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Monday Morning Quarterbacking 2017 Week 3
Sep. 25th, 2017 08:56 amNFL viewing is down by about 15% this year according to ESPN and some other sports pundits.
The why has turning into a lovely round of finger pointing at various groups and the call for boycotting for various reasons including a number that seem to revolve around Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest last year that has now blown up into a national issue. Some are boycotting because Kaepernick seems to be being punished by not be hired by a team even though he is so much better than the QB they have on the field. Others are boycotting because they oppose the players who have been exercising their first amendment right both on and off the field. So according to those screaming the loudest, that’s why number are down.
I don’t think that it is at all. I blame the NFL red zone. When you can get all the exciting plays in one place and have your electronic leash tell you when they exist so you can go and watch them, why take 3 hours out of your Sunday to watch a game in hopes of seeing an exciting play? The red zone has ruined it for teams whose markets are not the biggest. In our immediate gratification society, the NFL Red Zone is tailor made for that sort of behavior. Plus you don’t have to listen to the refs ruining the game for your team by some lame ass penalty that was not applied fairly to your team.
I do think that concussion is playing a role in this too. The awareness of the viewing public about what those hits do to those players is very much on the rise. We also come to understand that the absurd contracts that we hear about is for the minority of players and the majority have to try to make as much money playing as they can before they go out on injury or they don’t remember their name. So the violence, that use to be a selling point, now seems to become a detriment.
Also it hasn’t been that good over all. They are still trying to sort out the new rules. The celebration in the end zone has not added to the game for me in fact it is just eating up time that is going to make my show later in the evening because the game is going to go over. The refs use to call the game and, some how, they have made themselves part of the game with their antics. So it can be a long haul with a lot of commercials to see a team that you like play. Thus the immediacy of the Red zone plays.
I really don’t know if they are taking all the other ways to watch games into account.
I do know that college football’s attendance has been better than the NFL but if you consider the absurd price of even a crappy ticket, it is understandable. They have priced their fan base out of their stadiums. The cash cow has moved on and the stands are looking rather empty in some markets. It has become a game for the rich and the working class who might like to attend a game cannot afford a seat much less a hot dog.
So NFL you did it to yourselves. What are you going to do about it.
I am grateful that I can still watch football on a network that is not a cable network but that’s probably going soon as well.
The why has turning into a lovely round of finger pointing at various groups and the call for boycotting for various reasons including a number that seem to revolve around Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest last year that has now blown up into a national issue. Some are boycotting because Kaepernick seems to be being punished by not be hired by a team even though he is so much better than the QB they have on the field. Others are boycotting because they oppose the players who have been exercising their first amendment right both on and off the field. So according to those screaming the loudest, that’s why number are down.
I don’t think that it is at all. I blame the NFL red zone. When you can get all the exciting plays in one place and have your electronic leash tell you when they exist so you can go and watch them, why take 3 hours out of your Sunday to watch a game in hopes of seeing an exciting play? The red zone has ruined it for teams whose markets are not the biggest. In our immediate gratification society, the NFL Red Zone is tailor made for that sort of behavior. Plus you don’t have to listen to the refs ruining the game for your team by some lame ass penalty that was not applied fairly to your team.
I do think that concussion is playing a role in this too. The awareness of the viewing public about what those hits do to those players is very much on the rise. We also come to understand that the absurd contracts that we hear about is for the minority of players and the majority have to try to make as much money playing as they can before they go out on injury or they don’t remember their name. So the violence, that use to be a selling point, now seems to become a detriment.
Also it hasn’t been that good over all. They are still trying to sort out the new rules. The celebration in the end zone has not added to the game for me in fact it is just eating up time that is going to make my show later in the evening because the game is going to go over. The refs use to call the game and, some how, they have made themselves part of the game with their antics. So it can be a long haul with a lot of commercials to see a team that you like play. Thus the immediacy of the Red zone plays.
I really don’t know if they are taking all the other ways to watch games into account.
I do know that college football’s attendance has been better than the NFL but if you consider the absurd price of even a crappy ticket, it is understandable. They have priced their fan base out of their stadiums. The cash cow has moved on and the stands are looking rather empty in some markets. It has become a game for the rich and the working class who might like to attend a game cannot afford a seat much less a hot dog.
So NFL you did it to yourselves. What are you going to do about it.
I am grateful that I can still watch football on a network that is not a cable network but that’s probably going soon as well.
