That’s the question being asked after the NFL’s big weekend. If the answer is yes, I’m fine with it!
For some background, NBC and the Wall Street Journal just issued a new poll obviously designed to make fans worry about both the short-term and long-term future of the enterprise.
The poll indicates that fans are paying less attention to the NFL than ever. Due to safety concerns, parents are increasingly encouraging their children from playing football. Fan interest is down across demographic lines, including all age groups, across the political spectrum, and even among young males.
Just 50 percent of men aged 18 to 49 say they follow the NFL closely, down from 75 percent four years ago.
The article I read on this never brought up the influence of Colin Kaepernick taking a knee or the commissioner going fully politically correct. A rather glaring omission I’d say.
Here’s why I won’t mind if pro football loses a big chunk of its audience. Roger Goodell and his bean counters are more interested in the economics of the business than the core appeal of the sport: a stirring athletic contest. Turning the league into a spectacle for the masses serves only to detract from the core appeal of the game.
I don’t care whether women are drawn to the sport. I don’t need cheerleaders, a 24-hour NFL TV channel, or billion-dollar architectural-wonder stadiums. I’m not interested in the Super Bowl as a two-week social extravaganza.
I’d be perfectly content if the NFL had a following similar to that of the National Hockey League. It’s too bad that powerful people have let financial aspects overshadow the great athletic contests that takes place down on the gridiron.
Remember when NASCAR was a regional pastime embraced by southerners. Now they’ve built racetracks in California and Nevada, Michigan and Iowa, New Hampshire and Canada. I don’t follow NASCAR, but I’d guess that a lot of the fans hark back to the good old days.
I sure as hell don’t care if the NFL ever has a division in Europe.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better.
I like it. Maybe we can get back to crowds that give a shit at Lambeau instead of the morons that take selfies the whole game.
“NBC will utilize High SkyCam’ which is the second SkyCam, which gives sort of a video game look and feel to the game. We’ll use it to show how plays develop. We’ll use it to show some of the perspectives that different consumers have become used to playing things like Madden.”
To draw some young viewers I suppose. Din’t see any of that. I don’t play Madden or any videogame but I liked the examples of the Steelers game I saw. Missed opportunity.
Lousy play, players who spend more time practicing td celebrations than blocking and tackling, too many ads, too many rich assholes, too many rules and rule changes, too many teams so the talent gets diluted, the list goes on and on. The NFL is more like WWE every year. Watching some of the players seemingly whiff on easy plays you begin to question how legit the games are. Just look at the missed tackle at the end of the Saints/Vikings game. Think that was just a mistake? Gotta wonder.
The league tries too hard to be in the news everyday of the year.
Players commit crimes which they would never be allowed to work a regular job yet get forgiven because they can run faster or throw further than others.
I almost stopped watching this year after Rodgers went down. If the players and league do have another strike or work stoppage in 3 years because they are too greedy and stupid to agree on anything, that will be it for me and football. It’s getting less and less entertaining every year.
Viewership is down …across the board of all sports. But i’ll guarantee every other sport is jelous of the success of the NFL, 20 years ago, today, and 20 years from now, that won’t change.
What percent of men 18-49 follow the NBA closely? It’s nowhere close to 50%. Maybe 4% ?
You can argue that viewership is down, but then you turn around and see recent blockbuster TV deals being signed.
The NFL is the envy of all other professional sports. They do it right, They don’t hand out 10 year contracts for 250 million ….fully guaranteed. That’s stupid.
The better argument, is how much it cost to see a game, pay for parking, buy NFL gear, etc, etc, etc, all to support some of these athletes making over one million dollars to play ….just one game. How fucking insane is that?
Sport teams profits and player salary’s have gone off the deep end, but the sheep just keep reaching for their wallet……lol
Yea, i got a problem paying Ted Thompson 6-8 million a year, to be an “adviser”. Or, a reason more down to earth is, they don’t want to kick him out, because this is all he has…….That’s bullshit. You think i’m reaching in my wallet to fund that? I don’t fucking think so.
Meh. I mean, I will still watch. I do have concerns with letting my kids play football. I had concussions from football, and honestly it kind of scares me what kind of shape I will be in mentally 10 years from now.
i watch NFL Honors, and the old athletes in that room look a lot healthier than the young people in the office i work in.
People should let their kids play what sport they want. Running around kickig a ball, or the head blows of kicking in UFC or Boxing isnt for everyone.
Pro Football isnt going anywhere.
Lawsuit greed could kill leagues, but the sport will never lose its appeal, for the viewer and player.