Is anyone else starting to feel the way I do about the NFL?

[hammie65]

Just a few thoughts on this.

 

If the NFL goes away, what happens to the college football that so many say they love to watch since the goal of most college players is to make it to the NFL?

 

If fans just chose to stop buying NFL merchandise and\or the TV ad products advertised during the games (sort of boycott the specific products by buying competitor brands or nothing at all), how much would that hit their bottom-lines?

 

Are people nowadays really willing to make the sacrifices or the hard choices necessary to have a real impact on anything?

 

It's like the government. Once it is entrenched so deeply in peoples lives, it is hard to find a way to remove it without pain, but it surely must be done in order to shake the control it has gained. Neither of these things are things we need to live and live well.

 

Just my opinion, which is something we all are entitled to and that is still free.

[JPCinSYR..NY]

Me and my friends would always talk about how cool it would be if we could organize fans and have a fan union. And if we could cooridinate with NFL fans all across the country- we could all not go into the stadium until the second quarter. Wow. What a statement that would be! In the age of the internet that makes it possible. I would love to see fans stand up to owners and corporations and be noticed. !@#$ greed and !@#$ greedy people

 

 

great! now lets ALL do it..there in lies the problem..EVERYONE getting together..same ase the nfl and the union.....its only good if everyone agrees or at least try's ...with that said im in lets do it

[OCinBuffalo]

First of all: all of you saying money isn't important, is the cause of all of this(laughable)...never had any...or, have had so much since birth, that you have no respect for it. You, personally, have no idea how you, personally, would react if suddenly you, personally, were in suddenly in position to make you "rich", or very rich, and your every little step could have massive swings, with $10s of million proportions, on the rest of your life.

 

For all you know, you could wind up acting the same as these players/owners are. You don't really know, and can never really know, until these decisions are yours alone to make.

The entire league, including the owners and players, are filled with greed. ....

1. Not greed so much as "I don't want to played, or worse, appear to have been played", in a league, and the periphery of the league, full of mostly men, for whom their current image is just as important as everything else, that runs mostly on balls rather than brains.

2. The NFL appears to able to consistently hand out exponentially larger golden eggs. The guy who gets an egg from the goose before you is going to be pissed, because his egg is going to be smaller than yours. On the flip side, this also means that the cost of getting into the NFL owners club is approaching Sultan of Brunei levels. Few of us can even conceive of billionaire level money and certainly not when it is risked on a business model like NFL. You can tell me you will throw around $100s of dollars, but not $1ks. Try throwing around $100s of millions....

3. Due to the seeming permanence of premises 1 and 2 above, the conditions you describe will not change, until either premise 1 or 2 changes.

 

4. The NFL wants to appeal to the mass market, not just the average fan. Therefore, it needs LESS "average fans" and more people who would otherwise be a The Masters, or Wimbledon. Therefore, if they can push the high end customers in the front door, and that costs them some average fans out the back, so be it. Each high end customer, or their firm, probably drops $2k on the game. You are probably spending $400, at the most, including all the people you are going with, all their beer, food, etc. So, for every 1 high end, they can afford to drop 20 "average fans".

 

That is the cold, hard, but also...real...math of this. IF they can get 4 high end fans, and it costs them 10 average ones? Well, don't let the door hit you.... Unfortunately, as Bills fans, and because our state has seen fit to tax/harass away business after business, and overpay the entitlement/government parasites, we are stuck on the ass end of this model. Ralph can't get the high end people, because WNY doesn't have that many anymore, so he needs the average fan a lot more than Jerry Jones. The entire move to Toronto is about getting their high end people, not their average fans.

 

5. 1-4 can be invalidated, because the NFL appears to have forgotten a cardinal rule of sales/marketing: ANYTHING can be oversold. The .com bubble, the "flip this house" bubble, etc. are all examples.

If they think fans care about the billionaires vs. millionaires battle going on right now, they can stuff it.

I have been saying this for a year.

"Growth" has it's limits.

This is only a solid "maybe" at this point. So far, every economic and market indicator indicates that no, in fact, it doesn't. However, anything can be oversold, so we'll see.

And the NFL can't forget the fans that made the league what it is today.

The difference between making $2 million as a player and $120 million as an owner this year, and making $10 million and $250 million respectively next year, can make anyone forget an awful lot.

Money is the ruiner of all things good

Money, just like guns, is merely a tool. It is what people do with each, and their motives, that make the difference. The fact that I have a lot of money, or a lot of guns, means nothing, without also knowing my motives. I can have a lot of either or both and be much better personally, and have a much better effect on society in general, than someone who has neither, with ease.

I blame Obama.

Equally as much as you blamed Bush?

Edited March 10, 2011 by OCinBuffalo

[Chef Jim]

Me and my friends would always talk about how cool it would be if we could organize fans and have a fan union. And if we could cooridinate with NFL fans all across the country- we could all not go into the stadium until the second quarter. Wow. What a statement that would be! In the age of the internet that makes it possible. I would love to see fans stand up to owners and corporations and be noticed. !@#$ greed and !@#$ greedy people

 

 

Money is the ruiner of all things good

 

What the hell is not showing up until the second quarter going to prove? If it's all about greed with the owners they wouldn't care as long as you bought a ticket. How about this, have some balls and not show up at all.

 

Oh and by the way, anyone who says money is the root of all evil doesn't !@#$ing have any. See this smile on my face? Ear to !@#$ing eary baby!

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

The Bills are the only reason I care about the NFL. No Bills and the NFL no longer exists to me.

 

PTR

 

 

Amen, amen, and amen, Promo.

 

I no longer watch pre-game shows, or even post-game shows... nor read much that is written on the NFL. I just don't care about it outside of the Bills.

[WildBills]

beer and food is unaffordable,

 

 

this is why you eat and drink before you go into the game. i didn't buy one beer at any of the games i went to last year. $8.00 for a 16oz beer? !@#$ that. they don't even give 24oz beers anymore. 8$ for a 24oz beer was reasonable, but not 16oz. it's a damn joke.

Edited March 10, 2011 by bertgam

[dpberr]

The NFL is destined for its apocalyptic moment. It *will* have the moment that MLB had with the strike that set the game back a decade because the NFL learned nothing from that event as they have made the same mistakes. Fans will declare war on the sport. Be at ease folks who want to show up at halftime. Your day of fury is approaching.

 

It won't happen this time around, however. With everything around us in the tank or getting there, we collectively *need* football in our lives and will anxiously wait for the outcome of the talks. Sadly, we need it in our lives. For most of us, watching and talking about football down to the minute detail makes us feel good.

[8-8 Forever?]

It's unreal how long the breaks are in a game. I used to think the Ref called the time outs. Not so. It's a guy down the side line with bright gloves on working for the network who calls the time outs by signaling the Ref. The Ref is always watching that guy. Ever notice when you try to switch to the other game it has the same commercial on. Its the networks who pay the big bucks and call all the shots.

and yet you keep on watching and can't get enough...

[Buffalo Billy]

The average blue-collar fan gets his football for free--on TV, just like over 90% of every teams fan base does. It was free decades ago and still is. Not much "growth" in free.

 

Cable bills and being subjected to constant commercials doesn't seem like "free" to me. Networks pay buckets of money to the NFL for the "privilege" to broadcast the games, money they get from cable subscribers (you know, US), and advertisers (who make THEIR money from you guessed it, US).

 

this is why you eat and drink before you go into the game. i didn't buy one beer at any of the games i went to last year. $8.00 for a 16oz beer? !@#$ that. they don't even give 24oz beers anymore. 8$ for a 24oz beer was reasonable, but not 16oz. it's a damn joke.

I think I paid something like $11.50 for a "tallboy" can of beer (which I think is 16 ounces) at the game in Toronto. I forget the exact price but I know it was in excess of $10.

[Spiderweb]

The average blue-collar fan gets his football for free--on TV, just like over 90% of every teams fan base does. It was free decades ago and still is. Not much "growth" in free.

 

 

 

Mr. Mr. Mr. Weo....... How the initial basic premise of TV has escaped you. It's free to the viewer, who is inundated by advertisements in the hope of the advertisers that we will buy their products. Truth is, we often do. Those very same advertisers pay huge sums to the NFL for the right to broadcast the game. We all pay, some more, some less, but we all pay. The NFL doesn't print $$$, the TV networks don't print $$$, the manufacturers of the advertised products don't print $$$, but they all get their $$$ from the fans (and non-fans alike) that spend their hard earned $$$ on the products and services related to the advertisement.

 

The little guy ALWAYS pays, in the the price of the products we buy, the tickets we purchase, etc. The little guy ALWAYS pays.

[May Day 10]

i feel fine about it now. Dont care.

 

 

but in September, if there arent Bills games to attend, it will be a little bit of a bummer.

[Chandler#81]

The Bills are the only reason I care about the NFL. No Bills and the NFL no longer exists to me.

 

PTR

 

 

Pretty close to my thinking as well. Hell, I sturggle to get into the groove when the Bills play in Toronto -home field my a$$..

 

I've likely dropped $3k on Sunday Ticket since '96 -don't really want to know the total- because of the Bills. If they don't exist, I'd still watch NFL via NBC,CBS,FOX, ESPN,NFL network but the passion would be gone and the savings would increase.

 

BTW, 52 posts and no one has mentioned the OP's link writer? Mike Hunt! One of the most classic telephone gags of all time.

Ring Ring.. ,<female answers>Hello? 'Is Mike Hunt there?' I don't know, let me page him... Mike Hunt! Is Mike Hunt here? Has anybody seen Mike HUNT??

 

You're slippin' guys!

[KD in CA]

Mr. Mr. Mr. Weo....... How the initial basic premise of TV has escaped you. It's free to the viewer, who is inundated by advertisements in the hope of the advertisers that we will buy their products. Truth is, we often do. Those very same advertisers pay huge sums to the NFL for the right to broadcast the game. We all pay, some more, some less, but we all pay. The NFL doesn't print $$$, the TV networks don't print $$$, the manufacturers of the advertised products don't print $$$, but they all get their $$$ from the fans (and non-fans alike) that spend their hard earned $$$ on the products and services related to the advertisement.

 

Yup. It's a big reason why a decent new car costs $30K.

[Gordio]

The entire league, including the owners and players, are filled with greed. I mean, it's getting to the point where I can't stand these people. I've been a Bills fan, and football fan in general, for my entire life. And the league as it stands is threatening to take football away from the average fan, even if they decide to take the field this year. Ticket prices continue to rise (not so much in Buffalo as other cities), parking lot fees are expensive, stadiums seats are being replaced with luxury boxes, beer and food is unaffordable, etc etc. Players aren't as loyal to their teams anymore because they want the best paycheck they can find. Cities can't keep their stadiums anymore, because they don't have enough luxury seating, jumbo trons, or tourist attractions. And the average tax payer is expected to foot a good percentage of the bill for a new stadium to support the wealthy that the league wants attending these games.

 

If they think fans care about the billionaires vs. millionaires battle going on right now, they can stuff it.

 

I'd be pissed if there wasn't football this year, but it won't ruin my year by any means. These guys need a reality check. "Growth" has it's limits. And the NFL can't forget the fans that made the league what it is today. The average, blue collar, hard working man.

 

This article has some great insight into the current state of the league...

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/117500703.html

 

Well said. Could not agree more. The last few years I have really started to get into college football more then the NFL. Crowds are way more into it, the real fans still could afford to attend & I think the game is more interesting. If the bills ever get competitive I may change my tune but until then I could honestly say I could less if they even resolve this dispute anytime soon. I am not giving the Bills a dime of my money to renew my season tickets until this gets resolved too. If that means I lose my seats so be it.

Edited March 10, 2011 by Gordio

[SouthernMan]

My god - what a bunch of whiners!

 

Anyone ever heard of a little thing called a free market - ya know, capitalism and all that jazz. Kind of a basic American economic principle.

 

It's all about supply and demand. If the product is not worthy of the asking price, you have free will not to buy whatever it is they're selling.

When the consumer revolts by eschewing the product, the price comes down. Economics 101. You don't need a friggin union or some moronic 1st quarter boycott.

 

Y'all sound like the whiny liberal blue collar union d-bags who forever hate anyone with wealth because of their evil greed. Envy turned inside out becomes hate in your world.

 

Nobody's putting a gun to your head making you subscribe to what the NFL offers. There are alternatives - HS or college ball for example. Plenty of other stuff to do on a Sunday afternoon in October. There are still at least 3 or 4 NFL games you can watch absolutely free every week with over the air broadcasts provided by the local affiliates in most American cities.

 

I agree about the excessive commercials and so on.

 

Guess what?

I started voting with my wallet. I stopped going to games in the past couple of years because it's not a good bang for the buck when you include the price of parking, concessions, tickets, not to mention the atmosphere created by the jerk-offs that inevitably end up sitting next to or in front of you.

 

I stay home, record the games to DVR, start watching about an hour into it, and skip through all the annoying pauses in action. Problem solved.

 

Ooooh, those evil rich people. I'm just waiting for someone to blame the excessive commercial timeouts on George W. Bush.

Edited March 10, 2011 by DML2005

[billsfreak]

The entire league, including the owners and players, are filled with greed. I mean, it's getting to the point where I can't stand these people. I've been a Bills fan, and football fan in general, for my entire life. And the league as it stands is threatening to take football away from the average fan, even if they decide to take the field this year. Ticket prices continue to rise (not so much in Buffalo as other cities), parking lot fees are expensive, stadiums seats are being replaced with luxury boxes, beer and food is unaffordable, etc etc. Players aren't as loyal to their teams anymore because they want the best paycheck they can find. Cities can't keep their stadiums anymore, because they don't have enough luxury seating, jumbo trons, or tourist attractions. And the average tax payer is expected to foot a good percentage of the bill for a new stadium to support the wealthy that the league wants attending these games.

 

If they think fans care about the billionaires vs. millionaires battle going on right now, they can stuff it.

 

I'd be pissed if there wasn't football this year, but it won't ruin my year by any means. These guys need a reality check. "Growth" has it's limits. And the NFL can't forget the fans that made the league what it is today. The average, blue collar, hard working man.

 

This article has some great insight into the current state of the league...

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/117500703.html

Your post is quite accurate, the NFL is only about 15 years behind Major League Baseball in becoming the same exact type of corporate greed.

[Mr. WEO]

Mr. Mr. Mr. Weo....... How the initial basic premise of TV has escaped you. It's free to the viewer, who is inundated by advertisements in the hope of the advertisers that we will buy their products. Truth is, we often do. Those very same advertisers pay huge sums to the NFL for the right to broadcast the game. We all pay, some more, some less, but we all pay. The NFL doesn't print $$$, the TV networks don't print $$$, the manufacturers of the advertised products don't print $$$, but they all get their $$$ from the fans (and non-fans alike) that spend their hard earned $$$ on the products and services related to the advertisement.

 

The little guy ALWAYS pays, in the the price of the products we buy, the tickets we purchase, etc. The little guy ALWAYS pays.

 

Network TV is brought to you with advertising dollars--this has been true foe decades. This has escaped you--network TV costs you nothing extra out of pocket to view. It just doesn't. Advertising is already included in the products you buy--same as if you watch NO TV.

 

The the cost of advertising in any product includes print as well as TV and is spread over all buyers of that product (perhaps hundreds of millions of buyers)--not just football watchers. The amount is essentially nothing--and exactly no more than for those who watch American Idol. You don't need cable to watch Bills games. It's free.

 

 

Yup. It's a big reason why a decent new car costs $30K.

This is sarcasm, I assume.

[Got_Wood]

My god - what a bunch of whiners!

 

Anyone ever heard of a little thing called a free market - ya know, capitalism and all that jazz. Kind of a basic American economic principle.

 

Ooooh, those evil rich people. I'm just waiting for someone to blame the excessive commercial timeouts on George W. Bush.

 

Yeah, the free market worked out well with real estate in this country didn't it...

 

The "free market" isn't so free my friend. Not when it's manipulated by the wealthy 1% of this country (and wealthy of the world for that matter).

 

And guess what, I'm no blue collar liberal. I'm a white collar right winger that's paid my dues. But it's not about that. It's about the rich vs. non-rich. And sooner or later the little guy fights back.

[Pete]

My god - what a bunch of whiners!

 

Anyone ever heard of a little thing called a free market - ya know, capitalism and all that jazz. Kind of a basic American economic principle.

 

It's all about supply and demand. If the product is not worthy of the asking price, you have free will not to buy whatever it is they're selling.

When the consumer revolts by eschewing the product, the price comes down. Economics 101. You don't need a friggin union or some moronic 1st quarter boycott.

 

Y'all sound like the whiny liberal blue collar union d-bags who forever hate anyone with wealth because of their evil greed. Envy turned inside out becomes hate in your world.

 

Nobody's putting a gun to your head making you subscribe to what the NFL offers. There are alternatives - HS or college ball for example. Plenty of other stuff to do on a Sunday afternoon in October. There are still at least 3 or 4 NFL games you can watch absolutely free every week with over the air broadcasts provided by the local affiliates in most American cities.

 

I agree about the excessive commercials and so on.

 

Guess what?

I started voting with my wallet. I stopped going to games in the past couple of years because it's not a good bang for the buck when you include the price of parking, concessions, tickets, not to mention the atmosphere created by the jerk-offs that inevitably end up sitting next to or in front of you.

 

I stay home, record the games to DVR, start watching about an hour into it, and skip through all the annoying pauses in action. Problem solved.

 

Ooooh, those evil rich people. I'm just waiting for someone to blame the excessive commercial timeouts on George W. Bush.

I have read the free market theory, but what about AIG, Bank of America, Chrysler, JP Morgan, Citigroup, etc? So much for the free market. And guess what- I don't go to games unless the ticket is free. And guess what else what? I don't watch TV anymore. Give me a book, music, or a documentary on Netflix streaming.

 

PS- Bush sucked as president. And him, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfolitz should be brought to court on war crimes. But that is another thread. You brought up Bush, not me

[mattsox]

I am with you. Football is almost unwatchable with all the commercials. I remember games used to start at 1:00 and would finish sometimes at 3:30. Now 1:00 games sometimes are on past 5, trying to squeeze every advertising $ they can. I didn't go to a live football game for years then went to a Sunday night game- and could not believe how much the players stood around during tv timeouts.

 

Money is the ruiner of all things good

 

Agreed. The commercials are killing the game. Greed is definately killing Football. I can't remember the last time I sat through an entire NFL Football game other than the Championship and Superbowl games. Other then 3 games out of an entire season. It's practically become unwatchable... Making fans pay full price for Preseason is another Joke. I say the owners should just eat the preseason game as a fan appreciation. WE THE FANS NEVER WANTED 18 GAME SCHEDULE. The OWNERS wanted to justify that so they can make FANS pay full price for tickets. The owners are ridiculous and the NFL has become a glorified circus. It's a side show, not a Football game anymore.