Love the game, but not the direction its headed in

[Not at the table Karlos]

It is just too much now. The NFL network needs stories to fill air time 24/7/365. The "insiders" like schefter constantly tweeting "breaking news" about how stevie Johnson still driving his car from college or what ever other nonsense they did that day. Digging into every little thing and making it this huge news that has no impact on anything but the twit got offended by whatever and made it news because people's opinions on social media is headline news now. Football was much better when players were football players and not worshipped as God and someone to guide children on how to live your life.

[The Big Cat]

blibitty blabbity boo.

 

the guy is fed up with the direction of the NFL not the history of it.

 

its like saying i'm fed up with the history of this country because the indigenous people now don't get to go on TLC and have a reality show or something nonsensical like that.

but if the politicians didn't go in front of a camera about how they want to do all they can to keep the bills in buffalo when Pegula was buying them and making all sorts of lobbies and such ... we would never vote for them!!!!

 

so, we as fans > NFL.

 

my gosh the logical failure of this thread is a joyride. the nfl is only as powerful as the fans who empower it.

 

it's funny that you think we totally disagree on this. we don't.

 

where we do diverge, however, is on the belief that change can only be willed by the consumer masses. of course they have the power to change, but they're not alone. the ruling minority has just as much power to decide what an organization is morally obligated to. that minority can absolutely choose their own values.

to suggest they cannot is akin to saying that prohibiting laws are the only things keeping you from walking into a bar and squeezing a stranger's neck until his wind pipe collapses.

Edited February 6, 2016 by The Big Cat

[DDD]

Thank you for your feedback. The NFL continues to seek ways to improve the product on the field while always keeping the fan experience foremost in mind.

 

[WotAGuy]

[Steve Billieve]

Sounds more like a criticism of state and municipal government to me.

 

I'm not really sure I'm criticizing anyone. Businesses should try and make money, and governments should try and make the lives of their people better. I think both are doing that. But it does seem a little f#$%ed up.

[8-8 Forever?]

Goodell is CEO of a non-profit association called the national football league, so yes, he is a "tool" by definition. the committees and members of the association make the rules , not Goodell. anything Goodell wants to do of significance , the team owners have to vote on. your beef is with the owners , they run the place. this isn't a normal corporation. I am an exec in a non profit , and I assure you I don't have the authority I had in the for profit sector. Goodell is by definition and construction a shill of sorts for the owners. and yes the owners are largely big time capitalists, and some of those guys can be over the top with making $$ . but when you pay $1B for a franchise, the league its part of damn well better be profitable . If you don't like capitalism, warts and all, the mechanism that made this country what it is for better or worse, you need to go watch soccer in some socialist country and bag american football. lament and piss and moan all you want. As Winston Churchill said , capitalism is a terrible economic system, until you compare to the alternatives.

[SinceThe70s]

I didn't actually see one complaint about the game. Just a lot of stuff about the business practices of the NFL.

 

Yeah, I thought this thread was going to be about the game.

 

What I don't like about where the game is headed relates to the rule and officiating changes due to safety concerns. For example, no more kick-off returns and the QB's are treated like ballerinas. At what point do QB's where flags instead of being tackled? The concussion problem makes it difficult to argue against many of the changes, but I wonder where the game will be in 10 years.

[John Gianelli]

I just want the Bills to win a Super Bowl before any of this happens: http://www.buffalonews.com/home/futurists-sketch-a-bold-look-at-sports-over-the-next-25-years-20160205

 

New stadiums that can handle 250,000 fans will redefine the game-day experience. There will be an inner-bowl with seats and an outer concourse that gives other fans a way to enjoy the pageantry and party atmosphere.

• An online company like Google will outbid television for the broadcast rights to a sports league, pushing viewership from the flat screen to the laptop or mobile device.

• The wealthiest sports teams will ditch their leagues in order to make more money on global barnstorming tours.

• Women will become the No. 1 target for franchises, with many clubs creating female teams to build good will.

• Decisions on and off the field will be made with near-instantaneous input from fans or algorithms that predict fan reaction.

• Natural and genetically enhanced athletes will have their own leagues, with championships pitting the sides to determine whether gifted individuals are better than those created in labs.

[CardinalScotts]

The NFL is a money hungry league that only cares about the dollar bills and nothing else. I'm an admitted NFL nut I love the game and overlook that they don't really give a damn about:

 

fixing their image problems

the fans

the league

the history

it's former players

the cities their teams are in

 

I watch every week despite the league:

 

being corupt

needing younger officials badly

Thursday night product being substandard

not having a clue or looking for one on how to make the league better

 

what I question is it coming back to bite them at some point....HOW ?

Edited February 7, 2016 by CardinalScotts

[metzelaars_lives]

Good post. Really everything you said could apply to the United States in general. It's why Bernie Sanders is polling higher than anyone would've expected.

 

Yeah, I thought this thread was going to be about the game.

 

What I don't like about where the game is headed relates to the rule and officiating changes due to safety concerns. For example, no more kick-off returns and the QB's are treated like ballerinas. At what point do QB's where flags instead of being tackled? The concussion problem makes it difficult to argue against many of the changes, but I wonder where the game will be in 10 years.

Agree with this as well. While they do have a responsibility to try and make the game safer, it will always be football and there will always be risks involved. Tweaking little things like eliminating kickoffs and making it two hand touch on QB's doesn't solve the problem. Edited February 6, 2016 by metzelaars_lives

[zonabb]

The league has evolved away from selling the product to selling products. Marketing and commercials are more important than the credibility of the game. Finding ways to raise money off the field drives owners and players. Basically, it's taken on the consumption culture of America where substance matters not at all and status portrayed through consumption is what people are after. So the Nfls demographic approach is get them young with marketing rather than the product. So growth in popularity is not, I'd bet, growing numbers of people over 35. All my friends except 1 that used to be diehards, went to games, and watched religiously don't anymore. As people age, they lose interest as the thing they grew up with no longer exists in it's past form. No one I know at my work cares, all do well and are older and highly educated. The NFL have given up on the over 40 crowd and aims for youth. That's fine, it's working but how do they keep fans? I'm more of an EPL fan now than an NFL fan. I've watched more minutes of EPL than I've watched of non-Bills NFL this season. I won't watch the super bowl. But Im a diehard bills fan and STH becaus of the culture of the team and what it means for us as a region. The product sucks, frankly. The catch rule, the new PAT rule, the culture of the NFL players (I prefer shut up and play, hand the ball to the ref and move on).... It's a crass and classless product that makes the NHl look credible. The league does nothing to try and not look and act like the entitled Romam Empire, acting like it can be questioned, no one deserves Any information, and it's accountable onto to the ledger. Everyday it's something that pushes me away....relocation, London, and concussion the current problems.

 

So as someone said, you have a choice. I choose to support the team I like in the league I despise. I don't directly support other teams or the league by watching other games (frankly, there's more to life than watching the NFL) and I rarely by any Bills gear. Go to games, enjoy the community comraderie and that's it.

[catskillbill]

I would recommend that everyone read Gregg Easterbrook's new book; The Game's Not Over: In Defense of Football. He addresses many of the issues being talked about here. He writes this in the same style he used when he wrote TMQ for ESPN. He addresses the finances and the blackmailing of cities by franchises in order to get new stadiums built, as well as the concussion issue and many more.

Enjoy.

[Ronin]

 

Sad truth is this is how many large corporations are run. Most large businesses that have something that local or state governments want (usually jobs) are able to extort unreal amounts of land, tax breaks, and subsidies to move their operations. A Boeing plant opened near where I live and it was incredible all the incentives they were given and how scared everyone was that they wouldn't open. Seen the same sort of thing with real estate developers too, so I guess there's lots of hooks these corporations use.

 

Pro sports teams get those tax breaks too. None of it is right, but to say that others get it so it's OK, if that's what you're suggesting, doesn't alter the argument. Every business should run on its own.

 

As for me, I much prefer to support those that do over those that do not.

 

As well, it's one thing to lure a company with tax breaks, but no one "pays" for that, unlike interest/financing on a stadium, which is typically more than the cost of the stadium itself, which is paid directly by taxpayers. A tax break is just that, a break from having to pay something, usually for a corporation and for whatever reasons it may be. That does not entail taxpayers paying for that business' expenses however contrasted with them having to pick up the financing, often more, on stadiums.

 

There is a difference.

 

Either way, for me, it comes down to simple enjoyment, ... or not. Too many commericals, too many delays in games, games routinely taking well over 3-and-a-half hours to finish, officiating issues, etc. That's for TV. For our Bills, uncomfortable seats, hassles getting in and being treated like a criminal, time expense, cash expense. Until this team sorts itself out, as I said, I'd rather take the same amount of money and go patronize a local microbrewery or restaurant.

It is just too much now. The NFL network needs stories to fill air time 24/7/365. The "insiders" like schefter constantly tweeting "breaking news" about how stevie Johnson still driving his car from college or what ever other nonsense they did that day. Digging into every little thing and making it this huge news that has no impact on anything but the twit got offended by whatever and made it news because people's opinions on social media is headline news now. Football was much better when players were football players and not worshipped as God and someone to guide children on how to live your life.

 

There's that too.

 

At some point due to the 24-hour news cycle cries of "no mas" emerge. Football was much better when it was Sundays at 1 and 4 and MNF only.

 

Fantasy Football online, IMO, has contributed to ruining the game. FF was fun when we had to do our own stats etc. Just my two cents.

 

You're right though, a huge part of it is the scrambling to find relevant news, with "relevant" being entirely debatable, such that the NFL has turned largely into an ongoing soap opera. I mean Pro Football Talk has a police blotter link.

Goodell is CEO of a non-profit association called the national football league, so yes, he is a "tool" by definition.

 

A non-profit, the NFL?

[boyst]

It was better for the NFL to be a non-prof than what it is today. They get to take every corporate advantage allowed to every other company now.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Greed. The farmer and his wife lopped the head off their golden goose too.

[FireChan]

 

it's funny that you think we totally disagree on this. we don't.

 

where we do diverge, however, is on the belief that change can only be willed by the consumer masses. of course they have the power to change, but they're not alone. the ruling minority has just as much power to decide what an organization is morally obligated to. that minority can absolutely choose their own values.

to suggest they cannot is akin to saying that prohibiting laws are the only things keeping you from walking into a bar and squeezing a stranger's neck until his wind pipe collapses.

But you're a hypocrite if you want the minority to induce change based on their values, and you don't try to do the same.

 

You can't sit here, say the NFL should be ashamed of itself, and they should morally do this and that, and then watch every Sunday and buy a jersey, or season tickets. If it doesn't mean that much to you, why should it to them?

 

You want the "morally bankrupt" NFL to change? You need to act if you want any ground to stand on when calling for others to act.

Edited February 6, 2016 by FireChan

[zonabb]

How awesome today that this happened in Liverpool!!! http://www.espnfc.com/liverpool/story/2802375/liverpool-fans-walk-out-in-77th-minute-protest

 

This is why ever week I love the EPL more and the NFL less. Yes the EPL has the haves and the have nots and some issues too. But the EPL keeps and maintains its history, it doesn't relocate teams, it doesn't change its rules to suit the low-brow, instant gratification mentality of society, and generally, fans don't sit there and settle for whatever is handed to them. Find the Jack to a King documentary about Swansea City and the hostile takeover of the team by fans who were sick of a greedy, and owner. You want to see real fans? Those are real fans, Liverpool are real fans.

 

NFL fans are merely consumers. NFL fans settle for being overrun. They settle for a worse and worse product for higher and higher prices. They settle for corporate handouts and special rules for the league and its owners. They settle for the league to lobby against gambling yet sit and watch greedy league owners invest in daily sports gambling so they can benefit from gambling. They settle for teams leaving cities that no longer will hand out taxpayer dollars to subsidize billionaire owners who make billions in profit.

 

If Goodell things that he can trot the NFL into Britain and expect the fans to accept whatever he says as gospel, his ignorance exceeds his arrogance.

[3rdand12]

I just follow the Bills.

I work for company a once was privately owned, and now is under a corporate umbrella.

 

Margin and profits, or else.

Funny thing is I am also a shareholder.

 

Being on the board of Directors for the NFL ( owners ) are the ones deciding the fate of the game.

May suggest it has gotten too big to turn back to its origins?

The product will run its life cycle and if consumption falters so will the NFL.

 

Consumerism is a funny thing. and we are all guilty.

 

Support your local farmers and small businesses btw

Edited February 6, 2016 by 3rdand12

[The Big Cat]

But you're a hypocrite if you want the minority to induce change based on their values, and you don't try to do the same.

 

You can't sit here, say the NFL should be ashamed of itself, and they should morally do this and that, and then watch every Sunday and buy a jersey, or season tickets. If it doesn't mean that much to you, why should it to them?

 

You want the "morally bankrupt" NFL to change? You need to act if you want any ground to stand on when calling for others to act.

I'm not a hypocrite. I spend no money on the NFL.

I also never said they SHOULD do anything. I simply stated that the choice to follow a stronger moral path is theirs.

[Steve Billieve]

I'm not a hypocrite. I spend no money on the NFL.I also never said they SHOULD do anything. I simply stated that the choice to follow a stronger moral path is theirs.

So you've never gone to a game? Or bought a shirt? Preferred one tv package over another bc of football? It's not like they care that much either way, they can still make money on your interest.