(12-16-2017, 09:21 PM)Antares Wrote: It's no secret, that the NFL is in trouble. Ratings are down, fewer people at the games. My assessment.

1) The kneelers. We have gazillionaire crybabies living in the greatest country in history, where they are treated like Gods, taking a knee for the flag that thousands died to defend. They can go to hell.

2) The zebras. They think they are the show. The constant flag fest makes some games unwatchable.

3) No drama. The same teams year in and year out are taking home the trophy. Boring.

4) The fans. When you go to a game, you are surrounded by nit wits. 30 and 40 year old men who handle their alcohol worse than a frat boy. I am embarrassed for them.

5) The players. Too many thugs acting thuggish.

6) The gouging and the greed.  Loyal fans are rewarded by the teams with price gouging. Nearly ten bucks for a beer and 100 or 200 bucks for tickets. While Roger brings in 50 million a year.

7) They are working against physics. The players are bigger, stronger, and faster than they have ever been. Leading to more violent impacts. The NFL does not know how to handle it. So they use their beloved yellow flag. Flags are being thrown for nothing more than hard hits. Fans hate this.

8) Other sports. Right now MLB is just an excellent game. This last post season was superb. Great stuff. No kneelers.

Ok, now that the slap-fighting is over, let me discuss.

1) Agree. It's impossible to ignore that this is having an impact.  Not on me, but I have a cousin who discussed his reasoning with me at Thanksgiving.  I don't agree, but it's his right to feel that way, certainly.

2) Agree.  NFL officiating is the worst.  I don't follow baseball or basketball, but the NHL gets it done right and professionally, the NFL could learn form them.

3) Disagree.  Dynasties are a constant in the NFL: Packers, Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys, Patriots, so that's nothing new.  As a Bengal fan the post-season is usually all about rooting for the team you hate the least, and watching them lose in the first round.

4) Strongly agree.  I don't drink, and I get a good reminder why every time I go to PBS.  People act like adolescents getting their first taste nd people are always getting hauled out by security.  

5) Agree, somewhat.  The antics are tiresome, especially the off-field ones, but the good guys always greatly outnumber the bad.

6) Agree.  You cant take a family to a game without spending hundreds of dollars.

7) Agree, though I might phrase it a bit differently.  The NFL has always sold the violence, there are massive numbers of VHS and DVDs committed to nothing but celebrating the violence of the game.  But, the science has caught up, so the NFL is caught trying to have its cake and eating it to, and it comes off as hypocritical.  Thursday night football while ignoring injuries is a prime example.  

8) Agree somewhat.  I think Bfine and some others nailed it:  the NFL is a victim of its on success.  There are too many ways to watch without having to go to the games, or even watch, if you will.

(12-16-2017, 09:27 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Happy trails.  We'll drop you a line when the NFL fits your requirements.

..

Sorry man, I just couldn't resist. I know that this isn't you, in particular on most occasions.

(12-16-2017, 10:58 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Sorry, rebel, you've been moved to the right forum  :andy:

I had a pretty good run. But it appears that I've been Sunsetted. 

(12-16-2017, 11:24 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Ok, now that the slap-fighting is over, let me discuss.

1) Agree. It's impossible to ignore that this is having an impact.  Not on me, but I have a cousin who discussed his reasoning with me at Thanksgiving.  I don't agree, but it's his right to feel that way, certainly.

2) Agree.  NFL officiating is the worst.  I don't follow baseball or basketball, but the NHL gets it done right and professionally, the NFL could learn form them.

3) Disagree.  Dynasties are a constant in the NFL: Packers, Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys, Patriots, so that's nothing new.  As a Bengal fan the post-season is usually all about rooting for the team you hate the least, and watching them lose in the first round.

4) Strongly agree.  I don't drink, and I get a good reminder why every time I go to PBS.  People act like adolescents getting their first taste nd people are always getting hauled out by security.  

5) Agree, somewhat.  The antics are tiresome, especially the off-field ones, but the good guys always greatly outnumber the bad.

6) Agree.  You cant take a family to a game without spending hundreds of dollars.

7) Agree, though I might phrase it a bit differently.  The NFL has always sold the violence, there are massive numbers of VHS and DVDs committed to nothing but celebrating the violence of the game.  But, the science has caught up, so the NFL is caught trying to have its cake and eating it to, and it comes off as hypocritical.  Thursday night football while ignoring injuries is a prime example.  

8) Agree somewhat.  I think Bfine and some others nailed it:  the NFL is a victim of its on success.  There are too many ways to watch without having to go to the games, or even watch, if you will.

Some things are fixable. Number seven is going to be tricky. Every year, bigger, stronger, faster. How do they manage this without damaging the spirit of game? It's worrisome.

(12-16-2017, 11:35 PM)Antares Wrote: Some things are fixable. Number seven is going to be tricky. Every year, bigger, stronger, faster. How do they manage this without damaging the spirit of game? It's worrisome.

Well, I heard a couple of talking heads on the radio speaking about the Thursday Night Game situation recently.  They had an active player in the interview, and bottom line that all three agreed on is;  If you want to have Thursday Night Games, you need to have two teams that are both coming off the bye.  That way both get the full 10 days to recover, before their next game.

(12-16-2017, 11:35 PM)Antares Wrote: Some things are fixable. Number seven is going to be tricky. Every year, bigger, stronger, faster. How do they manage this without damaging the spirit of game? It's worrisome.

The protective equipment of today is light years ahead of equipment from the '70s, and sports medicine has advanced at a frenetic pace, but people are evolving into bigger, stronger and faster creatures faster than the science of the other two can keep pace.  I wonder if football is headed for the same fate as boxing, with interest slowly dwindling until it's more or less a fringe sport?  I have loved this game for decades, so I can only hope some forward-thinking individuals are able to rectify these issues and keep the game as popular as it is.

(12-16-2017, 11:44 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: The protective equipment of today is light years ahead of equipment from the '70s, and sports medicine has advanced at a frenetic pace, but people are evolving into bigger, stronger and faster creatures faster than the science of the other two can keep pace.  I wonder if football is headed for the same fate as boxing, with interest slowly dwindling until it's more or less a fringe sport?  I have loved this game for decades, so I can only hope some forward-thinking individuals are able to rectify these issues and keep the game as popular as it is.

I always thought that it was ironic that in football we want to prevent concussions. Where in boxing/MMA the object is to cause concussions. 

(12-16-2017, 11:40 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Well, I heard a couple of talking heads on the radio speaking about the Thursday Night Game situation recently.  They had an active player in the interview, and bottom line that all three agreed on is;  If you want to have Thursday Night Games, you need to have two teams that are both coming off the bye.  That way both get the full 10 days to recover, before their next game.

Smart.

(12-16-2017, 10:10 PM)Antares Wrote: That's not going to happen. Nobody wants to see their sons, fathers, friends, teammates disabled in the name of entertainment. Brain damage and paralysis is not entertaining for most folks.

They've known the risks since they started playing at 6 years old.

(12-16-2017, 09:30 PM)Antares Wrote: It's just my opinion. You have no opinion? No clue why the NFL is tailing off? I'd love to hear your thoughts as to why this is happening. Ready Go!

Because everything that goes up has to come down?

At some point it will level off and then start its rise again. 

(12-17-2017, 10:38 AM)Jpoore Wrote: They've known the risks since they started playing at 6 years old.

The fact that the NFL paid medical professionals to bury evidence is apparently irrelevant.

Anyways, were there a bunch of empty seats at the Patriots @ Steelers game yesterday? Seems like fans are less inclined to turn on the NFL when their team actually puts a product worth supporting on the field.

Am I supposed to give a single rats turd about the NFL's TV ratings? If the league decided for no reason whatsoever to send me a nice fat check every month I might, but they don't and since they don't I could care less if they completely went off the air being that I listen to most games anyway..
Stop pretending  that the leagues TV ratings is of any importance at all. It isn't. 

(12-18-2017, 05:40 PM)grampahol Wrote: Am I supposed to give a single rats turd about the NFL's TV ratings? If the league decided for no reason whatsoever to send me a nice fat check every month I might, but they don't and since they don't I could care less if they completely went off the air being that I listen to most games anyway..
Stop pretending  that the leagues TV ratings is of any importance at all. It isn't. 

TV ratings determine where companies spend their ad dollars, which in turn allows those networks to spend huge amounts of money on TV contracts. TV contracts are where most of the revenue sharing money comes from. 

So, yeah, rating do matter.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/062515/how-nfl-makes-money.asp

(12-18-2017, 05:40 PM)grampahol Wrote: Stop pretending  that the leagues TV ratings is of any importance at all. It isn't. 

 The TV ratings are what drives the whole NFL.  In an oversimplification, each single rating point can be thought of as x-amount of millions of dollars to the networks, and subsequently the NFL.  

The ratings are what the league or the networks  (depending if they are up or down) will point to in the next round of contracts, which will determine the amount of the NFL's single greatest revenue stream. This would affect things like salary caps, etc.

The ratings are what the NFLPA will point to in their next round of contracts with the NFL, which will determine (among other things) the payscale and compensation packages / rules for players of various tenure.

The problem right now is that we're at a point where ratings don't necessarily reflect the true number of eyes on any specific game, as more and more people opt for alternative media options. Soon enough, watching a game via the networks will go the way of phone landlines, and the term 'ratings' will be replaced with 'hits'. And you can bet the NFL will be all over it.

Meaning no offense to anyone, but to say the NFL is "in trouble" is fairly inaccurate.  As a 14 billion dollar company they are worth more than some small countries. I should have that type of 'trouble'.

The NFL will address issues that adversely affect their product and rework how they do business to stay up with the times...just like any other large company does continuously.