The NFL product as a whole- where do you rank it?

[Gordio]

Could not agree more with alot of your responses. I have stated several times I really like the college game alot better. As far as the gambling, I totally agree. The NFL is the monster it is because it is the most accessible sport to gamble. You got fantasy football, football squares, casual fans betting on games. I like to gamble. With thta being said anybody that tells you the beat the book consistently is full of sh*t. They are going to get you eventually. Since I have been married(8yrs ago) I ump alot of softball in the summer & use that for my gambling fund. I usually make about $2,500 each summer doing that. For 8yrs I have been doing this only twice at the end of the gambling season(usually the end of the NCAA tournament for me - I love betting college basketball) have I come away with more then the $2,500 or so I started with. I could not watch the NFL(except for the bills & few high marquee games)without putting money on the games, so I totally understand where you are coming from there.

 

As far as the seat licenses I totally agree. Got alot of clients in NYC & they have the same stories. The one guy I know his dad has been a season ticket holder for the jets all the way back when Namath was qb & they played at Shea Stadium. He has been going with him for 40yrs now. They got the same letter $48K I think he said for personal seat licenses. He says him or his dad can not afford that. If they want to get tickets they are going to have to be relocated to the nose bleeds. That is just a shame. The NFL is pricing the average fan right out of the stadium & your seeing less & less college type atmospheres at these games as a result. If the bills ever got good, they would be one of the few teams that would still have that college football atmosphere because the average middle class working man could still afford seats at teh Ralph lower bowl between the 20s. If the bills ever move I am done with the NFL. Will not bet it, will not get NFL ticket, will not spend one more dime that has anything to do with the sport. It is not that great of entertainment now as it is.

[DC Tom]

3. Somewhere along the line, picking up 23 yards and getting 2 first downs, then throwing the ball out of bounds on 3rd down and punting it away started to qualify as good quarterbacking. I don't know if it's because I learned my football in the 1980's and 90's (I'm 31 years old) and grew up with Kelly, Marino, Elway, Montana, Fouts, Favre, Young...And those are just the all-time greats...Even the "so-so's" were solid...Kosar, Moon, Cunningham, Everett, Aikman, and guys like that. I could be completely wrong, but it never seemed like there were as many Kyle Bollers, Trent Edwards, Alex Smiths, JaMarcus Russells out there, where a completed 12-yard pass is a miracle from the heavens. The "game management" theory became all the rage in 2001 with everyone's favorite Super Bowl champion analyst, Trent "54% completions" Dilfer. What Jeff Hostetler proved in 1991 all the sudden rang louder in 2001...You don't need a league MVP at quarterback to win the Super Bowl...So everyone tried the concept. I also realize that defensive schemes and blitzing have gotten much more complicated and made QB a more difficult position to play, but the rules have also changed to help the QB's and WR's. I don't know...It just seems to me that 80% of the league plays the "conservative, don't turn it over, throw it away, lets try to win 17-13" game. Granted, if it's the Bills, I'm on the edge of my seat. If it's Panthers-Rams, SNOOZE!

 

A big reason for that is that sometime around the mid-80s, the college and pro styles of play started to diverge. Used to be that college ball prepared a quarterback for the NFL...nowadays, not so much, so you effectively have rookies coming in with no experience running a "pro" offense, whereas 25 years ago they got maybe two at a good college program. (It's also why QBs now take four or five years of development instead of two - Brees is an excellent example).

 

 

One thing I think you missed in your post that's killing the game for me is the officiating. Not the quality of it so much as the increasing weight of nitpicky and arcane rules designed to increase the accuracy of calls but which instead seem to have the opposite effect and slow down the game (and are occasionally just silly - as I've said before, half of Bruce Smith's sacks would be roughing the passer penalties today. Let's just wrap the QBs in bubble-wrap already). To me, the game's gradually becoming less about athletic performance and more about satisfying a set of arbitrary and overly precise rules that determine whether athletic performance is valid or not.

[Gordio]

I think the reason QB play has fallen off isn't because there has been a decline in the play of the top QB's but rather because there are 32 teams in the league and instead of having 22 QB's with 8 being good 5 being OK and 9 being bad you have 8 or 9 good QB's 8 ok QB's and 15 bad QB's. Its hard to find QB's when 32 teams all need one so even getting one of the OK QB's gives you an advantage.

 

I think the NFL has gone into a very nerf league where you have 5-6 good teams who are a cut above 5-6 teams who are at the bottom and 20 teams who have 8-8 talent and count on 3 things to determine the season 1- injuries 2- in game luck 3- unexpected production (Obviously 1 and 2 are more important). So you have a very unpredictable league that has ton's of upsets and teams have quick turnarounds (Bengals) and quick downturns (Titans).

 

I like the on field product but think 2 big things need to change. 1- Roughing the passer should have an incidental contact penalty (5 yards and replay down no automatic first) much like the old face mask rule or running into the kicker as apposed to roughing the kicker. 2- There needs to be a change to the OT rule just give each team one offensive possession you shouldn't be rewarding field goals.

 

Off-Field there needs to be a rookie salary structure its just ridiculous that a guy who never played a snap can walk in and get outrageously more than a guy who has been busting his ass for years. Another thing they should do is keep the salary cap it does provide for competitive balance but the league does need to address these super stadiums (Like the Cowboys and Giants/Jets stadium) that are pricing out the fans.

 

If you think about it, that is how it used to be when the bills made their superbowl run. There would be 4-5 teams that were a couple notches ahead of everybody, 10 or so teams that were decent & then rest were pretty bad teams. Alot of bills fans did not notice it or care because the Bills were always one of the 4-5 elite teams in the league.

[LongLiveRalph]

I definitely see where you're coming from, especially re: commercial breaks and the league taking itself too seriously. Like another poster in this thread stated, personalities like Rex Ryan, even though he's a rival coach, make the league more fun. Candor and emotion make the league more entertaining, not less, and I think Goodell needs to understand that. As for commercials, the amount and frequency is irritating, no doubt, and I don't think that will ever change, since that's where the $$'s coming from.

 

Overall, though, I guess it's just a matter of opinion, and I wholly respect yours but just disagree. Football is the most entertaining sport, for me, and the NFL is a superior product to college because the quality of players and competition is more advanced and I thus find it more entertaining. Obviously, the NFL has its flaws, as I reiterate my surprise at the amount of people in this thread that are really dissatisfied, but I just disagree. It's got its warts, but I love it- I look forward to it when its over and I look forward to every single Sunday from September to January.

 

Definitely opinion, and likewise I respect yours! You are not alone, obviously the majority of the country is captivated by the league. Go to any bar on a Sunday in October and you can't find a seat...Go on Sunday in May and you've got the place to yourself...

 

My friend who I watch the games with is a Giants fan, and obviously he is enjoying it. And he still bets games, so he has an interest in watching a Bears-Titans game, where I wouldn't.

 

I still enjoy the NFL, don't get me wrong...I've just been noticing more and more the little things about the actual 60-minute game that make it hard to watch. But my real concern is the overall trend of the league's direction. If a trade worker making $54,000 a year is priced out of a football game, it's just plain WRONG.

[LongLiveRalph]

As far as the seat licenses I totally agree. Got alot of clients in NYC & they have the same stories. The one guy I know his dad has been a season ticket holder for the jets all the way back when Namath was qb & they played at Shea Stadium. He has been going with him for 40yrs now. They got the same letter $48K I think he said for personal seat licenses. He says him or his dad can not afford that. If they want to get tickets they are going to have to be relocated to the nose bleeds. That is just a shame. The NFL is pricing the average fan right out of the stadium & your seeing less & less college type atmospheres at these games as a result. If the bills ever got good, they would be one of the few teams that would still have that college football atmosphere because the average middle class working man could still afford seats at teh Ralph lower bowl between the 20s. If the bills ever move I am done with the NFL. Will not bet it, will not get NFL ticket, will not spend one more dime that has anything to do with the sport. It is not that great of entertainment now as it is.

 

The seat licenses are a joke! And just think, this is the New York JETS!!! These are people who have had season tickets for 30+ years to watch an absolute JOKE franchise. They are Joe Namath 1969 and not much else. There have been decades of bad football (mostly VERY bad football) since then, with a few Chad Pennington playoff games sprinkled in here or there. And now, you reward those fans who have stuck with your shiittttay team for all these years, and you say, "Thanks for the support, please give us $300K and then we will allow you to pay $2500 each for your tickets. Or, you can relocate to section 436, row T, and we'll give you a comparable price." That's how you repay loyalty?

 

Has anyone read up on the case the NFL has before the Supreme Court? This is very scary...

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/131916

 

Quick summary:

 

In 2004, American Needle Manufacturing filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, because the NFL signed with Reebok (I believe) to be the sole producer of NFL-licensed apparell. Obviously, as a small company, this blew American Needle's main source of revenue for hats and t-shirts.

 

The NFL won the decision in court, VERY easily, and won an appeal very easily. American Needle then requested that the Supreme Court review the case. The NFL actually agreed that the Supreme Court should review, and also tacked ON TOP of American Needle's appeal, a request for the Supreme Court to rule that the NFL is "one single-entity competing against other forms of entertainment, not 32 separate entities competing against each other." Basically, if the Supreme Court rules in the league's favor, any future anti-trust cases will be impossible to win against the league, which could have a major impact on all pro sports. They will essentially be able to have strong-arm control of everything pertaining to their league, without consequence.

 

I attached the Sports Business Daily article because they also include a counterpoint at the bottom, that the whole thing may not be such a big deal and is blown out of proportion. You decide.

 

This summary is probably better, from a legal website with "Five Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Term:

 

American Needle v. National Football League At issue: Whether sporting leagues should be exempt from antitrust regulations.

 

Experts say American Needle may turn out to be the most important legal decision in sporting history. The sportswear manufacturer contracted with NFL teams to produce hats and headgear with official team logos. But the NFL decided to give an exclusive leaguewide license to Reebok in 2000, leading American Needle to sue, claiming the NFL’s action violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by limiting the market for who could produce team-branded merchandise.

 

The fundamental question for the court to decide is whether the NFL should be considered a single entity or a collection of 32 individual businesses. The answer to this question has repercussions beyond the production of licensed merchandise. If the NFL is considered a single entity, it would largely be exempt from antitrust laws, giving the league not only continued right to grant exclusive licenses for team apparel but also the ability to make decisions on a leaguewide basis. This opens the door to the NFL — rather than individual teams — determining things like ticket prices and player salaries. Indeed, the bargaining power of the NFL Players Union is based on antitrust legislation that the league would largely be immune to if it receives a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court. Other sporting leagues are watching the American Needle case closely; many have filed briefs in favor of the NFL’s position.

[Red]

Current economy notwithstanding, I think the NFL is the premier sport league in the world (sorry Soccer fans- we have the real football). The rags-to-riches story is truly an American story. It's an incredibly violent sport (read: anchient gladiatorial games, the failing health, nagging injuries, and shortened life expectancy of NFL players once retired), forthwith the public willingly gobbles it up and demands more.

We're addicted. And the NFL has done a great job controlling the message. The network deals, the merchandise sales, the television ratings for the annual NFL draft, all echo this addiction.

I truly hope that we don't experience a work stoppage any time soon. I hope the two players in the upcoming labor dispute between players and owners is resolved prior to '11.

But I believe that the NFL is truly the premier league in the world of sport.

[Red]

The seat licenses are a joke! And just think, this is the New York JETS!!! These are people who have had season tickets for 30+ years to watch an absolute JOKE franchise. They are Joe Namath 1969 and not much else. There have been decades of bad football (mostly VERY bad football) since then, with a few Chad Pennington playoff games sprinkled in here or there. And now, you reward those fans who have stuck with your shiittttay team for all these years, and you say, "Thanks for the support, please give us $300K and then we will allow you to pay $2500 each for your tickets. Or, you can relocate to section 436, row T, and we'll give you a comparable price." That's how you repay loyalty?

 

Has anyone read up on the case the NFL has before the Supreme Court? This is very scary...

 

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/131916

 

Quick summary:

 

In 2004, American Needle Manufacturing filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, because the NFL signed with Reebok (I believe) to be the sole producer of NFL-licensed apparell. Obviously, as a small company, this blew American Needle's main source of revenue for hats and t-shirts.

 

The NFL won the decision in court, VERY easily, and won an appeal very easily. American Needle then requested that the Supreme Court review the case. The NFL actually agreed that the Supreme Court should review, and also tacked ON TOP of American Needle's appeal, a request for the Supreme Court to rule that the NFL is "one single-entity competing against other forms of entertainment, not 32 separate entities competing against each other." Basically, if the Supreme Court rules in the league's favor, any future anti-trust cases will be impossible to win against the league, which could have a major impact on all pro sports. They will essentially be able to have strong-arm control of everything pertaining to their league, without consequence.

 

I attached the Sports Business Daily article because they also include a counterpoint at the bottom, that the whole thing may not be such a big deal and is blown out of proportion. You decide.

 

This summary is probably better, from a legal website with "Five Supreme Court Cases to Watch This Term:

 

American Needle v. National Football League At issue: Whether sporting leagues should be exempt from antitrust regulations.

 

Experts say American Needle may turn out to be the most important legal decision in sporting history. The sportswear manufacturer contracted with NFL teams to produce hats and headgear with official team logos. But the NFL decided to give an exclusive leaguewide license to Reebok in 2000, leading American Needle to sue, claiming the NFL’s action violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by limiting the market for who could produce team-branded merchandise.

 

The fundamental question for the court to decide is whether the NFL should be considered a single entity or a collection of 32 individual businesses. The answer to this question has repercussions beyond the production of licensed merchandise. If the NFL is considered a single entity, it would largely be exempt from antitrust laws, giving the league not only continued right to grant exclusive licenses for team apparel but also the ability to make decisions on a leaguewide basis. This opens the door to the NFL — rather than individual teams — determining things like ticket prices and player salaries. Indeed, the bargaining power of the NFL Players Union is based on antitrust legislation that the league would largely be immune to if it receives a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court. Other sporting leagues are watching the American Needle case closely; many have filed briefs in favor of the NFL’s position.

 

VEry interesting, indeed!

[BuffOrange]

Nothing like a post full of 30 and 40 year olds pining for the good old days.

 

Of course the good old days meant an entire season with only two watchable games, the 49ers and Cowboys regular season tilt and the NFC championship game. Anybody who say otherwise simply has bad memory.

 

I defy anyone to watch the next "classic" game on the NFL network from say 15 years ago and then come back to this post and say the football was better.

 

The product is faster, more violent and is played by more athletic players then ever before.

 

I agree commercials are a problem but what do you think drives the boat?

 

I am 29 - that's kinda where I'm coming from too. The middle of the pack QB's are definitely better today imo. There are always going to be crappy ones like Jamarcus Russel, but 15 years from now, everyone will have forgotten about them just as Todd Marenavich has been forgotten.

[SoulMan]

Product: Declining

 

Prognosis: More than 1 capless season will destroy the league as it has baseball.

[PromoTheRobot]

It's hard to keep my interest when I know the Bills are already eliminated. If the Bills ever left Buffalo the NFL would cease to exist to me.

 

PTR

[Tcali]

These are tough times to be a Bills fan, no doubt. However, I'm looking for your opinion on the product of NFL football taken as a league. We always hear how "It's the true national pasttime," "the most powerful sport of all time," etc. etc.

 

I am in the camp that the product is on a slow decline, AS A WHOLE. Here is a brief timeline of my recent football-related experiences, which influence my reasoning:

 

1. I moved from Buffalo to Florida in 2006. I am still a Bills season ticket holder, however I watch most of the games each Sunday at a friend's house on the DirecTV ticket. This was downfall #1 for me. My friend would set up 3 TV's in his living room, and we would watch a bunch of games (he's a NYG fan) with the Bills and Giants usually on two of the TV's. The other TV would show a game that was the "marquee matchup" or a game that we had bet on. I was appalled by the lack of action, and the amount of time that all three games were at commercial at the same time. It was less and less enjoyable as the weeks went on.

 

2. I stopped betting before last season (2008). I had a down year in 2006, then a bad year in 2007, I lost about $2200 overall on pro and college football in '07 (I never bet any other TV sports.) Anyways, I just decided that it was a waste, I wasn't really enjoying watching the games (maybe because I was losing more than winning had something to do with not enjoying it) so in fall of 2008 I booked a fishing trip to Cabo for $1800 and said "There goes the gambling fund." That trip was a BLAST and I haven't made a bet since. However, at the same time, it has made it VERY difficult to even consider watching a Arizona-Houston 4pm game.

 

3. Somewhere along the line, picking up 23 yards and getting 2 first downs, then throwing the ball out of bounds on 3rd down and punting it away started to qualify as good quarterbacking. I don't know if it's because I learned my football in the 1980's and 90's (I'm 31 years old) and grew up with Kelly, Marino, Elway, Montana, Fouts, Favre, Young...And those are just the all-time greats...Even the "so-so's" were solid...Kosar, Moon, Cunningham, Everett, Aikman, and guys like that. I could be completely wrong, but it never seemed like there were as many Kyle Bollers, Trent Edwards, Alex Smiths, JaMarcus Russells out there, where a completed 12-yard pass is a miracle from the heavens. The "game management" theory became all the rage in 2001 with everyone's favorite Super Bowl champion analyst, Trent "54% completions" Dilfer. What Jeff Hostetler proved in 1991 all the sudden rang louder in 2001...You don't need a league MVP at quarterback to win the Super Bowl...So everyone tried the concept. I also realize that defensive schemes and blitzing have gotten much more complicated and made QB a more difficult position to play, but the rules have also changed to help the QB's and WR's. I don't know...It just seems to me that 80% of the league plays the "conservative, don't turn it over, throw it away, lets try to win 17-13" game. Granted, if it's the Bills, I'm on the edge of my seat. If it's Panthers-Rams, SNOOZE!

 

4. The oversaturation of coverage. ESPN is great and horrible all at once. I won't bash them here, I just simply change the channel. But everything HAS to be rapid reaction. Best game ever? Biggest choke ever? Best pass ever? Are the Chiefs done? Are the Broncos the AFC favorite? And on and on. 24/7. On ESPN, and ten other channels. And all over the radio. It's too much and it wears me out.

 

5. Rookie salaries for top-10 picks. They make more guaranteed money signing their name than Bruce Smith made in his whole career. I have a feeling this is going to change though, thankfully.

 

6. The new stadiums are great. The seat licenses are disgusting and will ruin the game. It's my opinion, but that's how I feel. Quick story- my friend was at the Jets-Pats game in week 2, his brother won bidding on some tickets at a charity auction. They were 45-yard line, about row 20. They had four seats, and they were right next to a man and a woman. The man and woman actually had 6 season tickets, they put up 4 of them for the charity auction, and kept 2 for themselves. So my friend was chatting with them. They have been Jets season ticket holders for 30+ years, and have upgraded when possible, to basically where they are now, some of the best seats in the house. When the Jets move to their new stadium next year, in order to keep their 6 season tickets at that location (45-yard line row 20) they would've had to pay $293,000 for seat licenses. That's right, $48,000 per seat, AND THAT'S JUST FOR THE RIGHT TO THEN PAY FULL PRICE FOR YOUR 10 GAMES!! Frankly, that makes me sick to my stomach.

 

7. One home game in Toronto. I understand it, but I HATE it. Not right. And it all stems from the NFL being a corporation and a bottom line, rather than a sport for the fans. Like I said, I understand. I just don't like it.

 

Those are my off-the-cuff reasons. I've really found in the last three years or so that I'm enjoying the games less and less. Obviously, the struggles of the Bills drag me down. But still, I've ALWAYS been a fan of the game, and would watch three on Sunday and one on Monday. Now, not even close. The announcers annoy me. The commercials annoy me. The weak strategies, coaches, and games annoy me. And more than ever, the off-the-field stuff regarding revenues, salary caps, seat licenses, etc. etc. are making me wonder about this game. The league really needs to watch out if they do go into a lockout.

 

The league is quickly becoming a corporate TV show rather than a sport, and I for one don't think the NFL is the all-powerful and all-knowing league. I didn't watch one second of football last weekend and it was, without a doubt, a much more enjoyable Sunday than sitting on a couch watching commercials and Chris Berman's verbal expectorations.

 

If you read my ramblings this far, I'm interested in how you view the NFL as a product.

hey enjoyed your post...Agree with most of it altho I think we'd feel better about the league if the Bills weren't so ghastly

[billsfan89]

If you think about it, that is how it used to be when the bills made their superbowl run. There would be 4-5 teams that were a couple notches ahead of everybody, 10 or so teams that were decent & then rest were pretty bad teams. Alot of bills fans did not notice it or care because the Bills were always one of the 4-5 elite teams in the league.

 

I agree but its weird because the reasons for a Nerf league with very few elite teams are totally different. In the 60's 70's 80's and early 90's you had a few teams who built up their teams and had long 10-12 year runs so it was hard for teams to challenge the top 5-6 teams because there were dynasties that were so good for so long.

 

Now you have only 5-6 elite teams because teams build themselves up quickly and they fall apart so quickly. In the early part of this decade (1999-2002) you had the Raiders, Rams, and Bucs were all dominate teams who contended for and won Super Bowls but now they are all terrible. I mean you spend 2-4 seasons building a team they have a 3-4 year run and than you go back to rebuilding.

 

This constant reshuffling of teams makes it so that you have a bunch of mid level teams competing against a handful of teams that are just a cut above them. Its a Nerf league with a lot of mediocrity because of the expansion, salary cap, and revenue sharing. Back then you had less teams and less player movement which meant when you built a team that was good you could keep it together longer and have less competition.

[Force_Majeur]

extremely effective product - makes money hand over fist, replaced the national past time. What more do you need to measure by?

[LongLiveRalph]

extremely effective product - makes money hand over fist, replaced the national past time. What more do you need to measure by?

 

Kelly Clarkson albums make money...She's an American Idol...Do you want to listen to her music?

[LongLiveRalph]

I agree but its weird because the reasons for a Nerf league with very few elite teams are totally different. In the 60's 70's 80's and early 90's you had a few teams who built up their teams and had long 10-12 year runs so it was hard for teams to challenge the top 5-6 teams because there were dynasties that were so good for so long.

 

Now you have only 5-6 elite teams because teams build themselves up quickly and they fall apart so quickly. In the early part of this decade (1999-2002) you had the Raiders, Rams, and Bucs were all dominate teams who contended for and won Super Bowls but now they are all terrible. I mean you spend 2-4 seasons building a team they have a 3-4 year run and than you go back to rebuilding.

 

This constant reshuffling of teams makes it so that you have a bunch of mid level teams competing against a handful of teams that are just a cut above them. Its a Nerf league with a lot of mediocrity because of the expansion, salary cap, and revenue sharing. Back then you had less teams and less player movement which meant when you built a team that was good you could keep it together longer and have less competition.

 

Well summarized. The expansion is probably the reason for my disappointment with the quarterbacking...There's 6 or 7 more QB's in the league who are now starters who in 1988 would've been backups...

[Force_Majeur]

Kelly Clarkson albums make money...She's an American Idol...Do you want to listen to her music?

 

 

Good point. I guess what I'm saying makes more sense if you substitute "Kelly Clarkson" with "Sports League". In comparison to all other leagues, The NFL is in a class by itself.

[flomoe]

These are tough times to be a Bills fan, no doubt. However, I'm looking for your opinion on the product of NFL football taken as a league. We always hear how "It's the true national pasttime," "the most powerful sport of all time," etc. etc.

 

 

There are a hundred things to list on why I think the NFL is declining but the most recent and troublesome is the whole thing with Limbaugh. The issue crosses well over in the PPP category but the major problem I have with it is that the NFL is still in the United States.......Land of the FREE...Home of the Brave thing. When the commissioner and supposedly players come out with the disagreement of someone being part of an ownership group because of his political views appears to have the markings of decline all over it.

Regardless where anyone stands politically, the freedom in the NFL (and the US for that matter) appears to be dwindling. Couple that with the employees (and Union) demanding to make more than the owners and it won't be long before the league starts seeing a downward spiral.

[YellowLinesandArmadillos]

I think the game is declining... The rookie salary issue, the disconnect between salaries and people buying tickets... same is happening in the NBA. Too much advertising on TV. Ticket prices for games have gotten out of hand especially in large markets and some of the other things mentioned... the rules on hitting the quarterback, receiver, running backs out of bounds etc.

 

I do think the talent is good and when the game isn't interrupted it is fun to watch but eh, hockey seems to be a more fluid sport, less interruptions and just as hard hitting. The TV broadcasts have gotten better. You get a better sense of the skill level with the close ups and wider angle lenses being used and more cameras at the games and less out and out fighting.

 

Baseball has too long a season. Soccer has become intriguing too.

 

Still football has only declined so much... though at times it seems to border on the UFC and WWE with its highlight broadcasts.

[Hammered a Lot]

MY discovery of the awesomeness of NCAA Football has seriously deflated my interest in the NFL. If the Bills move I will have no problem turning the channel on the NFL forever.

I have slowly turned into a Huge NCAA Football fan. The NFL has turned boring to me. I also wish they would bring back Roller Derby.

[dave mcbride]

It's the same as it always was -- same combined number of wins and losses, same numbers for the rushing and passing leaders (well, same number for the passing leaders if you only go back to the early 80s), same numbers for the sack leaders, same number of really good teams and really bad teams, same draft (basically), same combination of good owners and crappy owners, same number of teams threatening to move, same number of mind-boggling injuries that worsen the quality of the game as the season goes on, same degree of labor strife and friction between owners, and same number of ads during games (they were around 3 hours then, and around 3 hours now). Anyone telling you different is simply misremembering ...