Young people aren't sports fans and that's a huge problem

[PromoTheRobot]

Tim Ellis, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, says the league’s own data bears that out. “There’s no strategy for bringing in a 35-year-old fan for the first time. You have to make them a fan by the time they’re 18, or you’ll lose them forever,” he said.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/11/24/gen-z-sports-fans/?tid=ss_tw

[Gugny]

My son is 17 and watches zero sports on TV.  In normal years, we normally attend one Mets game and one Bills game/year.  He thoroughly enjoys both.

 

I was an avid baseball fan by the time I was 12. 

 

I was a late bloomer with the NFL.  I was a casual NFL fan in high school.  I didn't attend my first Bills game until I was in my mid-20s and that's also around the time I became a much bigger, engaged football fan.

[Seasons1992]

12 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Tim Ellis, the NFL’s chief marketing officer, says the league’s own data bears that out. “There’s no strategy for bringing in a 35-year-old fan for the first time. You have to make them a fan by the time they’re 18, or you’ll lose them forever,” he said.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/11/24/gen-z-sports-fans/?tid=ss_tw

 

Well duh.........this is why I've brainwashed my younger son at age 9-11 to be a Bills fan. 

 

A rolled-up newspaper on Sundays to hit him with, also helps.......

[PromoTheRobot]

13 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

Well duh.........this is why I've brainwashed my younger son at age 9-11 to be a Bills fan. 

 

A rolled-up newspaper on Sundays to hit him with, also helps.......

 

Maybe an occasional kick to the 'nads to get him used to the feeling of disappointment?

[Seasons1992]

15 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Maybe an occasional kick to the 'nads to get him used to the feeling of disappointment?

 

I'm not a violent person........how dare you! 😄

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

40 minutes ago, Gugny said:

My son is 17 and watches zero sports on TV.  In normal years, we normally attend one Mets game and one Bills game/year.  He thoroughly enjoys both.

 

I was an avid baseball fan by the time I was 12. 

 

I was a late bloomer with the NFL.  I was a casual NFL fan in high school.  I didn't attend my first Bills game until I was in my mid-20s and that's also around the time I became a much bigger, engaged football fan.

I think baseball is especially going to suffer. the idea of any Gen Zer liking baseball is comical. The game is now so utterly boring, slow, and consolidated in the same 3-4 teams. My friend’s teenage boys and my teenage nephews all Play baseball, and Hate watching it. 

[Nextmanup]

Flipping this around for a moment, for years now I have realized I follow the Bills and even more so the Sabres out of raw, sheer, force of habit.

 

I.E., had I not been hooked as a kid, I wouldn't be following either now.

 

My childhood brain was brainwashed to get excited over a Bills and Sabres game, and that's why I still watch, out of habit.

 

The Sabres have been more or less unwatchable for almost a decade now, and I almost never miss a game.

 

I literally think "Why am I watching this?" and it's just because that's what I do on a random Tuesday night in the winter...watch the Sabres, if they are on.

 

My 2 nephews, both born and bred in Buffalo, do not really follow any Buffalo sports at all.

They are HUGE English Premiership soccer fans, however, and both play soccer.

 

Times are changing I guess.

 

 

[nedboy7]

This might be the worst news of 2020!!  I mean will this madness ever end? 

 

According to ESPN’s internal data, some 96 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds still identify as sports fans, a consistent figure over the past decade. But the share of fans who call themselves “avid” has been dropping, from 42 percent a decade ago to 34 percent last year.

 

Isn't this actually good?  Kids can be a little more well rounded rather than "avid" fans. 

Edited November 24, 2020 by nedboy7

[BillsPride12]

4 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Flipping this around for a moment, for years now I have realized I follow the Bills and even more so the Sabres out of raw, sheer, force of habit.

 

I.E., had I not been hooked as a kid, I wouldn't be following either now.

 

My childhood brain was brainwashed to get excited over a Bills and Sabres game, and that's why I still watch, out of habit.

 

The Sabres have been more or less unwatchable for almost a decade now, and I almost never miss a game.

 

I literally think "Why am I watching this?" and it's just because that's what I do on a random Tuesday night in the winter...watch the Sabres, if they are on.

 

My 2 nephews, both born and bred in Buffalo, do not really follow any Buffalo sports at all.

They are HUGE English Premiership soccer fans, however, and both play soccer.

 

Times are changing I guess.

 

 

I've had pretty similar discussions with myself when it comes to the Sabres over the last 10 years.  Sports were just so cool and exciting when a lot of us were growing up and it is absolutely just ingrained in us at this point.  I don't think Sports are nearly as entertaining as they once were and that cool mystique about Sports seems to be lost.  I can totally see why they don't make the same impression on the youths of today although I find it very sad.  

[Nextmanup]

25 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I think baseball is especially going to suffer. the idea of any Gen Zer liking baseball is comical. The game is now so utterly boring, slow, and consolidated in the same 3-4 teams. My friend’s teenage boys and my teenage nephews all Play baseball, and Hate watching it. 

Well you hit on an ancillary point, which I find interesting...

But as a rule, I have found that those who enjoy playing sports do not watch them at all.

 

Conversely, those who enjoy watching them largely do so because they were not good at athletics themselves and appreciate the athleticism of those who play sports well.  

 

There are exceptions to both groups, of course.

 

I always get a kick out of remembering that Dave Stieb, ex-outstanding Toronto Blue Jays pitcher, said that, when he was drafted by Toronto, he genuinely did not know Toronto had a team in major league baseball!  LOL.  

 

There are a ton of pro athletes like that; they're great at playing, and do so for various reasons (probably mostly because receiving millions for doing what you naturally, easily, do well is not a bad gig), but they aren't really what you'd call "fans of the game."

 

Of course, there are some pro athletes who are HUGE students of the game, interested in the sport's history, etc.

Mike Tyson comes immediately to mind; dude is an encyclopedia of boxing historic knowledge, loves it, and was one of the greatest boxers of all time.

 

I still think athletes like that are in the minority, however. 

 

 

[Process]

For kids now a days it's all about social media, video games, watching online streamers etc. Less playing sports and interest in sports in general.

 

Not surprised by this at all. 

[Nextmanup]

3 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

I've had pretty similar discussions with myself when it comes to the Sabres over the last 10 years.  Sports were just so cool and exciting when a lot of us were growing up and it is absolutely just ingrained in us at this point.  I don't think Sports are nearly as entertaining as they once were and that cool mystique about Sports seems to be lost.  I can totally see why they don't make the same impression on the youths of today although I find it very sad.  

Especially with hockey, I think what we are experiencing is a function of the game changing as much as ourselves!

 

The game of NHL hockey is now enormously different to what it was in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, when I was hooked on the game.

 

Back then, teams did not like each other or pal around before/after games.  The sport was filled with physical intimidation, and physical conflict. Real violence. Not every game broke out into a war, but it happened many times per season, and the actual playing hockey part often took second place to the war on the ice.  

 

For me, the intimidation/physicality of the game back then was hugely compelling!  It was real life narrative tension on display for all to see.  Crowds universally stood and cheered the loudest when stuff went crazy on the ice.

 

The game itself was also hugely different; much more room/speed on display on the ice.  Individual talent was easier to see/appreciate.  It was more like a blitzkrieg.  Today's game is WWI trench warfare.  1980s Smythe Division hockey was absolutely fantastic in every way!  Today's game is nothing similar.  

 

And all the intimidation/physicality aspect of the game is almost entirely gone now.

 

What you are left with is simply not a very compelling sports entertainment product to be consumed, which explains why the league is never in a particularly strong financial position.  

Back when ESPN gave up on NHL hockey, they pointed out that PBA bowling shows got better ratings than NHL hockey games.

 

And the sport is a lot worse now then it was when ESPN quit on it.  

 

But we, as fans, have also changed, I'm sure.  Sports (hell, everything) is a lot better when you're a kid!  At least for me.  The world seemed like a bigger, more interesting, mysterious place in many ways back then.

 

I just don't bring to sports viewing the things I did when I was a teenager, or even in my 20s.

 

 

 

 

8 minutes ago, Process said:

For kids now a days it's all about social media, video games, watching online streamers etc. Less playing sports and interest in sports in general.

 

Not surprised by this at all. 

I don't know that is true; tons of kids play sports today just as they always did.

 

Do they enjoy watching on TV?  I don't know; that's different I think.

 

I live in SE Florida and I can tell you that my gated community neighborhood is FILLED with giant PACKS of young kids screwing around out in the street and on everyone's lawns all day long, every day!  Riding bikes, skateboards, playing sports in the street...

 

It reminds me in a very satisfying way of my own childhood doing the exact same stuff in the Town of Tonawanda in the 1970s.

 

I always think "they are supposed to be inside playing video games!  What happened?"

They are outside all day long.

 

 

[Nextmanup]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

My son is 17 and watches zero sports on TV.  In normal years, we normally attend one Mets game and one Bills game/year.  He thoroughly enjoys both.

 

I was an avid baseball fan by the time I was 12. 

 

I was a late bloomer with the NFL.  I was a casual NFL fan in high school.  I didn't attend my first Bills game until I was in my mid-20s and that's also around the time I became a much bigger, engaged football fan.

I'm a huge Red Sox/AL fan, and I had expensive Nats tickets when I lived in DC for several years, once the team became a thing.

 

And yet my impression is that your average sports fan (not average person, but sports fan) can't stand baseball! 

 

The game is too slow and boring, they say.  World Series games get worse TV ratings than some crappy Thursday night NFL matchup.

 

For decades, baseball was the ONLY sport in this country that mattered.  Those days are long gone.

 

The economic structure of the sport needs re-thinking.  

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

I'm a huge Red Sox/AL fan, and I had expensive Nats tickets when I lived in DC for several years, once the team became a thing.

 

And yet my impression is that your average sports fan (not average person, but sports fan) can't stand baseball! 

 

The game is too slow and boring, they say.  World Series games get worse TV ratings than some crappy Thursday night NFL matchup.

 

For decades, baseball was the ONLY sport in this country that mattered.  Those days are long gone.

 

The economic structure of the sport needs re-thinking.  

 

I love watching baseball.  I love listening to games on the radio, too.

 

People who find it boring don't understand the game.  I get it.  I think hockey is the most boring sport in the world - but I know that I feel that way because I don't understand the game.

 

It's a shame that they're changing the game to try to lure new fans.  It's a fantastic sport and I really hate to see any drastic changes being made.

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

Well duh.........this is why I've brainwashed my younger son at age 9-11 to be a Bills fan. 

 

A rolled-up newspaper on Sundays to hit him with, also helps.......

 

I worked on my boys at an early age. I sealed the deal by taking them both to WNY for a home game when they turned 16. They became even more radio fans than I am!  

 

One of my grandson’s first sentences was “Let’s Go Buffalo!”   

 

 

 

.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Augie

[boater]

I became a Bills fan at 18. Just in time according to demographers.

 

It was back in the day of when if 80,000 seats didn't sell out by Thursday, the game wasn't on TV. So a good portion of my football knowledge came from listening to Van Miller.

 

Back to OP.. declining fans is a problem. NFL teams spend money like a drunken sailor, supported by an addiction to the TV contract. When fans decline the teams need other revenue. Right now there isn't much discussion of expansion but there will be in the future.

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I think baseball is especially going to suffer. the idea of any Gen Zer liking baseball is comical. The game is now so utterly boring, slow, and consolidated in the same 3-4 teams. My friend’s teenage boys and my teenage nephews all Play baseball, and Hate watching it. 

 

Do they play exclusively in leagues for schools and/or traveling teams? When I was growing up we’d all just get together and play, then maybe pick your favorite sport to join a league. I was in a football league, but just played hockey on the pond and pickup hoops. A league was too much commitment (especially in hockey with the lack of ice time at reasonable hours!!!). 

 

Kids today seem to play only on organized teams and pickup sports have withered away. (By the time our kids turned 10 they had played more games with a uniform and a ref than I did in my entire life, and I played into college.)  You lose those marginal kids a bit as a result, I suspect. Nobody plays “just a little” and gets hooked. Pick up games are replaced by video games and social media, it seems.  

 

As for baseball, our youngest did rec league and travel league. They called recruiting for All Stars after one season and I asked if he was interested. He responded “do I have to? Half the kids are standing around, and the other half are sitting.” He liked having more action (and exercise) in soccer, football and basketball.

 

Weight lifting is the absolute worst! All stinking day for six lifts. I only went to the state finals (he finished an impressive 5th in Florida) and I saw less than 2 minutes of “action” the entire day. Six lifts does not take long and makes baseball look thrilling! 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Interesting.  As my job entails being able to quickly build rapport with students who I am evaluating, I have found to 70-80% of the time sports are my “inroad” with male students.  I guess less so with female students.

 

I have found that kids today seem to be HUGE into NBA basketball which I’m not really a fan of, so I have to study up from time to time.

[TBBills]

Is it really a problem though?

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just blood sticking parasites.  Can't even get one Buffalo Championship and I am so done with sports.  😆 Maybe that's why they keep us hanging on!