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Attendance has been in decline for years. Viewership is just the offset. Casual fans will lose interest, as they do whenever situations like this happen. By losing me, the NFL has lost the equivalent of about 8 casual fans.
Good luck with that business model.
The NFL has problems - it still hasn't dealt with concussions and it (and the NFLPA) screwed former players on health insurance coverage to get the help they need (remember Junior Seau?), some teams have to paper the house to avoid blackouts, the cost of getting the team you want on the tube is over $50 per month for many.
Now the game itself sucks due to interminable delays while the refs try to sort out their screwups, games are blown on ridiculously bad calls, and NFL players will likely get hurt in the mayhem on the field. Where is Ben Dreith when you need him?
We've always got college football. It's not like the NFL has a monopoly on the sport. The NCAA has a gem of a product and with a new playoff format about to unfold at the D1 level, football fans can get their fix at any of hundreds of football fields across the land if the NFL screws up its product, which they are. Around these parts, we've got BC, UConn and UMass at the BCS or D-1 level. If they can bring in the big programs, our interest can shift if the NFL is seen as a hack league, which it is fast becoming.
I cannot imagine this is what the owners or Goodell want.
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I am all over the place on this. It reminds me of a former employer who desperately wanted to avoid lawsuits and everything they did was around that. I really can't help but think that the NFL is playing hardball with the refs to avoid setting a precedent that will open up the floodgates for lawsuits. And then in the same thought process I think these guys can't be that short sighted, yet we've seen them try to lesson injuries/concussions to avoid suits.
I also think Mo's statement that they are trying to break the union has merit. Unfortunately IMO I would wager the NFL didn't envision the cluster they have on the field, witness last night's debacle. I really think they thought they'd have minimal collateral damage, and not a mess like last night.
It just seems like a complete waste of breath to nickle and dime these guys with billion dollar product going to hell and a handbasket. Pay them and get them back in the games.
I would bet my car that they don't want to set the precedent of giving pensions to part-time employees working approx. 20 games or so a year while being criticized for skimping on healthcare benefits for the players who ACTUALLY go out and put their bodies and lives on the line for our entertainment. They don't want to give in to pampering the refs more (or at least give that perception whether you believe it or not) when they still have a lot of work to do in order to take care of the guys who are the product.
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We've always got college football. It's not like the NFL has a monopoly on the sport. The NCAA has a gem of a product and with a new playoff format about to unfold at the D1 level, football fans can get their fix at any of hundreds of football fields across the land if the NFL screws up its product, which they are. Around these parts, we've got BC, UConn and UMass at the BCS or D-1 level. If they can bring in the big programs, our interest can shift if the NFL is seen as a hack league, which it is fast becoming.
I cannot imagine this is what the owners or Goodell want.
I can't get up any interest for college ball. Tried & lost interest.
However, I am considering watching Lingerie League football games, but only if televised in high definition.
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Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck." RAH
The NFL gained in popularity during an offseason marred by a lockout. They are relatively bullit proof at this juncture. They are actually more worried about long range scenarios than fans or mediots ever are. We live in the moment and are part of the immediate gratification generation. Just like with the players the owners have dug in in order to get it right for the long haul. Same thing with a lot of the contact rules changes fans and media alternately call for and decry. Because we don't really know what we want. Believe me, these new age owners do and their track record of getting it is pretty damn impressive.
This is a great point. And a testament to the power of the NFL.
The rest of the post, I actually disagree with. Whether or not the owners are trying to get things right for the long haul, things are so awful in the short-term that it is beginning to be a real issue. I had no idea how bad and just purely incompetent these replacement referees would be. And, even worse, how tangible their negative impact on the entertainment value of the game would be. The only games I've watched live have been the Pats. Any others I now buffer on the DVR so I can fast-forward through these mopes figuring out the most basic calls.
At some point, the awesome power and appeal of professional football, which you reference, will get seriously tested by the terrible product they are offering up right now. At what point, I don't know.
Last edited by BradyManny; 09-25-2012 at 12:24 PM..
By your own admission, they haven't lost you. You aren't giving up the NFL, you're just not following it as much. That's not exactly the most principled boycott you got going there.
I'm sorry that your reading comprehension sucks, but I'm not going to bother explaining this further to you.
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"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius
I would bet my car that they don't want to set the precedent of giving pensions to part-time employees working approx. 20 games or so a year while being criticized for skimping on healthcare benefits for the players who ACTUALLY go out and put their bodies and lives on the line for our entertainment. They don't want to give in to pampering the refs more (or at least give that perception whether you believe it or not) when they still have a lot of work to do in order to take care of the guys who are the product.
They already give pensions to the officials. This is about taking them away.
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"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius
1.) Vegas just had a swing of over 200 million dollars because of one call. Lives were just significantly impacted by officials who weren't good enough for the Lingerie League.
2.) I'm an avid football fan, generally watching 7-10 games a week during their normal time, and often watching others during replays. The NFL just lost me as a viewer for all but one of those games, and will eventually lose me for that last game when the fake refs screw up another Patriots game.
I doubt this is what Goodell wants.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KontradictioN
Probably should have typed this thread out then hit the back button. Screwing with the integrity of the game isn't what Goodell wants. The instant results as far as word of mouth about the game is coming back positive, yes. But the long term results aren't good. Consider what's going to happen when one of these crews gets to officiate a playoff game?
I don't think that Goodell particularly cares about either of these points. No one has suggested that the replacement refs are biased. They're doing the best they can, under difficult circumstances. There's just as much chance they'll screw up in favor of one team as another. And I doubt the suggestion that Goodell should be influenced by what Vegas wants will carry much weight.
I also think that Goodell doesn't care much what die hard NFL fans do. He wants to expand the NFL into a global business, and anything that promotes its visibility and sucks new fans in is a step in that direction. Like "fantasy football", which has sucked in millions of casual fans. I've heard more people talking about football today than I ever had in a non-SB setting. For every guy like Deus who may actually walk away and stay away - and the majority won't - there will be 10 new fans who tune in and build market share and advertising revenue.
Of course Goodell's going to toe the party line about "protecting the integrity of the game". And I'm not suggesting that he's being driven by this. But, as Mo states, Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back. Meanwhile there's more parity and unpredictability than ever, and I doubt the league office considers that a bad thing.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. "OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid
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mayo provides a clinic for the insanity being posted everywhere
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Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck." RAH
I don't think that Goodell particularly cares about either of these points. No one has suggested that the replacement refs are biased. They're doing the best they can, under difficult circumstances. There's just as much chance they'll screw up in favor of one team as another. And I doubt the suggestion that Goodell should be influenced by what Vegas wants will carry much weight.
I also think that Goodell doesn't care much what die hard NFL fans do. He wants to expand the NFL into a global business, and anything that promotes its visibility and sucks new fans in is a step in that direction. Like "fantasy football", which has sucked in millions of casual fans. I've heard more people talking about football today than I ever had in a non-SB setting. For every guy like Deus who may actually walk away and stay away - and the majority won't - there will be 10 new fans who tune in and build market share and advertising revenue.
Of course Goodell's going to toe the party line about "protecting the integrity of the game". And I'm not suggesting that he's being driven by this. But, as Mo states, Goodell knows that he has a relatively bullet-proof product that thrived in spite of alienating millions of fans over the lockout. Resentment over the replacement officials will fade, and the suckers like us will always come back. Meanwhile there's more parity and unpredictability than ever, and I doubt the league office considers that a bad thing.
The NBA has lost a good chunk of it's viewership over the years due to bad officiating. What makes you think that the NFL won't? I think both you and Mo are putting too much stock into the amount of people that enjoy the product. People enjoy the product that was put on the field prior to the scab referees bumbling it this year. Over time, if this keeps occurring, people will walk away just like they did, and continue to do, with the NBA. Goodell doesn't want to lose money, and if the replacement refs keep at it, he eventually will.
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Re: Could This Be What Goodell Really Wants?
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