“You have the opportunity today to rip their freaking head off and let them bleed! If I cut them with a knife, they’re gonna bleed red, just like you!”

Those are the bloodthirsty opening lines to a promo for an upcoming docu-series on Esquire about football. It sounds like something ripped from the infamous “Bounty Gate” audiotape of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

But this show isn’t about NFL players who bring in six- and seven-figure paychecks. It’s not about college players either, for that matter. It’s not about high school players. It’s not even about Pop Warner. It’s about the snack-sized warriors of the Texas Junior Football League. They are eight and nine years old. And they’re ready to rip your head off.

Needless to say, “Friday Night Tykes,” which debuts Monday (Jan. 13), is generating some significant buzz. Media outlets have called the previews “scary,” “horrifying” and “insane.” Esquire seems to have been prepared for the initial controversy, and they’re not shying away from it.

“We have gotten a lot of press about this 90-second spot and the coaches are rough and tough on them, but that is really just the first step to what we’re doing,” says Esquire’s SVP of Marketing and Strategy Deena Stern, who asks that audiences hold their judgement until they see the first episodes, which will explore the home lives of some of the players, parents and coaches in addition to the bombast.

The show was pitched to Esquire by Matt Marantz, who had previously worked as a World Series of Poker producer for ESPN. He showed a sizzle reel to Esquire’s Head of Original Programming Matt Hanna, and the tape immediately raised eyebrows.

“From the minute we showed it internally to a large group, it struck a nerve and divided the room,” says Hanna. He says a number of people at Esquire were unnerved by the level of intensity among the coaches and parents, who voiced a lot of strong opinions.

“That was a good sign,” Hanna says. “The coaches believe they are helping the young boys become men through this tough-love approach. One can argue, and we hope people do argue, about whether that approach is appropriate.”

Esquire Network launched in September after NBC Universal folded Style Network. So far, ratings have been low. Looking to attract male viewers and hoping for a signature show, the network has made “Friday Night Tykes” their main marketing push coming out of the gate in 2014.

“This will definitely be the big priority for first quarter,” Stern says.

Spots for the show are airing on networks including FX, AMC, Comedy Central and Discovery and were placed in blocks of holiday marathons for shows like “Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad.”

Stern says the network is also focusing on some national TV buys and an overlay of national and local ROS buys online. The short video clips are the main marketing content, and with good reason. In an ADD internet environment, seething coaches yelling at elementary school kids like they’re Tony Romo should certainly draw eyeballs.

“Everything we want to do is [related to] video sampling,” Stern says.

“Youth sports can be fun and it can be competitive at the same time,” says Texas Youth Football Association President Brian Morgan. “We have kind of this kinder, gentler society…kids tend to be a little bit, I don’t want to use the word softer, maybe not as competitive as kids in previous years.”

Morgan’s argument is that kids today are used to playing in sports leagues where everyone gets a trophy just for participating. He says they’re losing the “will to compete.” Morgan freely admits that his league isn’t for everyone.

“You only get better by putting your kids up against the best competition,” he says. “If that’s not your cup of tea, then you have other options.”

This year more than 18,000 kids participated in four to five different age groups all over Texas and the league does get results. This coming year there are 12 former TYFA kids from the San Antonio area that will be signing Division I scholarships and more signing at D-II schools.

Morgan says some coaches’ rough demeanors are simply meant to motivate. And to teach kids that there is a difference between winning and losing and that it does matter.

“We built ourselves into a superpower by being competitive,” Morgan says. He’s speaking broadly now, talking about the United States, not the Texas Youth Football Association. But sometimes it’s hard to tell.

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