Are you losing interest in the NFL ?

[LeGOATski]

1 minute ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I haven't lost interest but I take Bills losses, even bad losses better.  I'll think about it after but go about my day like normal.

I didn't watch any of Conference Championships games because I was still feeling the loss in the divisional round.  
I'm glad that Ozarks just came out, along with Kobra Cai and Narcos in the last 2 months.  That got me through.

Yep. It's so nice to have confidence in the team and this staff's ability to build a consistent winner. We're finally able to watch a playoff caliber team every year.

 

When you have that hope, the losses are more palpable (unless you're a troubled person).

[Royale with Cheese]

43 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Yep. It's so nice to have confidence in the team and this staff's ability to build a consistent winner. We're finally able to watch a playoff caliber team every year.

 

When you have that hope, the losses are more palpable (unless you're a troubled person).

 

I feel better about this team than I ever had.  Mainly because I think Allen can still grow and get better.  

[jkeerie]

I haven't lost interest, although I was totally uninterested in this Superbowl.  Admittedly, I did not want to see the Chiefs, but I could not root for the Bengals because of the cockiness of Burrow.  I was largely unimpressed with the game, except for the defense of the Rams, aka Aaron Donald.  The man took over that game and willed his team to win.  He likely should have been the MVP.

 

I think I grew disenchanted with the Bills because of how the defense flamed out in that Chiefs game.   We can only hope that the coaches learned from the error of their ways, but we have to wait until next season to see if they did.  

 

Hoping to see some Beane magic to create the cap space we need as well as who he's targeting in the draft.

[quinnearlysghost88]

They’re definitely putting entertainment over competition. This was going to happen. The NFL wants to grow rapidly and the path to that growth is making the actual game just a piece of the puzzle. More player interviews, mic’d up segments, talking heads arguing on every station, podcasts, legalized gambling, prime time matchups, YouTube channels breaking down plays, players on social media, teams social media accounts/video production, extended coverage on releasing schedules. It’s an ecosystem of entertainment. It’s only going to continue to grow outside the boundaries of the actual game. As long as views, clicks, likes, jersey sales, ad revenue is up, they’re going to continue to back burner the actual game. 

[Old Coot]

For those disenchanted with the NFL there is always professional pillow fighting:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIxAzjNNLSA

[The Frankish Reich]

No.

1. The NFL has never been a better product in terms of sheer entertainment value. The playoffs and Super Bowl this year proved it. Close games, incredible individual athleticism, interesting matchups of team strategies. 

2. The NFL continues to dominate the full U.S. calendar year. Here we go in the "offseason" - free agency, the draft, etc., etc.

3. Competing sports are waning. College basketball and MLB spring training should own March-April; one is a shell of its former self, the other won't even happen this year (and is increasingly becoming a niche spectator sport, albeit a big niche). It's not until NBA playoffs come that there's real competition for the attention of sports fans (NHL too, but that has always been more of a niche)

 

Amazingly the NFL weathered COVID (including fanless games) and all sorts of other issues to emerge stronger than ever. I might not like how they do certain things, but I gotta hand it to them ... big picture, they sure as hell know what they're doing.

[In Summary]

I continue to lose interest in the NFL, but not necessarily in the actual game of football.  The NFL and the media that covers it has become more and more about everything but the game.  Hot takes, concussions, politics, who said what on twitter, activism, etc.  I watch sports to get away from these things but that's increasingly difficult.  The WGR/Bills radio does do a pretty good job of sticking to football compared to the national feed IMO.

 

 

[Greg S]

1 minute ago, The Frankish Reich said:

No.

1. The NFL has never been a better product in terms of sheer entertainment value. The playoffs and Super Bowl this year proved it. Close games, incredible individual athleticism, interesting matchups of team strategies. 

2. The NFL continues to dominate the full U.S. calendar year. Here we go in the "offseason" - free agency, the draft, etc., etc.

3. Competing sports are waning. College basketball and MLB spring training should own March-April; one is a shell of its former self, the other won't even happen this year (and is increasingly becoming a niche spectator sport, albeit a big niche). It's not until NBA playoffs come that there's real competition for the attention of sports fans (NHL too, but that has always been more of a niche)

 

Amazingly the NFL weathered COVID (including fanless games) and all sorts of other issues to emerge stronger than ever. I might not like how they do certain things, but I gotta hand it to them ... big picture, they sure as hell know what they're doing.

 

It will be interesting to see how the USFL does this spring especially if there is no baseball. It will never get to the level of the NFL or CFB but maybe it draws enough interest to where we get football each spring. At the very least it would provide a nice football fix until the NFL starts up again.

[The Frankish Reich]

1 minute ago, Greg S said:

 

It will be interesting to see how the USFL does this spring especially if there is no baseball. It will never get to the level of the NFL or CFB but maybe it draws enough interest to where we get football each spring. At the very least it would provide a nice football fix until the NFL starts up again.

I'd be more interested if NFL teams were involved, lending players to the spring league like we see with 2-way NBA contracts or MLB affiliate contracts. Will I watch a minor league football game this spring without some kind of Bills connection? No. Would I watch if (assume a slightly different world here) Jake Fromm was starting for the Jr. Bills, handing off to Christian Wade? Yeah. Well, at least for a little while.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

I'm convinced this is either a cleverly disguised "dome" or "am I getting old or is it just everything" thread.

 

 

[Mat68]

Lol.  2 days after the Superbowl.  Talking about how they dont like football anymore, on a football teams message board.  They played Rap welcome to 1990……. NFL has never been better.  The Bills have never been better.  Allen, Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert and Jackson have the game in good hands for years to come.

[TheFunPolice]

Not at all, still love it!

 

In fact, now that Brady isn't ruining every other super Bowl, it's a lot more fun for me. 

 

People say the Bills being in the SB would be stressful, but I don't see it that way. To me, that's fun. Rooting for your team is enjoyable and positive.

 

With Brady and his time with the Patriots especially, it was just negative: wanting someone to lose, which is nowhere near as fun. 

[LABILLBACKER]

5 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’m not losing interest but the Thursday night games are a bit too much. I prefer Sunday and Monday night…and that’s it. 

Well then you're going to hate Wednesday night football which is being discussed. 

[TheFunPolice]

6 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Well then you're going to hate Wednesday night football which is being discussed. 

 

Not really? That is a terrible idea!

[Buftex]

29 minutes ago, quinnearlysghost88 said:

They’re definitely putting entertainment over competition. This was going to happen. The NFL wants to grow rapidly and the path to that growth is making the actual game just a piece of the puzzle. More player interviews, mic’d up segments, talking heads arguing on every station, podcasts, legalized gambling, prime time matchups, YouTube channels breaking down plays, players on social media, teams social media accounts/video production, extended coverage on releasing schedules. It’s an ecosystem of entertainment. It’s only going to continue to grow outside the boundaries of the actual game. As long as views, clicks, likes, jersey sales, ad revenue is up, they’re going to continue to back burner the actual game. 

I am not opposed to gambling, I have bet on a few sports in my day, and I love playing Fantasy Football (which basically keeps me in touch with teams other than the Bills), but I have to say, the NFL embracing gambling is something that could turn me off from watching non-Bills games altogether.  As an avid Fantasy Football player, I hate the constant barrage of fantasy football stats...and I really hate that sports talk radio en masse,  is basically transforming itself into one of those degenerate gamblers shows you would normally here early Saturday or Sunday morning.  I do think it has the potential to turn a lot of people off.

[Malazan]

1 minute ago, TheFunPolice said:

Not really? That is a terrible idea!

 

I'm curious if you think someone offering to back up drumptrucks full of money to your house is a bad idea too? I think the NFL would be ok with football 5-6 days a week. 

[SoCal Deek]

10 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Well then you're going to hate Wednesday night football which is being discussed. 

Yep…I’d hate that 

I’ve always said they should align Thursday with teams bye weeks 

[TheFunPolice]

1 minute ago, Malazan said:

 

I'm curious if you think someone offering to back up drumptrucks full of money to your house is a bad idea too? I think the NFL would be ok with football 5-6 days a week. 

 

I think a big part of the NFL's popularity is that most games are on Sundays. It allows for things like fantasy football, Sunday Ticket, Red Zone, etc. to dreally thrive because it OWNS the day and you've got fans glued to the action all day long. 

 

The more you dilute that the more it get spread out. Suddenly Sunday Ticket and Red Zone (both of which make the NFL big $$) are less meaningful because a good number of that week's games are on national TV anyway. 

 

Other sports can play all nights of the week because there are a gazillion games each season. NFL teams only play 17 games, so it's tougher to spread out without Sundays feeling light. 

[Greg S]

12 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Well then you're going to hate Wednesday night football which is being discussed. 

 

I can't see the players going for that. They already hate playing on Thursdays. I get it that the league doesn't care but that is an extremely short week from Sunday to Wednesday. On the top on the injuries playing games in such a short time span, is that really enough time for coaches to game plan, practice etc etc etc

[CaptnCoke11]

I’m still a huge Bills fan but i have to admit the rules, officials and some other things have lessened my interest to a degree