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Are professional sports turning into soap opera's for men?


BillsPride12

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In the social media era it just seems like professional sports are becoming less and less about the actual competition and more so about the backstage, lockerroom drama aspect of it. A comparision to WWE would work just as well as the soap opera angle. And I'm not talking about the conspiracy theories and outcomes being fixed(that's a whole other debate for another time). But look at the drama going on between LeBron James and Charles Barkley right now and the stuff about Kyle Shanahan losing the Falcons playbook. I'm not saying this has just begun now but it seems like we are ramping up to an all-time high where the behind the scenes stuff is almost becoming more important than what is actually happening on the field or court. I was talking to a buddy at work about this today and he completely agreed but I would like to hear some other sports fans thoughts on the topic as well.

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I shut off most sports about 3 years ago and don't miss it. Sure I still watch every now and then but there have been plenty of Sundays for example that night rolls around and I think "holy crap, there were games today." I drank wine in Sonoma last year for Super Bowl. :D

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I shut off most sports about 3 years ago and don't miss it. Sure I still watch every now and then but there have been plenty of Sundays for example that night rolls around and I think "holy crap, there were games today." I drank wine in Sonoma last year for Super Bowl. :D

For the record, you won.

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For the record, you won.

He probably did

but

I actually enjoyed watching the the SB last year, it was exactly the type of game I expected it to be. Helps the Broncos are my 4th team but still a bunch of "party favors" and I enjoyed that super bowl on DVR after a hard nights work at the pizza place like no other. I was in my own heaven for that night. Good times.

In the social media era it just seems like professional sports are becoming less and less about the actual competition and more so about the backstage, lockerroom drama aspect of it. A comparision to WWE would work just as well as the soap opera angle. And I'm not talking about the conspiracy theories and outcomes being fixed(that's a whole other debate for another time). But look at the drama going on between LeBron James and Charles Barkley right now and the stuff about Kyle Shanahan losing the Falcons playbook. I'm not saying this has just begun now but it seems like we are ramping up to an all-time high where the behind the scenes stuff is almost becoming more important than what is actually happening on the field or court. I was talking to a buddy at work about this today and he completely agreed but I would like to hear some other sports fans thoughts on the topic as well.

 

You might have an angle there.

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NFL Football has become unwatchable the last decade... Not just Bills. Rules, refs, technology... It is more an event now... The games unwatchable...

I shut off most sports about 3 years ago and don't miss it. Sure I still watch every now and then but there have been plenty of Sundays for example that night rolls around and I think "holy crap, there were games today." I drank wine in Sonoma last year for Super Bowl. :D

This.

 

I think baseball is the only one that is holding its own... Where tech can make it better. Where salary cap hasnt wrecked the game.

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NFL Football has become unwatchable the last decade... Not just Bills. Rules, refs, technology... It is more an event now... The games unwatchable...

 

This.

 

I think baseball is the only one that is holding its own... Where tech can make it better. Where salary cap hasnt wrecked the game.

Baseball was my favorite for a long time and I can't tell you the last time I sat and watched 9 innings.

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NFL Football has become unwatchable the last decade... Not just Bills. Rules, refs, technology... It is more an event now... The games unwatchable...

 

This.

 

I think baseball is the only one that is holding its own... Where tech can make it better. Where salary cap hasnt wrecked the game.

Tech screwed up the tags at second base, when a runner slides now all the 2nd baseman and SS hold the tag so if the runners body loses contact with the bag they can review it. That slows down the games and isn't really honoring the spirit of the rule. The point was always to get to the bag first!

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Tech screwed up the tags at second base, when a runner slides now all the 2nd baseman and SS hold the tag so if the runners body loses contact with the bag they can review it. That slows down the games and isn't really honoring the spirit of the rule. The point was always to get to the bag first!

 

Yup. The unintended consequences of replay having what should have been easily predicable results.

 

As to the OP's point, this is why I almost never turn on ESPN or talk radio or twitter or any of that other crap (except this place). I watch a faction of the sports I used to, but when I do I turn it on when the game starts and off when the game ends. And the mute button for halftime and commercials.

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It's a yes from the NBA.

 

Off court stuff and twitter is king.

 

Lebron James crying for more help with a maxed out team and getting called out by Barkley is the top story. Team Barkley all the way.

 

The Deandre Jordan Mavs/Clippers offseason tweet war had the basketball twitter nerds going crazy.

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I'd say it's the same as the regular media sensationalizing other stories. With a 24 hour news cycle, you gotta do something to fill the time on 4 ESPN's, and other competing networks. Plus each of the four major sports leagues have their own channel. All that before we even begin a conversation about online media.

 

I remember a radio interview from when I was young. "The Coach" was interviewing an old sports reporter from back in the day. They asked him why we always hear about players doing drugs, DWI's, hitting their wives, etc. Why do the players now have so many issues, when the players back in the day had so much class?

His answer was that they're not any better or worse. But the reporters only reported on the field stuff, so the "drama" was always happening, just not being reported on. They also didn't need to when the only sports news was what we read in the daily newspaper, and the 5-10 minutes sports segment on the local news.

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I'd say it's the same as the regular media sensationalizing other stories. With a 24 hour news cycle, you gotta do something to fill the time on 4 ESPN's, and other competing networks. Plus each of the four major sports leagues have their own channel. All that before we even begin a conversation about online media.

 

I remember a radio interview from when I was young. "The Coach" was interviewing an old sports reporter from back in the day. They asked him why we always hear about players doing drugs, DWI's, hitting their wives, etc. Why do the players now have so many issues, when the players back in the day had so much class?

 

His answer was that they're not any better or worse. But the reporters only reported on the field stuff, so the "drama" was always happening, just not being reported on. They also didn't need to when the only sports news was what we read in the daily newspaper, and the 5-10 minutes sports segment on the local news.

That is definitely true. I'm not sure how far back you are talking but I know the late 80s/90s were absolutely wild behind the scenes between Lawrence Taylor, the 90s Bills and Cowboys teams, 85 Bears, Brett Favre and early-mid 90's Packers. I enjoy reading books from that era that give you the behind the scenes stuff so you see how crazy it really was and I'm pretty confident what was going on back then was actually much worse than the current era.

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That is definitely true. I'm not sure how far back you are talking but I know the late 80s/90s were absolutely wild behind the scenes between Lawrence Taylor, the 90s Bills and Cowboys teams, 85 Bears, Brett Favre and early-mid 90's Packers. I enjoy reading books from that era that give you the behind the scenes stuff so you see how crazy it really was and I'm pretty confident what was going on back then was actually much worse than the current era.

I used to work in a call center for a major TV provider so I talk to people from all over the country. I talked to a guy that said he was the team chaplain for the Cowboys in the Staubach era. I asked him what's changed between now and then. He basically said the same thing. They were just as bad, but the teams would deal with it and nip it in the bud before the national media got a hold of it.

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I used to work in a call center for a major TV provider so I talk to people from all over the country. I talked to a guy that said he was the team chaplain for the Cowboys in the Staubach era. I asked him what's changed between now and then. He basically said the same thing. They were just as bad, but the teams would deal with it and nip it in the bud before the national media got a hold of it.

Yeah I just recently read that new Brett Favre biography Gunslinger and the city of Green Bay really covered up for his ass big time during his prime 90s years. He was a wild dude in his younger years.

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