just one season.

Meanwhile, just about every player is trying to make the most of an opportunity that simply hasn’t been there in years past. Young players trying breakthrough. Journeymen keeping the dream of making it big alive. Veterans trying to prove they’re still worthy of a spot on an NFL roster. Competitors who just want to keep challenging themselves.

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The XFL might not have the history, star-power or level of play that we’re used to in the NFL. But it can still be plenty compelling.

Just look at McGloin, who has had an unlikely and remarkable career and now has the chance to keep it going — more than three years after he last appeared in an NFL regular-season game. It’s a chance he likely wouldn’t have gotten without the XFL.

“He wasn’t ready to hang it up,” said Kevin Gilbride, the former Giants offensive coordinator who is now the coach and general manager of the Giants. “He has a strong feeling that he’s still good enough to play and this has given him a platform to go out and prove to everybody that he’s still a player who deserves to be recognized and appreciated for his abilities.”

At 30, McGloin said he’s not focused on getting back to the NFL or proving anyone wrong. More than anything, he seemed to be happy for another opportunity to compete at a high level and be back in a locker room.

“I have more to prove to myself than anything,” McGloin said. “And I think that’s always how it’s been. I’ve never listened to any outside noise. … But for me, right now, I definitely want to prove to myself that I still belong, I still can play well, that I still can lead a team and generate points and win football games.”

And given McGloin’s history, it would be no surprise if he did just that with the Guardians.

He arrived at Penn State in 2008 as an unknown, 6-foot-1 walk-on. He left in 2012 with a school-record 46 passing touchdowns, including 24 in his final year. He went undrafted in 2013, and his prospects of a pro career seemed bleak.

But he signed with the Raiders as a free agent, made the team and spent the next four seasons in Oakland. He appeared in 13 games for the Raiders, including six starts, throwing 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

McGloin hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2016, his final season in Oakland. But he’s had some brushes with greatness: he spent the preseason with Carson Went and Nick Foles and the 2017 Super Bowl champion Eagles. And he spent the 2018 preseason with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs cut him in September of 2018 and he hasn’t been on an NFL roster since. When he didn’t get a training camp invite in 2019, it seemed likely his football career might end before his 30th birthday.

But McGloin didn’t focus on the opportunities he didn’t have. He spent the fall of 2019 working on the radio broadcast at Penn State, where he majored in broadcast journalism. He also did some NFL studio analysis in London with Sky Sports.

“It allowed me to see the game from a different perspective,” said McGloin, who intends to pursue a career as an analyst when he retires. “It allowed me to take a step back and it really has helped me mentally.”

But even as he set himself up for life after his playing days, McGloin didn’t give up hope of a return to the field. He kept working out. He kept throwing. He kept believing.

“You never know what tomorrow will hold, you really don’t,” McGloin said. “But for me, I just always felt like the journey wasn’t over. I always felt like I’ve worked too hard to get to where I’m at now for it just to be over.”

So when the Guardians called during the fall, he was ready and grateful for the opportunity. And he's done everything he can to make the most of it, both as a passer and as a leader. Gilbride said McGloin's knowledge, versatility and experience have made it easier to create an offense on the fly for a group of players who had never worked together before last month.

"It’s been a challenge," Gilbride said. "And I think having a guy that has been through a couple of different systems has certainly aided us in trying to develop this thing as quickly as we could."

Sunday's game won't provide the biggest stage McGloin has played on. Far from it. But considering where he's been and how he's changed, it might be the most meaningful.

It’s the first time he’ll play a professional home game so close to his hometown of Scranton, Pa. It’s the first game of his 30s. And his first game as a father. His wife Bailey and son Marshall, who turns one next week, will be watching from the MetLife Stadium stands.

“Everybody tells you when you’re having a child how it’s going to change your life,” McGloin said .”And it does. It’s true. … I know he won’t remember it, but just me knowing he’s there and watching, it’s something I’ve always dreamed of and it’s a special moment.”

Andy Vasquez is the Jets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Jets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com Twitter: @andy_vasquez