Goodell & NFL - laughing all the way to the bank.
With the threat of and NHL work stoppage looming and the NBA becoming a mere four-horse race, the National Football League is set to become probably the biggest and most talked about thing over the next 6 months. As if football wasn’t a big enough deal to everyone between fantasy leagues and office pools, it’s potentially going to hit a point where any general sports fan is going to have to jump on a bandwagon and pick a team just to fill the void that will be left by a lack of interest or a lack of actual playing. The NFL has everything going for it and seems ready to take full advantage.
The NHL and its players are seemingly nowhere close to an agreement on their collective bargaining agreement with merely two weeks before the lockout deadline. We all remember what happened seven years ago when they just shut the season down, causing a lot of true fans to become rather upset with the way things are handled in the league. A second work stoppage in less than 10 years is something that hasn’t happened in any recent memories and could have pretty negative effects on the fan base.
Whether it’s just a general fan that’s looking to catch a game or a diehard who lives for his or her Saturday night games, everyone is going to be looking for something else to watch. Football is slowly becoming the only choice and the NFL knows this. Why else would they be stretching games out throughout the week as opposed to the classic full day Sunday followed by the big Monday Night game?
People might ask well why not basketball? The NBA seems just fine in a lack-luster league where they might as well just put the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Oklahoma, Brooklyn and potentially Boston can pose a threat, but outside of that no one even comes close. Fans of those respective teams will find this year as one of the more exciting ones and will look forward to watching their team dominate, but for the most part people will be looking to something a little more exciting, competitive and less predictable.
Again, with more NFL games being available during the week, it’s very likely that’s where people will be tuning in. Sundays were once sacred when that (plus Monday) was the one day fans would build themselves up for. Then the league introduced Thursday and Saturday games. Now the season is starting on a Wednesday of all days. The NFL is taking full advantage of wide-open space where people are going to be dying to watch a game. While some people may feel it’s taking away the magic and allure that was the NFL, the league will be making money hand over fist on television contracts and advertising.
More games during the week means more national coverage and more national coverage means more companies looking to advertise through commercials etc. No one wants to watch a blowout in basketball so more fans will be changing their channels to whatever football game will be playing that night. The league has the potential to garner even more interest in itself from outside fans, which could just as easily lead to higher merchandise sales from anyone looking to show support and try and feel like they can still be a part of something.
Sure it may be considered jumping on the bandwagon, but who cares. As far as the NFL may be concerned the NHL can take its sweet time negotiating a new agreement and the NBA can keep pushing fans out by stacking up a handful of cities. The NFL already puts out a more exciting product and will be more than willing to pick up any stray sports fans along the way to show them a good time.
- Big Easy
The NHL and its players are seemingly nowhere close to an agreement on their collective bargaining agreement with merely two weeks before the lockout deadline. We all remember what happened seven years ago when they just shut the season down, causing a lot of true fans to become rather upset with the way things are handled in the league. A second work stoppage in less than 10 years is something that hasn’t happened in any recent memories and could have pretty negative effects on the fan base.
Whether it’s just a general fan that’s looking to catch a game or a diehard who lives for his or her Saturday night games, everyone is going to be looking for something else to watch. Football is slowly becoming the only choice and the NFL knows this. Why else would they be stretching games out throughout the week as opposed to the classic full day Sunday followed by the big Monday Night game?
People might ask well why not basketball? The NBA seems just fine in a lack-luster league where they might as well just put the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Oklahoma, Brooklyn and potentially Boston can pose a threat, but outside of that no one even comes close. Fans of those respective teams will find this year as one of the more exciting ones and will look forward to watching their team dominate, but for the most part people will be looking to something a little more exciting, competitive and less predictable.
Again, with more NFL games being available during the week, it’s very likely that’s where people will be tuning in. Sundays were once sacred when that (plus Monday) was the one day fans would build themselves up for. Then the league introduced Thursday and Saturday games. Now the season is starting on a Wednesday of all days. The NFL is taking full advantage of wide-open space where people are going to be dying to watch a game. While some people may feel it’s taking away the magic and allure that was the NFL, the league will be making money hand over fist on television contracts and advertising.
More games during the week means more national coverage and more national coverage means more companies looking to advertise through commercials etc. No one wants to watch a blowout in basketball so more fans will be changing their channels to whatever football game will be playing that night. The league has the potential to garner even more interest in itself from outside fans, which could just as easily lead to higher merchandise sales from anyone looking to show support and try and feel like they can still be a part of something.
Sure it may be considered jumping on the bandwagon, but who cares. As far as the NFL may be concerned the NHL can take its sweet time negotiating a new agreement and the NBA can keep pushing fans out by stacking up a handful of cities. The NFL already puts out a more exciting product and will be more than willing to pick up any stray sports fans along the way to show them a good time.
- Big Easy
