I'm losing my excitement for the game

[Shinaoi]

I live in Wisconsin,...so...HUGE Badger fan here. I have traveled to Texas several times to see games both at the old Texas stadium and at Cowboys stadium. 8 to be exact. Hate to say it,.... but the overall atmosphere at Badger games blows the atmosphere at Cowboys stadium right out of the water IMO. Badger games are a rip roaring PARTY!.... And yes,... most college games are like that. But theres something more. I think maybe its because they are kids, scholarship athletes and walk ons who arent paid millions of dollars. The kids really do play their guts out.

On a side note......... I literally despise the new stadium. Its more like a glitzy dog and pony show then it is a REAL football stadium. I could care less about Jerry making money by having concerts there. I WANT A REAL OLD SCHOOL SNAKE PIT! One that actually gives us a TRUE home field advantage. THATS what I care about. WINNING! Gimme something like Lambeau Field or the Old Soldier field ANY DAY!

The new stadium might as well be a mall with a football field in the middle. I get that on a technical level it’s amazing, but college games just have a more genuine spirit to them. A bunch of fired up folks in some bleachers with the band playing is true football.

 

[DakBringMeBack]

And that sucks! Been the most diehard fan of the Cowboys and the NFL in general for almost 45 years now. The excitement just isnt there anymore, at least not like it was. Nothing the Cowboys really did either, more just the state of the league. Free agency and the cap REALLY hurt the game worse than any of some of the younger fans will ever know. It takes years to build a championship caliber team, and one offseason to tear it down because you cant get under the cap.

So lemme get this straight.......You spend a few years really knocking it out of the park come draft day, really doing it right,....and your reward for doing a great job is to sit back and watch half your players leave because you cant pay all the big name players you were smart enuff to draft and groom and still be under the cap. REALLY? By the same token,.... you spend years drafting a bunch of worthless BUMS and your reward is having plenty of money to sign as many talented players as you want away from the teams who were proficient at their job. REALLY? The NFL is actually penalizing excellence and rewarding failure......... NOT GOOD.

Other thing is all the rule changes. D.B's are pretty much defenseless nowadays. You touch someone....... penalty. All to promote passing. The game doesnt even resemble the great game I grew up loving.

Goodell and his crap and unfair treatment of our team. Its just too much anymore.

Players SOOOO STUPID that they cant stop stepping on their own johnsons and getting suspended all the time. Its just on and on and on.

I'll always be a big fan,... but it will NEVER be what it once was. Real shame too.

I feel you man. I only watch bc I love Dallas still, nostalgia from my childhood, and it's just what I do in the fall.

They're doing their best to ruin the game. It feels pre-determined and fixed in a lot of cases.

 

[Bullflop]

The old days are gone forever and it's up to us to adjust to changing times. The number of teams that the available talent must be divided upon makes it virtually impossible for the quality of play to remain how it once was a handful of decades back. The NFL contractual rules also limit the amount of practice time to make matters yet worse in terms of the player performances. Still, it is what it is. Nevertheless, l won't miss any Dallas Cowboy games this year, as always. Some things never change . . . for me, at least. Gotta have my football fix. Cheer up, though -- this year will be better than last.

 

[JoeKing]

@Hayseed I'm your age too. After having the draft we just had, how can you be losing your excitement for the game? There is some reason to be optimistic about this coming season. You make very good points about the stupid things folks do and how the game has changed. I don't like it either but that doesn't sour me on the sport. Nothing will ever compare to our boyhood Cowboys and then the dynasty years in the 90's. We got so spoiled.

 

[DogFace]

The mockery of what justice and fairness is that took place in the Zeke situation took some fire out of me.

In September I should get it back. I hope because I love the feeling of those gamedays.

 

[Jarv]

The new stadium might as well be a mall with a football field in the middle. I get that on a technical level it’s amazing, but college games just have a more genuine spirit to them. A bunch of fired up folks in some bleachers with the band playing is true football.

I've seen the same thing up here in the Northeast with the new Yankee stadium. When there is a sell out and I look around, the seats are only half full, people are in the bars, getting sushi or shopping in the shops. Miss the ole Yankee stadium where there was pretty much nothing else to do but watch the game.

 

[TheCount]

The mockery of what justice and fairness is that took place in the Zeke situation took some fire out of me.

In September I should get it back. I hope because I love the feeling of those gamedays.

It’s funny that fans only notice this stuff when it happens to them.

Didn’t see a lot of people taking up arms in defense of Brady or Sean Payton, but now that it’s our turn (again) we can’t believe it.

The commisioner has been wielding his absolute power for years now, just no one cares unless it’s being used against them.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Completely agree with free agency.

Teams should be rewarded for drafting well, not penalized. For example-they could modify/replace the franchise tag by allowing teams to sign one of there own players each year at whatever deal they agree to, but only absorb 50% of their true cap hit.

 

[DandyDon52]

So lemme get this straight.......You spend a few years really knocking it out of the park come draft day, really doing it right,....and your reward for doing a great job is to sit back and watch half your players leave because you cant pay all the big name players you were smart enuff to draft and groom and still be under the cap. REALLY? By the same token,.... you spend years drafting a bunch of worthless BUMS and your reward is having plenty of money to sign as many talented players as you want away from the teams who were proficient at their job. REALLY? The NFL is actually penalizing excellence and rewarding failure...

Good point, I would suggest
Different rules for the guys a
Team drafts.

 

[Hayseed]

I remember when PLAN B came out, and then free agency like we have today. It basically allowed teams to buy championships. The Niners and Packers each bought one back then. LOL

The entire defensive line for the Wackers back then were bought and paid for.

Reggie White/ Eagles
Santana Dotson/ Bucs
Gilbert Brown/ Vikings
Sean Jones/ Oilers

And thats just the D line. Several other starters were also brought in as free agents.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I recommend some testosterone.

 

[Flamma]

The old days are gone forever and it's up to us to adjust to changing times. The number of teams that the available talent must be divided upon makes it virtually impossible for the quality of play to remain how it once was a handful of decades back. The NFL contractual rules also limit the amount of practice time to make matters yet worse in terms of the player performances. Still, it is what it is. Nevertheless, l won't miss any Dallas Cowboy games this year, as always. Some things never change . . . for me, at least. Gotta have my football fix. Cheer up, though -- this year will be better than last.

It is still a little disappointing to watch an entire league of average defenses, give or take a few. Younger people today see the '13 Seahawks as an aberration, back in the late 80s early 90s you saw several of them every season.

 

[Hayseed]

I recommend some testosterone.

Doesnt seem to have helped you much. You may be suffering from Low T! I have an excess almost overabundance if you want some.

 

[Reality]

Every time I see this thread title I hear, "That's me in the corner .. losing my excitement for the game"

 

[Hayseed]

Every time I see this thread title I hear, "That's me in the corner .. losing my excitement for the game"

......." Oh no I,ve saiiiiid too much"......

 

[silvrNblue]

OP, that's because back in our day, players played the game for the love of it. At the measly amounts they were paid, those players had way more going for the game of football then a multi-million dollar pay check. Sigh, in the words of one slick willy..."I feel your pain"

 

[firewater]

I started feeling the same way about 3 or 4 years ago. I still watch but that excitement the game once brought me is gone and I doubt it ever returns.

 

[Hayseed]

OP, that's because back in our day, players played the game for the love of it. At the measly amounts they were paid, those players had way more going for the game of football then a multi-million dollar pay check. Sigh, in the words of one slick willy..."I feel your pain"

Yep. Growing up in Wisconsin I remember hearing the stories of Ray Nitchke having to sell insurance as an agent in the offseason. He also would go around to all the little Mom and Pop owned " Chips" fast food restaurants in little towns all across the state and hawk their Hamburgers to the general public. LOL

 

[rynochop]

A lot of post draft blues in here

 

[maryquality]

@Hayseed ....are you the same "hayseed" from the old dc.com forums?