Are you losing interest in the NFL ?

[Utah John]

15 hours ago, dwight in philly said:

I get the "gist " of your concern. My only problem, like most , is the officiating.. wont go deep in the weeds, but the officiating in the  Tampa and Titan's game this year seemed to cost the Bills . Every team can say the same. Is the answer full-time officials? i am not sure. Wish there was a way to get a more perfect system.,,.

If the Bengals had won the SB, that would have been just perfect, another key game where the deciding score was enabled by a ludicrously blown call.  How a ref can miss TWO penalties on a WR -- both grabbing the facemask and offensive pass interference -- and let a team take the lead, should be unbelievable.  But believe it.  It happened.

[Riverboat Ritchie]

5 hours ago, RunTheBall said:

I’m 51, I’ve seen every Bills game since I can remember and that’s a LOT of bad football. I’m well into the IDGAF phase of my life, except for the Bills.

 

With the Bills, I still get completely irrationally emotional both high and low over a stupid game and I Iove it. 

 

Because I’ve suffered so much, the highs - like absolutely OBLITERATING the Pats* are so much higher. Also, when we had 13 seconds left before we moved onto the AFC Championship I knew the game wasn’t over but even then I had a hard time believing they screwed that up so bad.

 

 

kinda in same boat. As a kid I expected that I was gonna grow out of or manage emotions better the older I got but it has gotten worse when it comes to Bills.  I am definitely not as much into other pro sporting events or other teams as I was when younger but with Bills, especially now, it’s on.  
 

I think part of it is particularly with the Bills, it’s kinda about family, friends home and memories.  And while I get it that sports are just suppose to be a distraction from real life and it is a just a silly uniform that these millionaire kids are wearing who aren’t even from Buffalo, that distraction (because of the above (family/friends/etc) is kinda a blessing and real life in a good sense; even with all the Billsy heartache and NFL nonsense.  In any event, just one before I die. Go Bills

[purple haze]

Not losing interest at all.  Although the NFL needs to invest some of those profits in full-time referees.  And speed up the pace of the games.  

[Ray Stonada]

If anything, I've gained tons of interest in the rest of the NFL since we started looking like a potentially great team again. 

 

I would date it to the Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys. Watched it with my whole family and the way we won that game was just joyous.

 

Since then I've been watching the other teams to see how they stack up to the Bills. It's all much more relevant.

 

If you didn't lose interest during the drought but are losing interest now, there may be something else going on!

 

 

[HOUSE]

20 hours ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Lost interest a long time ago. 

 

Over officiated, watered down product. More about the show/tv production than the actual game. And with twitter etc, it’s becoming a reality show instead of a sport.

 

And i feel like with the NFL hand in the pot with legal gambling it’s only gonna get worse.

 

I love the Bills because hometown habits die hard. They are all I really watch. Bills are more of a social event to me, to get together with friends and family.

 

If we didn’t have a team I likely wouldn’t watch at all.

 

^ This

[HOUSE]

The problems with the NFL are  obvious to long time fans only because changes  were implemented over the last 50 years.

 

A young fan has come to accept these changes as normal.

 

There was a time when pre season tickets were optional for season ticket holders.

 

There were very few commercials which slow down the game

 

The games were on regular TV, no need to buy 3 different network packages

 

Twitter was not an option, players were very careful of posting negative comments about their team

 

Purchase a License for the right to be a season ticket holder, what is that ? 

 

The league is reactive, NOBODY Figured out that one team may not get the ball back in over time??? So now they will change the rule..Let's call it THE UNSCREWING of the Buffalo Bills rule ..

 

Rules for protecting the QB lack consistency , Tom Brady will get that call ALMOST every time

 

Out of control wages for players & coaches , who pays for this ??? GUESS WHO

 

NFL Sports writers that write & publish absolute garbage during the off season, none of it is true.

 

The way to early MOCK DRAFT, The just in time guide to free agency

 

Some players need to get banned from the league after 3 serious offenses but they come back over and over, Oh look her comes Antonio Brown AGAIN !

 

$40 to park your car and $60 to buy 4 draft beers ???

 

Blackmailing a team to build a new stadium that does not have enough Corporate boxes.  YOU BETTER BUILD A NEW STADIUM ...NOW!

 

Phony interviews by coaches

 

Teams that Tank

 

Owners that Cheat

 

I could go on and on but YES, I am losing interest

 

The Bills win a SUPERBOWL, SEE YA HAVE A NICE LIFE

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by HOUSE

[fan_in_tx]

18 hours ago, benderbender said:

I lost interest for a while in the NFL with the tuck rule. Didn’t help that we were only toes deep in the drought but for it to be so blatant and wrong was disconcerting.

 

But it’s not just the NFL. Everybody got into it. The UFC in the 2000s when St.Pierre smothered the top of his head in petroleum jelly to pass guards. Baseball in the 90s when it was obviously juiced. Then, ironically, I was just getting back into MLB when the Astros cheated.

Stealing signs have been a part of baseball for as long as baseball has had pitch signs.  Every team does it still today!  Funny how Astros are frowned upon for video relay of signs, but Belicheat who did the same thing in football is considered the greatest coach ever in the NFL.  

[RyanC883]

20 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

the call on Higgins was to make the game close.  Then IMO they gave the game to LA.  Maybe I’m wrong. I hope so. 
 

they don’t “fix” games. They gently manipulate them at key moments.  And not every game.  It’s very subtle and intelligent the way they do it. 

 

this is some high level conspiracy stuff right there!   

[Ray Stonada]

5 hours ago, HOUSE said:

The problems with the NFL are  obvious to long time fans only because changes  were implemented over the last 50 years.

 

A young fan has come to accept these changes as normal.

 

There was a time when pre season tickets were optional for season ticket holders.

 

There were very few commercials which slow down the game

 

The games were on regular TV, no need to buy 3 different network packages

 

Twitter was not an option, players were very careful of posting negative comments about their team

 

Purchase a License for the right to be a season ticket holder, what is that ? 

 

The league is reactive, NOBODY Figured out that one team may not get the ball back in over time??? So now they will change the rule..Let's call it THE UNSCREWING of the Buffalo Bills rule ..

 

Rules for protecting the QB lack consistency , Tom Brady will get that call ALMOST every time

 

Out of control wages for players & coaches , who pays for this ??? GUESS WHO

 

NFL Sports writers that write & publish absolute garbage during the off season, none of it is true.

 

The way to early MOCK DRAFT, The just in time guide to free agency

 

Some players need to get banned from the league after 3 serious offenses but they come back over and over, Oh look her comes Antonio Brown AGAIN !

 

$40 to park your car and $60 to buy 4 draft beers ???

 

Blackmailing a team to build a new stadium that does not have enough Corporate boxes.  YOU BETTER BUILD A NEW STADIUM ...NOW!

 

Phony interviews by coaches

 

Teams that Tank

 

Owners that Cheat

 

I could go on and on but YES, I am losing interest

 

The Bills win a SUPERBOWL, SEE YA HAVE A NICE LIFE

 

It's not that I don't agree with most of this, but it doesn't stop me from loving to watch football!

 

I don't go to many games live anymore. When the Bills played the Raiders in the 1990 AFC Championship, my high school best friend and I bought nosebleeds for like 25 dollars and went! I hate that it's all about the luxury boxes now.

 

But the whole US/global culture has gone that way. I don't see it as NFL specific. 

 

NFL football, for me, feels like one of the main continuties between my life now in my forties and my life as a kid in the late eighties, when I started watching the Bills.

 

 

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

On 2/15/2022 at 6:34 AM, HOUSE said:

I wrote this long thread naming over 30 reasons why I am losing interest in the NFL but I deleted the entire non coherent mess because the issues are all to obvious.

 

Should we find out that an NFL owner truly attempted to pay a coach to lose then all credibility is lost. IMO

 

Are you losing interest and what are your issues with the NFL ?

 

Rants are welcome here...

 

While I disagree with a lot of things the NFL has done lately, I am not losing interest at all.

 

[Steve O]

Not exactly losing interest as much as shifting my interest from the NFL to the USFL...

[Dopey]

NO!

[cba fan]

No.

On 2/15/2022 at 7:34 AM, HOUSE said:

I wrote this long thread naming over 30 reasons why I am losing interest in the NFL but I deleted the entire non coherent mess because the issues are all to obvious.

 

Should we find out that an NFL owner truly attempted to pay a coach to lose then all credibility is lost. IMO

 

Are you losing interest and what are your issues with the NFL ?

 

Rants are welcome here...

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

everyone knows in some situations teams prefer to tank for draft positioning on last half of season when playoffs are not possible. Draft position is more important in NFL so Ross revelations should not surprise anyone.

 

bad NBA teams have been tanking for decades now.

 

who cares, when teams get better than no tanking happens.

[without a drought]

Yes, I can't even remember what NFL stands for.

 

Besides it would be unusual to actually have an increase in interest in the NFL on February 16th.

[sherpa]

Yes.

Tired of looking for the flag indication on every decent play.

Tired of having the sport so determined by injuries.

Tired of having player demonstrations at the end of normal plays.

Getting tired of players basically saying "I won't play here anymore."

[frostbitmic]

I loved this years Super Bowl ... mostly because it was only the 2nd SB in the last 6 that I've watched. When Pete Carroll decided to throw an INT into the end zone instead of having Beast Mode run it in from the one I vowed to never watch another brady bowl.

 

The officiating is for the most part both abysmal and laughable

They keep making changes to a product that isn't broken, STOP !!!

Overtime is a joke, play another period like they used to do. (that might keep teams from playing for a tie)

 

Yet here I am on a Buffalo Bills website ******* and moaning ... Guess I haven't lost all interest yet.

[Rico]

Interest? No, especially with the Bills being good.

 

Respect? Losing more and more with each passing year.

[mjd1001]

I am losing interest in pretty much all sports.  I haven't "lost" it, but am losing it slowly.

 

-I watch less and less of the games. I more 'follow' what is going on through reading articles and fan discussions like this. 15 years ago I would not have missed one second of any game, today though, if something better comes up I can even miss a Bills game and watch it later or just read about it.

 

-The main reason? I'm not 100% sure, but a lot of it has to do with when I do watch a game, I don't see much that I haven't seen before.  A run where a back makes people miss 3-4 tackles? Seen it. A come from behind victory? seen it.  A 50+ yard game winning field goal? Seen it many times.  One handed catches, strip sacks, pick sixes at critical times?  Sure those are all exciting in the course of a game, but I have seen so many they aren't really new.

 

-The process of watching the game.  We all know this but kickoff or punt..commercials...change of possession...commercials...etc, etc.  I read a study before that someone did that in an average NFL tame that you watch for 3-3.5 hours, there is about 10-12 minutes of actual action on the field.  Take out the 'boring' plays (incomplete passes, runs for less than 2 yards, punts that are fair caught) and you are down to about 6-7 minutes.  I can spend 1.5-2 hours watching a movie..that was scripted and its whole purpose was to be enjoyable and get a lot more entertainment out of it.

 

-Finally, the end game. What do we all want? Our team to win (the Bills). But I'm tired going through everything that goes with that, investing time and money and watching every Sunday..to get to something that has never happened yet..and something that has a 1/32nd chance of happening....or even in the absolute best of years with the best Bills team...maybe 1 in 5 or 1 in 6?

 

I do not see myself leaving this forum (or the Sabres forum), or getting to the point where I skip watching every single game. I am still a fan, but I'm probably 25% of the fan now that I used to be.  On the other hand, I thought I would never give up baseball...when I was a kid or in my 20's I'd watch 150 of 162 games of the Yankees or Blue Jays...and I even remember in middle school I would supposed to be in bed and sneak a tiny AM radio under my covers to listen to the late night west coast games.  But now, I haven't even watched a full 9 inning game in probably close to 10 years...so who knows.

[mjd1001]

On 2/15/2022 at 9:54 AM, Mr. WEO said:

no.

 

and fans who say they are "done with football", etc. are typically lying.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/13/super-bowl-2022-nfl-politics-pop-culture-analysis-00008309

For a lot of us we aren't 'done with football' because of one or two specific events. 

 

Remember this topic isn't who is 'done with football" it is who is 'losing interest'.

 

there is a HUGE difference between 'losing interest' but still having some level of it..and being 'done with something'.  I'm not quite sure why you are bringing up the 'done with football' when that isn't what this topic is about.

[SinceThe70s]

Not losing interest in the NFL. If I'm sitting in front of a TV with control of the remote and there's an NFL game on chances are I am watching.

 

When my eldest moved up to High School I started going to the home football  games - and now I look forward to them. Now he's a freshman at a marginally competitive Big 10 school and I'm paying more attention to college football. 

 

I enjoy all three levels for what they are but the NFL has the elite talent and better competitive balance.

 

Getting past the rainbows and unicorns @sherpa touched on one of my big pet peeves: "Tired of looking for the flag indication on every decent play."  The way we watch games and the way they are announced these days revolves around instant replay, poor officiating, ambiguous rules and an over-whelming need for every outcome to be perfect/correct - even though nobody can agree on what constitutes perfect/correct. It's an exercise in futility and negatively impacts my game day viewing.  I blame instant replay the most. But I still can't wait for next season to start.