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Three of four playoff games still not sold out. Should NFL worry?
Yahoo Sports ^ | 1/1/2014 | Frank Schwab

Posted on 01/02/2014 6:22:09 AM PST by Whats-wrong-with-the-truth

It would be a tremendous embarrassment to the league to have three of four playoff games blacked out locally, and likely, the tickets will get sold somehow to avoid that scenario. But there's a bigger issue here. Is this the most stark example that NFL fans aren't too excited to go to games anymore?

(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Sports
KEYWORDS: nfl; playoffs
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To: dfwgator

...or simply be a Lions fan...and never have to worry about such things.


101 posted on 01/02/2014 8:07:38 AM PST by RckyRaCoCo (Shall Not Be Infringed)
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To: FatherofFive
My very first professional football game (AFL) was Buffalo-Houston at 'the Rockpile' in Buffalo. My dad drove, parked in the street, he stopped at a grocery store and picked up a six-pack on the way, and we had a great time.

Back in the day you could bring a keg into the games at the Rockpile in Buffalo, I know because we did it. Of course after one game the kicker (Booth Lustig I think) got mugged by the fans for missing a kick that would have won the game! But hey, everyone had a good time for sure.

102 posted on 01/02/2014 8:14:51 AM PST by mc5cents (Pray for America)
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To: Publius Valerius
I don't remember a time when horse racing was very popular. It was a different era. Boxing used to have transcendent talent. Now MMA/UFC have taken over the market and are extremely popular with the young male demographic.

The NFL adapts to changing times. That's it's biggest assest.

103 posted on 01/02/2014 8:17:07 AM PST by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: demshateGod

Someone did a study and found that in an entire 4-quarter game, there is only 6-7 minutes of real “action” of plays.

Compare that to 3 periods/60 mins of hockey where action and play is constant while clock is running.


104 posted on 01/02/2014 8:17:15 AM PST by ObozoMustGo2012
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To: thefactor

Horse racing was pretty popular in the 1950s when I was a kid.
In many locales it was the only place you could gamble legally.


105 posted on 01/02/2014 8:19:36 AM PST by nascarnation (I'm hiring Jack Palladino to investigate Baraq's golf scores.)
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To: Texas Eagle

Green Bay played 7 games without it’s starting QB . Chicago and Detroit choked. Why not Green Bay ?


106 posted on 01/02/2014 8:25:34 AM PST by UB355 (Slower traffic keep right)
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To: ScottinVA

Then you haven’t seen the ice fisherman out on Green Bay.


107 posted on 01/02/2014 8:28:03 AM PST by UB355 (Slower traffic keep right)
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To: lacrew
Question - Could somebody who has paid for ‘NFL All Access’ or whatever its called, still watch the game, even if his area is blacked out?

Not sure about the NFL, but I live sort of outside any area. I noticed regarding MLB that their online TV honors black outs, according to the fine print on their website. For example, I live 300 miles from Arlington, TX, but if the local Ranger game gets blacked out, the MLB streaming for that game would be blacked out, if I had paid internet access.


108 posted on 01/02/2014 8:33:55 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: C. Edmund Wright
On TV, looks to me like Pitt games are full of empty seats and that the city is more of a Penn State city than Pitt Panther city…..and the crowd for Stiller games seems packed and jacked all the time.

The Steelers crowd is definitely jacked (as in Daniels), which is part of the reason we don't go to the NFL games anymore. The Pitt games CAN be sparsely attended, (they tend to get a guaranteed 20-30K in attendance, more for big games/homecoming), but when I compare the two, the NFL games just seem...corporate...if you know what I mean...
109 posted on 01/02/2014 8:39:54 AM PST by BikerJoe
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To: thefactor
The NFL adapts to changing times. That's it's biggest assest.

Maybe. As I noted before, the NFL has a dumb TV policy and has been slow to embrace the Internet. Why does the NFL insist on making it difficult for its fans to watch its product? The NFL and local TV stations force feed fans the games that they want you to watch, regardless of whether the fans in that area have any interest in them. So far, this hasn't hurt the NFL, but it could in the future--or, perhaps worse, there is no way to know--why doesn't the NFL try to reach a bigger audience by letting people choose what games they want to watch?

Talk about adapts to changing times; compare MLB and NFL in watching games on the Internet. If I want to watch MLB games on the Internet, I can buy the MLB.TV package for about $125, and I don't need to be a subscriber to any cable company. Through that package, I can watch every out-of-market game on my TV, iPad, smartphone, and computer, live and in HD, and all with multiple camera angles. The cost is about $0.02 per game.

With the NFL, if I want to watch a game on the Internet, I first have to subscribe to DirecTv. Then, I have to buy the Sunday Ticket--but not ordinary Sunday Ticket, but Sunday Ticket MAX, which is extra--the total is $330, a total of about $0.65 per game, not counting the cost of DirecTv.

Why does the NFL insist on making it hard (and expensive) for its fans to watch its games?

110 posted on 01/02/2014 8:46:16 AM PST by Publius Valerius
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To: BikerJoe

Yeah, I know what you mean about the corporate atmosphere…that’s the NFL.

And 20-30 thousand in that stadium looks like the cleaning crew…..not like the Dan Marino days.


111 posted on 01/02/2014 8:49:47 AM PST by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
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To: Publius Valerius
Why does the NFL insist on making it hard (and expensive) for its fans to watch its games?

You're right. Look at what NBC is doing with the English Premier League. Yes, you need NBC Sports Network to watch the games on live television but every other game in the league is streamed, free, on their website. Their coverage happens to be superb so it's really a can't-miss proposition.

112 posted on 01/02/2014 8:53:18 AM PST by Colonel_Flagg (Some people meet their heroes. I raised mine. Go Army.)
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To: Colonel_Flagg

Another reason why the Premier League is my league of choice to follow, now.

The funny thing, even people in England can’t get all the games like we can.


113 posted on 01/02/2014 8:54:49 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: woodbutcher1963

I realize that both are in the AFC. When/if they p[lay each other, THAT will be the biggest game, euphemistically the super bowl. When the winner of the NFC plays the winner of the AQFC (I am hoping for Green Bay v Denver, for the quarterback shootout), that will be an ‘also ran’ game.


114 posted on 01/02/2014 8:59:50 AM PST by MHGinTN (Being deceived can be cured.)
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To: dfwgator

I have all three channels for soccer (FSP, BeIn and NBCSN) and for wire to wire coverage the Premier League can’t be beaten. I do wish the NFL would do that, primarily because I’d love to not have to watch the Packers when they are forced down my throat (yes, I must admit to being a Viking fan).


115 posted on 01/02/2014 9:00:06 AM PST by Colonel_Flagg (Some people meet their heroes. I raised mine. Go Army.)
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To: Fresh Wind

The Seattle Seahawks play-off game, one in which they do not even know who they will be playing, sold out in 26 minutes.


116 posted on 01/02/2014 9:02:26 AM PST by LibertarianLiz
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To: Gaffer

I think it’s more a reflection of the markets in the cities whose teams are in the playoffs. Is even one major media market town’s team in this year’s playoffs?

Since they treated Rush Limbaugh so poorly, I’ve lost all interest in the NFL and am fine with seeing them have these problems.


117 posted on 01/02/2014 9:04:00 AM PST by EDINVA
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To: EDINVA

I’ve always thought the games would be worth the price if the losing team in any game was flogged. It would make for an exciting and “skin in the game” game.


118 posted on 01/02/2014 9:06:43 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: MHGinTN

I’m sorry, you are mistaken.
Denver is an AFC team.
Seattle is an NFC team.
They are the two favorite teams to end up in the Superbowl.


119 posted on 01/02/2014 9:13:32 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
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To: Publius Valerius

That’s the thing. DirectTV pays billions so they can dictate how NFL games are programmed. The money in NFL is in gambling and fantasy football. So DirecTV came up with the RedZone channel. I know people who have gotten DirecTV simply for that one channel. It’s genius. Baseball has to give its product away because people don’t care nearly as much anymore. The NFL can dictate its terms because people will pay for the privilege of watching it. And hey, if it’s blacked out, just go to a bar with satellite and watch it there. Still nicer and cheaper than the stadium experience nowadays.


120 posted on 01/02/2014 9:21:23 AM PST by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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