Salute!
I would have loved to fly the XL in combat as an interdiction platform with great legs and payload, plus a competitive A2A capability. By the time the XL was flying and the Mudhen came along, USAF wanted the versatilty of the Viper a lot. And make no mistake, the Eagle mafia was still working to keep the plane in production. Some folks kept harping on the Viper not having a BVR missile, although it was gonna get the Slammer before the Eagle due to the data bus and such, even if the Viper radar did not have the mid-course update capability at that time.
The most depressing aspect of all the development programs from late 80's and 90's , IMHO, was the very long time to get the F-35 on the ramp. The F-22 not as depressing except for the reduced buy, but it got airframes flying and deployed more quickly than the F-35.
Gums sends...