Anybody Else Find Themselves Less and Less Interested in the NFL?

[K-9]

Not so much with watching the games so much as hearing what others have to say about it in today's saturated media market. It's incessant and uninformed far too often. Very few voices left that can actually enlighten the viewing experience with insight. 

[Big Turk]

Not at all

[Boca BIlls]

Nope

[Beast]

I can’t stand players kneeling for the anthem but I still love NFL football.

 

My favorite time of year is having the Sunday ticket going on my ipad, flipping between games while having the Bills or another game on the big screen.

[Captain Caveman]

Yeah.  As I've gotten older it's gotten harder for me to overlook the physical price these guys pay, and also my time has become more precious, I'd rather spend Sunday with my wife and kids(most of the time) and if they don't want to watch the game I'm not going to push it.  Also, politically I'm on the left and the owners and some fans' response to the anthem protest can piss me off enough to not want to be associated with them.  With all that said, I'm here on a Friday night in August.

[bobobonators]

Nope. I need more. 

[wolfpack78]

Long time lurker - first time poster.  The end of the drought last year combined with a potential franchise QB has reinvigorated my fandom of the Bills.  I was in elementary school in the 90s when the Bills made it to four straight super bowls - last year was the first time in my adult life I got to see a Bills playoff game.  I've even taught my two year old daughter to say 'Go Bills!' any time football is on.  I think my interest in the NFL (in consideration of the Bills and my love for fantasy football) has never been higher.  I am, however, getting concerned that the game is changing, for the worse, with all of the rule changes.  I'm an OSU guy through and through, and I can only imagine Jack Tatum is rolling in his grave every time one of these new era personal fouls are called.  

Edited August 25, 2018 by wolfpack78

[Yoho]

I have been following the Bills since the beginning (at least the AFL version} and I have seen many fans come and many fans go.There are the lifers who have the Bills and pro football as part of their lifeblood.  This often happens through family connections (your Dad, your Son, your favorite Uncle).  It is a common bond and you cant get rid of it any more than a receding hairline.  Then there are those who are not necessarily football fans that discover the fun of following a team, tailgaiting and the ambiance of Bills Sunday.  They often appear when the Bills are winning and fade away when they are not.  And then there are the drunken knuckleheads, usually in their 20s and happy to find a place for drunken debauchery.  They dont care about winning and losing because half the time they can hardly remember the game anyway.  At some point most start to grow up and then it depends if they actually like the games or not.  

 

There will always be fans whose interest fades and others who are just getting the fever.  It is the cycle of fandom.

[billsintaiwan]

9 hours ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Bills are the only sportsball team that I follow, and it’s definitely been waning over the last few years. The tailgate and the friends and fam are what keep me going back.

 

The NFL as a whole is “meh”. Between the officiating, the garbage newer rules, and the league becoming more entertainment centered rather than an actual sport, I really don’t care as much as I used to.

 

You get a little older and you get different life perspective. Bills and sports just aren’t as ‘important’ as they used to be.

Very true. If the bills had left Buffalo, I doubt I would have watched another NFL game. As it is I still stay up until 4 or 5 a.m. every monday to watch games.

[row_33]

7 minutes ago, Yoho said:

I have been following the Bills since the beginning (at least the AFL version} and I have seen many fans come and many fans go.There are the lifers who have the Bills and pro football as part of their lifeblood.  This often happens through family connections (your Dad, your Son, your favorite Uncle).  It is a common bond and you cant get rid of it any more than a receding hairline.  Then there are those who are not necessarily football fans that discover the fun of following a team, tailgaiting and the ambiance of Bills Sunday.  They often appear when the Bills are winning and fade away when they are not.  And then there are the drunken knuckleheads, usually in their 20s and happy to find a place for drunken debauchery.  They dont care about winning and losing because half the time they can hardly remember the game anyway.  At some point most start to grow up and then it depends if they actually like the games or not.  

 

There will always be fans whose interest fades and others who are just getting the fever.  It is the cycle of fandom.

 

You are going to tell me the quality of the game and the product on the field hasn’t fallen apart over the last 50 years?

 

you selling Brooklyn Bridges as well?

[Ol Dirty B]

Yes I am becoming way less interested in football as a whole. 

 

It could be that I'm now in my late 20s, that probably is more of the reason. However, I just find myself caring less and less. Which I don't mean that as a trend. I think I'm just a guy with different interests than I was as a kid. I still follow the Bills like a crazy person, all year round. However, my interest in the league, and game as a whole has dramatically fallen. 

 

I used to spend Sundays watching the Bills, and they're still appointment TV. If I can't watch them live, it's DVR'ed and the phone is off until I watch the game. However, at this point, if it doesn't concern the Bills. I'm hard pressed to care about the game. Only when it's two teams that might get chippy or a rivalry will I go out of my way to watch.

 

The rule changes, the commercials, the reviews. It's just all too much for me at this point. Maybe it's just me, but I like the human error in a game and seeing how teams and crowds respond. It adds an edge. Now it's bad call, or a review, and 5 minutes later everyone has simmered down and has no clue whether to be upset or not. I hate the PATs being from where they are, it adds nothing to the game. The kickoffs are lame. After a team scores you have 5 minutes of nothing most of the time. 

 

I used to spend Sunday from 10 or 11, to 10 or 11 watching all the football I could get. Now, if I don't have plans with people or I'm not at the game, I pause it at 1, until about 2 so I can skip all the BS, listen to a bit of the post game and I'm done at 5. I get texts every week during the season to go out and watch MNF or TNF and most of the time it's like Houston vs Indy, and I wouldn't waste my time watching that.

 

Like someone else said, I'd rather watch the EPL over it if it isn't a Bills game. No commercials, constant play. I understand it's not everyone's choice, and I grew up in a soccer family, very big one. Up until the last few years, I would have never chosen the EPL over the NFL.

 

They are ruining the product, and I don't care about protests or whatever. That has nothing to do with the game. A guy kneeling for a minute has nothing to do with they ****ty product you are going to watch over the next 3.5 hrs that could easily be consolidated in to 2 or 2.5.

12 minutes ago, Yoho said:

I have been following the Bills since the beginning (at least the AFL version} and I have seen many fans come and many fans go.There are the lifers who have the Bills and pro football as part of their lifeblood.  This often happens through family connections (your Dad, your Son, your favorite Uncle).  It is a common bond and you cant get rid of it any more than a receding hairline.  Then there are those who are not necessarily football fans that discover the fun of following a team, tailgaiting and the ambiance of Bills Sunday.  They often appear when the Bills are winning and fade away when they are not.  And then there are the drunken knuckleheads, usually in their 20s and happy to find a place for drunken debauchery.  They dont care about winning and losing because half the time they can hardly remember the game anyway.  At some point most start to grow up and then it depends if they actually like the games or not.  

 

There will always be fans whose interest fades and others who are just getting the fever.  It is the cycle of fandom.

 

I don't think that's relevant to people on here. I think we're all die hard bills fans. I think the Bills are the only thing that keeps some of us still interested in the product, because it's becoming awful week by week. And not just because of the rules, the way the game is being played is becoming worse. I understand the strategy, but these 9 minute drives ending in field goals are killing the sport. It's a lot like what's going on in baseball where it's home run or strike outs. 

[Yoho]

I would be happy to sell you a used bridge but you are probably not buying.  NO.  I do not believe the quality of the game has fallen apart over the last 50 years.  Tackling techniques got dangerous with helmet first.  Watch some old film and you will see helmets up during tackles.  It was guys like Jack Tatum that introduced dangerous helmet first tackles.  QB's threw for under 50% completions.   The athletes are far better today.   Get off my lawn!