America loves football. We love the high school games on Fridays and the college games on Saturdays. But nothing beats the ones played on Sundays, Mondays and even the occasional Thursday. Yes, the NFL is America’s pastime. Forget Major League Baseball, the NFL is king and will be for a long time. Yet even the NFL could use a few tweaks, so here are some suggestions that could keep current fans in their seats and maybe bring new ones to the game.
Commercial breaks
I understand the commercial breaks right after a team scores, but it’s getting ridiculous. Have you ever noticed that after the kickoff or punt following a commercial break, Fox or CBS will cut to another series of commercials? Come on! If you’re a Bears fan, it’s even worse because it only takes five seconds to kick the ball out of bounds or away from Devin Hester. Then it’s another commercial.
Some people think this helps players take another breather. For what? They just spent a good two minutes during the previous break catching their breath. Most of these guys are well-conditioned athletes! Also, this can kill momentum. Let’s say a team’s offense just tied the game and its defense is pumped and ready to get on the field. Doesn’t that sort of die off when you sit or stand around for nearly five minutes for two commercial breaks?
Sure, commercials help pay for the program, but I’m sure the NFL and the networks could do just fine without the three commercials they air following the kickoff.
Cheerleaders
Teams try to boost male fan’s blood a bit by using cheerleaders. Hey, in some places it gets cold by late October and nothing gets a guy’s blood going more than an attractive woman in a short skirt bouncing around.
But hold on a second. We want to make the experience better. It might be good to males, but what about female fans? What about the 7-year-old girl at the game with her father? Maybe not the message you would to convey to her. It would also help the NFL. Sure, you might attract the young males with cheerleaders, but there is another half of the population that could be tapped into. And I doubt female cheerleaders appeal to them. So, sorry Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, I say it’s time teams cut out cheerleaders - even though I know that will never happen.
There are better ways to entertain a crowd. Why not start having those digital races on the jumbotron? You know, the ones where the coffee cup races the donut and the bagel? How about if your ticket stub has the coffee cup and it wins, you get free coffee. Can a cheerleader do that for you?
Ticket prices
If a team wins the Super Bowl or makes a deep playoff run, I’m all for it raising ticket prices. But if your team is awful and raises ticket prices, that’s a sin. For example, the Chicago Bears went from Super Bowl runner-up to 7-9 and raised their ticket prices. Their tickets were expensive to begin with but now range from $68-$104 for non-club member seats. It can cost up to $350 if you are a club member! The cheapest ticket a Chicago fan can buy is $11 more than the NFL average of $57.50 per ticket.
The New Orleans Saints also raised their ticket prices for 2008. Like the Bears, they went from the NFC Championship Game to a 7-9 team that missed the playoffs. Unlike Chicago, their cheapest non-club tickets are $18 for upper-terrace seats, which is where Drew Brees looks like a carpenter ant. However, the Saints’ loge seats near the corner of the end zone were raised substantially, and now the average fan can pay $125 per ticket!
Isn’t it hard to enjoy the game when you keep thinking about how much money is being drained out of your pocket? Imagine if you bring your spouse, two kids and grandma and grandpa. Ouch! Now, I’m not saying teams have to charge $5 a ticket, but maybe they should start charging reasonable prices so fans can come and see the games. NFL games should be a place where average, diehard football fans can enjoy the game and not where businessmen come to sweet talk their potential clients.
Announcers
This one a touchy subject because fans differ on whom they like to hear calling the games. However, there needs to be a shakeup in broadcasting, mainly for the marquee games. Before I start, it should be noted that Al Michaels and John Madden are pretty much untouchable. Michaels’ voice is a novelty, and he calls a football game better than most. And while Madden’s overall analysis has declined in recent years, he still amuses fans in many ways. Whether it’s his telestator scribblings, ramblings or the way he says “BOOM,” he makes the experience pleasant.
First up are Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on Fox. They aren’t bad. Yes, Buck does sound unenthused with the game he calls, but it does catch on after a while. Aikman is good because his first-hand experience helps the average fan understand the small details about the game. But Fox needs to separate these two. Their deep monotones make it hard to follow the game. I often find myself guessing which one is talking.
Next, Phil Simms from CBS. Great quarterback and definitely an icon, but he is not a good broadcaster. Most of the time, it sounds like those hits he took to the head have affected his ability to speak and function normally. He also tries to pull the old John Madden by stating the obvious. Sometimes his broadcast partner, Jim Nantz, sounds like he wants to turn around and backhand Simms. Well, that might be amusing; if that’s the case, maybe they should keep him.
Finally, ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Remember when MNF was fun to watch? While the games have been downgraded a bit, the announcers don’t make it any better. Play-by-play man Mike Tirico is the only one worth keeping. The inflections in his voice during game-changing plays make them more exciting. Ron Jaworski isn’t too bad, but his analysis is good for pregame and postgame shows, mainly because he is a genius at breaking down game film. Tony Kornheiser needs to go. I loved his columns, and he and Michael Wilbon are great on Pardon the Interruption, but he is not cut out to call football games. It’s sort of reminiscent of ABC’s Dennis Miller experiment.
I’ll leave it up to the experts as to who should replace these guys.
How about Thursdays and Saturdays?
Thursday night and Saturday night football is a nice concept. Who doesn’t want more football? There is only one kicker - those games are generally on the NFL Network. For you football fans who have been living under a rock, the NFL Network is a specialty network, which means it’s up to the cable companies to decide which tier it goes on. I’m sure many of you have heard about the legal jousting between Comcast, etc., and the NFL Network.
In late 2006, Comcast added the NFL Network to its popular digital tier shortly before the NFL started televising Thursday and Saturday night games. In August 2007, Comcast pulled the ol’ switch-a-roo and put the NFL Network on its sports tier (which cost more). The move not only ticked off fans, but it ultimately reduced viewership. The NFL hated the move and is currently in a court battle with the cable company. Some cable companies don’t have the NFL Network at all.
If the NFL wants to stretch its fan base, there is no reason to broadcast games on a channel most people don’t get. According to the Washington Post, only 36% of the 111 million Americans with televisions had the NFL Network in 2006. Keep in mind that the number has gone down since Comcast’s switch last year. According to a poll done by ESPN in 2004, more than 68% of Americans are NFL fans. Heck, I’m not even accounting for fans overseas.
The other issue is missing marquee matchups. Remember that big Packers at Cowboys game that basically determined homefield advantage in the NFC playoffs last season? Barely anybody saw it. Sure, before the season started the Packers were supposed to mediocre. But, as the old saying goes, that’s why the play the games. Why not use a flex schedule all the time? It’s been an effective tool for late-season Sunday night games and would have increased viewership of a game that intrigued many people. Hey, maybe most of us would see what the all the fuss is over Aaron Rodgers.
On the contrary
While there are certainly ways to improve the game, the NFL has done a terrific job of pleasing fans so far. As mentioned earlier, the use of flex scheduling has helped give the fans better games to watch on Sunday nights. In fact, the NFL even stepped outside the box last year and used it for the biggest matchup of the year, which was on a Saturday night. When the New England Patriots were trying for an undefeated regular season against the New York Giants in the Meadowlands, the game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on the NFL Network.
Even though it took empty threats from Congress to change the NFL’s mind, Commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff did step up and aired it on CBS and NBC as well. The game turned out to not only make history, but it also foreshadowed the matchup in Super Bowl XLII.
