leh-nerd skin-erd Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 I could, but would see no reason to. That would be petty of me, in my opinion. I understand it's my business, my only point is to refute everyone that says, "anybody else would get fired if they did that at their job" . Not in this case. very true. some businesses don't care at all. my thought here was always that the protests--in scope and in context of where they occur--go to the heart of the fan experience on some level and on that level--potentially ruin the experience. one genius who plays for the nfl put it succinctly: paraphrased "We'll protest if we want to, and if you don't want to watch, don't watch.". I'd think the average owner probably wants fans to watch, to attend games, to buy hot dogs and beer and gear. I actually think that's the whole point of the game, where some (though not all) of the players think it's only really about them. I'd think the ownership group should care and should resolve that problem, at least to the extent it's impacting viewership, attendance and sales. I suppose if they protests improved the product from a sales perspective, they'd probably let 'em protest away. I just don't see that happening.
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 I see your point I think- even with the drop off the NFL is still raining supreme. I dont see the 3 other major sports coming close to the league but it certainly is takin a hit. Factor that in with the NFL having the largest operating cost and its not the best for business. Obviously, in business, you dont want to lose a single dollar. But the nfl is so far and above every other sport in this country, it would be hard not to see a drop at some point. I think the biggest factor is the quality of play sucks this year. The Jags are improved but they play an awful brand of football that is hard to watch.
zonabb Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 I'd bet my life that the impact of the anthem protests is wildly overstated and a minor blip on the impact. It's an emotional topic, I get it. But not enough people are tuning out because of it. Those that state they are, aren't, they're merely symbolically stating that as their protest against the protest. And if you are, you're a simpleton and never liked the NFL or football to begin with. The above-stated issues are more likely the NFL's current and future problems... over-saturation being a key one. Remember when games started at 1 and 4 as a rule? Now games are too long, forcing us to give up more of our lives to have commercials jammed down our throats. I don't like the NFL cultural. Antonio Brown's dance act the other night turned me off, more so because the cameras stayed on him on the sidelines to watch his pathetic act. I don't relate to the players anymore. That's me getting old but a culture further disconnected from the average person's reality. I am as disgusted by the greed and slave trading mentality of owners like Jerry Jones as much as those are about the anthem. The guy is a greedy, arrogant, piece of excrement who talks about the shield like it's a war emblem to be fought for but isn't ashamed to put his hand out for hundreds of millions in taxpayer money to "help" the most valuable franchise in the league. Sick of disgusting business side of it. The hypocrisy of owners like Jones sucking of the govt teat while telling his players they must stand, that's 1850 slaveowner sh!t right there. Utilize power and money to exploit. Sick of announcers yelling and screaming hyperbole and overstatement and jockstrap-driven "analysis." Premier League soccer has the best announcers, super smart, super calm, super intellectual, super well spoken and here's the thing... not trying to make the game about them. It's not their stage. Too many announcers try to entertain. I wish they'd STFU. Sorry but nothing grinds my gears more than the butchering of the English language and the need to talk like some thug on the street, dropping slang, nicknames, and other garbage. That's not racial, stereotypical, or intolerant. I was raised and educated to speak well. Being well-spoken should be the norm, not the exception. I shouldn't, and don't, feel bad for suggesting that people paid to be COMMUNICATORS speak well. Would you except your newspaper articles being written like some of these jokers talk? Funny, they hold the educated professional reporters and hosts to that higher standard most of the time but the idiot jocks get to act like their at a bar with their buddies. The NFL has devolved. It's model it to try and be cool and hip and urban and edgy but in the end, while the model seeks to corral the young demographic, my generation that grew up with the Bills in the 80s and 90s has nearly all turned away from the NFL because of the NFL. They don't relate to it anymore. It's simply a circus. When you want to punch an announcer or throw the remote through the TV at the 7th airing of the half of the Nationwide Peyton Manning commercial, that's not good for the NFL. And honestly, the younger population doesn't seem as universally enthralled as we were. I think the NFL has a problem on its hands. And it's self-created.
njbuff Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 ESPN has turned off A LOT of folks and I don't have to tell you why.
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 ESPN has turned off A LOT of folks and I don't have to tell you why. Again, they are far superior to every other sports network out there. Regression was bound to happen. The snowflake impact is wildly overstated. But I guess it makes some people feel good that they are making a difference.
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 I'd bet my life that the impact of the anthem protests is wildly overstated and a minor blip on the impact. It's an emotional topic, I get it. But not enough people are tuning out because of it. Those that state they are, aren't, they're merely symbolically stating that as their protest against the protest. And if you are, you're a simpleton and never liked the NFL or football to begin with. The above-stated issues are more likely the NFL's current and future problems... over-saturation being a key one. Remember when games started at 1 and 4 as a rule? Now games are too long, forcing us to give up more of our lives to have commercials jammed down our throats. I don't like the NFL cultural. Antonio Brown's dance act the other night turned me off, more so because the cameras stayed on him on the sidelines to watch his pathetic act. I don't relate to the players anymore. That's me getting old but a culture further disconnected from the average person's reality. I am as disgusted by the greed and slave trading mentality of owners like Jerry Jones as much as those are about the anthem. The guy is a greedy, arrogant, piece of excrement who talks about the shield like it's a war emblem to be fought for but isn't ashamed to put his hand out for hundreds of millions in taxpayer money to "help" the most valuable franchise in the league. Sick of disgusting business side of it. The hypocrisy of owners like Jones sucking of the govt teat while telling his players they must stand, that's 1850 slaveowner **** right there. Utilize power and money to exploit. Sick of announcers yelling and screaming hyperbole and overstatement and jockstrap-driven "analysis." Premier League soccer has the best announcers, super smart, super calm, super intellectual, super well spoken and here's the thing... not trying to make the game about them. It's not their stage. Too many announcers try to entertain. I wish they'd STFU. Sorry but nothing grinds my gears more than the butchering of the English language and the need to talk like some thug on the street, dropping slang, nicknames, and other garbage. That's not racial, stereotypical, or intolerant. I was raised and educated to speak well. Being well-spoken should be the norm, not the exception. I shouldn't, and don't, feel bad for suggesting that people paid to be COMMUNICATORS speak well. Would you except your newspaper articles being written like some of these jokers talk? Funny, they hold the educated professional reporters and hosts to that higher standard most of the time but the idiot jocks get to act like their at a bar with their buddies. The NFL has devolved. It's model it to try and be cool and hip and urban and edgy but in the end, while the model seeks to corral the young demographic, my generation that grew up with the Bills in the 80s and 90s has nearly all turned away from the NFL because of the NFL. They don't relate to it anymore. It's simply a circus. When you want to punch an announcer or throw the remote through the TV at the 7th airing of the half of the Nationwide Peyton Manning commercial, that's not good for the NFL. And honestly, the younger population doesn't seem as universally enthralled as we were. I think the NFL has a problem on its hands. And it's self-created. holy crap.
Fadingpain Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Everything in life goes in cycles. The NFL has crescendoed and is now slightly in decline. It is probably based on many things, but lack of good QBs driving gameplay is a big part of it. I have actually thought the Monday match ups have been good this year, as compared to years past. Im surprised to see that category leading the poll.
billsfan_34 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Obviously, in business, you dont want to lose a single dollar. But the nfl is so far and above every other sport in this country, it would be hard not to see a drop at some point. I think the biggest factor is the quality of play sucks this year. The Jags are improved but they play an awful brand of football that is hard to watch. Same with the Jets and 1/3 of the other teams in this league.
Scott7975 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) For me I'm tired of refs controlling the out come of the games or pushing it a direction. I'm tired of grey area rules, rules that don't make sense, and rules that are just stupid. I'm also tired of watching the Pats own the league. It all ruined football for me. Edited October 17, 2017 by Scott7975
C.Biscuit97 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Same with the Jets and 1/3 of the other teams in this league. Yup. A lot bad qbs equals a lot of bad football. For me I'm tired of refs controlling the out come of the games or pushing it a direction. I'm tired of grey area rules, rules that don't make sense, and rules that are just stupid. I'm also tired of watching the Pats own the league. It all ruined football for me. I hate complaining about the refs but man, they have been beyond awful this year. Its embarrassing. They huddle up for minutes, call BS penalties, Get calls wrong so they have to take time to go to replay. The Refs are awful.
Scott7975 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Yup. A lot bad qbs equals a lot of bad football. I hate complaining about the refs but man, they have been beyond awful this year. Its embarrassing. They huddle up for minutes, call BS penalties, Get calls wrong so they have to take time to go to replay. The Refs are awful. I don't either and generally other than a few instances I thought most of the Bills games were called pretty fair. It's not bias because I watch games occasionally that I couldn't care less who wins I just want to watch am exciting game. There was one game with Hocculi I watched this year and they threw a flag on practically every play. I said I had enough and stopped watching again.
Marty McFly Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 The real #1 reason: because its on espn instead of syndicated tv channelsmlike nbc, cbs, fpx, etc. I have cable but it doesnt carry espn so i get screwed and im not going to my cpu to stream a football game unless its the Bills.
Paulus Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Politics and Football don't mix. These days people turn to football to get away from the crap. Plus, the game has become slower than baseball.
mannc Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) I think this has to be viewed in context. Ratings of all the major sports are down, not just the NFL. The NBA, which everyone seems to agree is more popular than ever, saw its regular season ratings fall 6 percent (the same percentage as the NFL's drop so far this year). So it's not clear if the ratings are down because there is something wrong with the game or simply due to other factors beyond the league's control, such as the endless variety of other broadcast entertainment options that are available to people. As far as I'm concerned, the biggest problems are the officiating and the proliferation of injuries, especially to the league's marquee players. The officiating is worse than its ever been, to the point where even serious fans are actually starting to wonder whether the games are fixed, like this weekend in the NE-Jets game. And the worst part about it is that the technology exists to at least minimize the number of mistakes. I think it hurts the sport when games are decided on non-existent pass interference penalties, when those sorts of plays can easily be reviewed and corrected, just like other blown calls. Edited October 17, 2017 by mannc
billsfan89 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) Monday Night Football just doesn't have the best match-ups anymore. Sunday Night Football has clearly overtaken the spot as where the best match-ups are. I would also say that something people don't talk about as impacting the ratings is the Thursday Night games. Monday Night football use to be your last chance to get football until the following Sunday. Now you see a game 3 days later. The Thursday Night Games have in my opinion completely over exposed football, the anthem protests, chord cutting, and more options/competition have all played a factor. But the anthem protests will blow over and chord cutting and more options wasn't detouring footballs ratings for years when almost every other major network and cable station was getting impacted by those things. NFL football use to go away from Tuesday through Saturday. You got away from it enough where by the time you saw another game it felt fresh. Now that Thursday game just makes football seem like it is on all the time. You are never more than 2 or 3 days away from another football game being on TV. By the time the Monday Night game comes on it just feels like just another game. The NFL needs to end those **** Thursday games asap. It would help the Monday Night games and it would in general improve the casual fans ability to get away from football then tune back in on weekends and Monday's. Core fans will always be there but the casuals are where the ups and downs come from. Edited October 17, 2017 by billsfan89
BUFFALOKIE Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 It's on too late. I get out of bed at 4:30 am to start my day. I'm in bed 9:30-10:00 pm. I know a lot of people who are in similar situations. Unless the Bills are playing, I don't watch any of the three night games each week. i'm also getting less enthusiastic about watching random teams. I've lost track of who's on what team these days. I could go on an entire rant about how much I hate all the players changing teams for the highest bid. I know it's in their best interest, but the lack of continuity makes it hard for me to want to follow multiple teams anymore. Well put my man.
hemma Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Politics has, at least temporarily, become the new football.
BUFFALOKIE Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Obviously, in business, you dont want to lose a single dollar. But the nfl is so far and above every other sport in this country, it would be hard not to see a drop at some point. I think the biggest factor is the quality of play sucks this year. The Jags are improved but they play an awful brand of football that is hard to watch. Name the last time the NFL, any Team in the NFL, or practically any other professional sports team in the world lost a single dollar? I'd bet my life that the impact of the anthem protests is wildly overstated and a minor blip on the impact. It's an emotional topic, I get it. But not enough people are tuning out because of it. Those that state they are, aren't, they're merely symbolically stating that as their protest against the protest. And if you are, you're a simpleton and never liked the NFL or football to begin with. The above-stated issues are more likely the NFL's current and future problems... over-saturation being a key one. Remember when games started at 1 and 4 as a rule? Now games are too long, forcing us to give up more of our lives to have commercials jammed down our throats. I don't like the NFL cultural. Antonio Brown's dance act the other night turned me off, more so because the cameras stayed on him on the sidelines to watch his pathetic act. I don't relate to the players anymore. That's me getting old but a culture further disconnected from the average person's reality. I am as disgusted by the greed and slave trading mentality of owners like Jerry Jones as much as those are about the anthem. The guy is a greedy, arrogant, piece of excrement who talks about the shield like it's a war emblem to be fought for but isn't ashamed to put his hand out for hundreds of millions in taxpayer money to "help" the most valuable franchise in the league. Sick of disgusting business side of it. The hypocrisy of owners like Jones sucking of the govt teat while telling his players they must stand, that's 1850 slaveowner **** right there. Utilize power and money to exploit. Sick of announcers yelling and screaming hyperbole and overstatement and jockstrap-driven "analysis." Premier League soccer has the best announcers, super smart, super calm, super intellectual, super well spoken and here's the thing... not trying to make the game about them. It's not their stage. Too many announcers try to entertain. I wish they'd STFU. Sorry but nothing grinds my gears more than the butchering of the English language and the need to talk like some thug on the street, dropping slang, nicknames, and other garbage. That's not racial, stereotypical, or intolerant. I was raised and educated to speak well. Being well-spoken should be the norm, not the exception. I shouldn't, and don't, feel bad for suggesting that people paid to be COMMUNICATORS speak well. Would you except your newspaper articles being written like some of these jokers talk? Funny, they hold the educated professional reporters and hosts to that higher standard most of the time but the idiot jocks get to act like their at a bar with their buddies. The NFL has devolved. It's model it to try and be cool and hip and urban and edgy but in the end, while the model seeks to corral the young demographic, my generation that grew up with the Bills in the 80s and 90s has nearly all turned away from the NFL because of the NFL. They don't relate to it anymore. It's simply a circus. When you want to punch an announcer or throw the remote through the TV at the 7th airing of the half of the Nationwide Peyton Manning commercial, that's not good for the NFL. And honestly, the younger population doesn't seem as universally enthralled as we were. I think the NFL has a problem on its hands. And it's self-created. That is a helluva thesis! Good on ya!
billsfan89 Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Everything in life goes in cycles. The NFL has crescendoed and is now slightly in decline. It is probably based on many things, but lack of good QBs driving gameplay is a big part of it. I have actually thought the Monday match ups have been good this year, as compared to years past. Im surprised to see that category leading the poll. I think the QB's factor is a bit over rated. For one you are starting to see some new QB's come into their own in recent years, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck come to mind. You also have a lot of QB's up and coming that have a lot of promise Jamis Winston, Mariota, and now Watson. But setting that aside I do think that sometimes things just get over exposed and there just exists a natural reaction from the public. For years the NFL could do no wrong, they were way behind in social media and digital media, their market reach internationally was pretty limited, and they squeezed their fans at every point completely ringing out every dollar they could from their product. The market simply got over saturated and some outside factors (Anthem protests, chord cutting, more entertainment options, ect) played into it. I would also say that the NFL's complete mismanagement of a lot of things has also contributed to the slight decline. Goodell !@#$ed up what people thought was fail proof. Ray Rice and a lot of the other cases he handled were bad. They kept pushing the Thursday games and they just got completely arrogant. I suspect the NFL pulls back a bit and adjusts a lot of what they do business wise to rebuild their fanbase a bit.
Saxum Posted October 17, 2017 Posted October 17, 2017 Maybe it is the loosening of the rules on celebrating - if they players want to protest take a knee with the ball when they make a play.
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