The NFL is not very entertaining anymore

[kskboys]

Yup, falling off a cliff for sure.

 

[blueblood70]

I know the NFL likes to think of itself as an entertainment business. However, I must say that I find that the NFL is not very entertaining anymore. I mainly watch because 1. I'm a Cowboys fan and 2. There's not exactly a viable competitor for professional American Football. However, as stated yesterday, I have other sports I prefer to the NFL.

Firstly, I think the NFL is overly manufactured. Just the production of the games lately looks off. I know the game is more made for TV, but it just looks... obviously manufactured. The officiating looks like it is there more to navigate a game in a certain path. Then you have the way the media is set up to keep the talk of the game going. Maybe I'm not as enthused because I'm a Cowboys fan and it gets boring hearing them rip on us, but, outside the Pat McAfee Show, the talk shows about the NFL are either boring or are toxic. It feels like there is a narrative being pushed every season, and it gets painfully obvious as the season drags on what the narrative is. I'm not trying to say the game is rigged, perse, but I do think it's manufactured in a way that fits what they want. Think about Taylor Swift being shoved in our face all last season and this season. Then this year you hear about nobody winning 3 in a row. Then the Chiefs get incredibly lucky calls or no calls. I'm not saying it's rigged, but I do think the games are manufactured and manipulated to reach an outcome or a spot where the League gets the narrative it wants.


When FIFA got slammed with a massive scandal a decade ago (https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FIFA-corruption-scandal), it was for "More than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates were implicated in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. Central to the scandal were accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar". What the NFL is doing makes FIFA's scandal look like a mild inconvenience. As for hockey, it's incredibly hard to manufacture an outcome in hockey, compared to an NFL game. If the puck is over the line, it's a goal. If not, it's not a goal.

Secondly, I will admit some of this has to do with the Cowboys. It just feels like we are Sideshow Bob. What I mean by that is that it feels like we were sold out a long time ago by Jerry. It feels like he actually enjoys seeing us Cowboys fans be miserable and upset. Have you ever noticed how sometimes we have very good teams, but there's always one or two glaring holes that never quite get addressed or get outright ignored. Then, at a certain time in the playoffs, we end up being eliminated. It almost feels like Jerry enjoys it because he gets paid and media attention either way, and the NFL likes it because they like to bag on us. It has gotten rather old and repetitive. Then, like this year, when we are absolutely useless, the media still finds ways to take the piss out of us. All in all, much like point one, it just feels like a hamster wheel that's gotten repetitive and boring.

Thirdly, the game itself isn't as good as it used to be. With the rule changes that have been implemented and the game being not as physical as it used to be, the product itself just seems like a cheap knockoff for what it used to be. It's like watching a concert with a band that broke up years ago, but they try to make it seem like they're still the same band with the same songs, but the music just isn't as good. I understand that the players are bigger and faster than they used to be, but the game just doesn't seem as good. Even without the officiating and manufacturing points from point one, the product just looks worse.

All in all, it feels like the NFL has sold out it's core fanbase and it's core customers for the quick buck that is the new fans and the Swifties. It feels like a watered down manufactured product that appeals to the masses as opposed to the key fanbase that actually love what the game used to be. Maybe I'm just rambling, but it just feels like the NFL is not what it should be. Personally, whenever there is a new commissioner, I hope the next commissioner is a former player like a Tom Brady or a Ray Lewis so we can have American Football be American Football. Not this manufactured "American Football" garbage.

Why did you need another post that was almost exactly the same as your other one where you said you're still gonna remain a Cowboys fan but your interest in the NFL is waning it's the exact same post did you really need 2 places to vent the same subjects?

 

[blueblood70]

I'll never pay to watch an NFL game nor will I ever pay to watch any sports it needs to come on like the normal channels that I already paid for cable or streaming services like YouTube tvi already have prime but I'm not going to pay to watch let's just use The Mavericks and stars and the Rangers to an extent they had their own networks or they were on one specific network and then they got bought out and I don't remember it's valley or whatever it is but that is not on most streaming services it's not part of most normal cable packages therefore I miss a lot of those games you know what I'm still OK with it I watch the games that come on the channels I have on ESPN and network TV and they do have games those show sometimes especially in the playoffs they show them all...

So it's not just the NFL I'm not paying a special fee to watch sports or any other TV like I don't have Netflix everyone says there might be some great TV shows on Netflix you know what I'm not missing them I have plenty to watch on prime and TV or other free streaming services I can deal with missing whatever they might have on Netflix I'm not paying extra for Netflix...

I guess to sum it up there's nothing worth the interest of paying way more than we're already paying most of us are already being gouge by cable and streaming services and no way am I gonna start paying separately for any of the other sports or TV shows... We should all protest and stand our ground and maybe the prices will come down..

 

[MarcusRock]

Just look at the game last night between KC and the bills. The ball clearly hit the ground and the turn over on downs with Allen. Both had angles/replays that show the opposite ruling on the field clear as day.

Regarding that catch, the ball can touch the ground if it's being possessed, and it was. The ball didn't roll or get jarred out of possession so you make the call as to who had possession after they hit the ground if both are possessing it. I don't have the rules in front of me but I believe if there's a tie in possession the ball stays with the offense, and it did. Legit call.

 

[CarolinaFathead]

The NFL is less entertaining for me because I know that unless you have an extremely rare player known as an elite QB (and I mean truly elite, not the type of QBs that word has been thrown at like Herbert, Lawrence, Dak etc etc etc) OR another extremely rare player, a rookie QB playing FAR above his experience level while on a financially bare knuckles rookie deal, you have a very small chance to compete for a SB.

The Eagles and Lions are the only two teams in the inflationary QB salary era to buck the trend and they only did it this year. In order for the Eagles to do it and offset Hurts’s salary, they had to draft at a level no team, no matter how good they are at scouting, can conceivably replicate on a consistent level AND they had a bumper crop of cheap FAs that turned into First Team All Pros like Baun and Barkley. I mean, this is a tightrope walk of success in FA and drafting needed to offset overpaying for a QB like Hurts. It’s not a consistently reproducible strategy by other front offices and probably not consistently reproducible by the Eagles either, though their front office is magnificent admittedly.

Sorry, but when having an elite QB or a Russell Wilson-like rookie are your two best ways to win a title, then your league’s environment for evolving championship-caliber squads sucks. I really, really hate it.

And there’s the enormously important fact that Jerry and Stephen Jones have run my favorite team into the ground.

All of this has made my interest in the NFL incrementally decrease every year.

 

[TexasBacon]

Well, exactly, and it's ridiculous how predictable the NFL is getting to the point where it feels manufactured.

If the NFL were manufactured they would have every incentive, both fiscally and narratively, to make sure the Cowboys at least reached a title game, if not the Super Bowl, in the past 30 years. It's almost impossible to script all the ways we've managed to blow various opportunities with completely different personnel in some instances. The only time the league really screwed us was the Dez no catch in 2014.

They also would have every incentive to have made sure Detroit was in the Super Bowl this year. That was who everyone wanted.

 

[fivetwos]

@RustyBourneHorse

The game has changed in a large way over the years, several times for us older folk. It’s all about money and selling the product, that’s no secret. The ones who lose are the fans. Always.

But my guess is your discontent is mostly about not only does your team stink, it’s run extremely poorly by two billionaire narcissists who think they are doing a great job. There’s little hope for any time soon.

There’s been periods where the Cowboys weren’t good, but I always had my hope that they were building toward something better. Now, I’m fully convinced these two have no chance, not even the blind squirrel thing.

They refuse to spend on both coaches and players, then laugh at the others that do…and watch the playoffs on tv. Unfortunately, this isn’t rock bottom, which is what we need to happen. If there’s any good news…they are well on their way.

 

[nhcowboyfan]

Agree with you @RustyBourneHorse especially that first part about it being manufactured. I've felt that way for about the past decade. It almost seems script like at times. The defense in these game now are absolutely atrocious. Teams starting out at the 25 yard line on kickoffs, defense is non-existent like it's fast break football or something. It seems so easy for offenses to get into scoring position in less than 5 plays most of the time. I also would feel better about it if the Cowboys were still playing but even then it would still seem off to me.

With the increase in sports gambling, the perception that games are scripted certainly has merit. Combined with the rule changes that overprotect the QB; shorten the length of the field for the offense to move the football; the asinine on-side kickoff rules; and players from opposing teams swapping jerseys at the end of each game and/or appearing on each other's weekly podcasts, has for me, turned a sport that I once loved into an entertainment spectacle. I thought the game a week ago between the Lions and the Commanders was some of the worst football I have ever seen. Did the defenses from both teams stay on the bus? Both teams were averaging 9+ yards per play and there was maybe three punts the entire game. Both teams could have pulled fans out of the stands and they would have played better defense. It was like a Texas Tech - Oklahoma State football game where both teams put up a 50 burger. Some us have been around long enough to remember games that were fun to watch and the final score was 21-20 or 17-14.

 

[Vtwin]

If the NFL were manufactured they would have every incentive, both fiscally and narratively, to make sure the Cowboys at least reached a title game,

I'm not so sure about this. The Cowboys are already a huge draw and probably have the biggest non-local fanbase in the league, not to mention all those that love to hate them. They sell merch and attract clicks and viewers better than any other franchise. Long term it is in the leagues best interest to build up other teams to become the next "America's Team". Like formerly middling franchises such as the Pats, and the Chiefs. Pulling teams like Detroit, Washington and Buffalo out of the gutter taps into those empty bandwagons.

I think it makes perfect sense to keep the Cowboys, since they are already a giant source of revenue, at a low boil while building other teams to suck revenue from relatively untapped sources.

Ten years ago nobody cared about the 4 teams in the CG's while the Cowboys were a top money maker. Now those four teams and a couple others, are top money makers, but so still are the Cowboys.

I'm not stating the league is fixed.(but it wouldn't surprise me, at least to some extent), but if were running things and my sole goal was to maximize revenue I would definitely be focusing on boosting every undersold market I could identify.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Well done.

I was already sick of them manufacturing super bowls for Brady, and now they're doing it again. For the first time in a long time, I may not watch the super bowl. Boring matchup.

Bolded: Hey, did you get that from me? That's what I've been saying. They are definitely manipulating games, just comes down to why. And my conjecture is that they want exciting endings, so they keep the games close w/ their calls. And they want Mahomes in the super bowl, so they don't change a call on a clear 1st down run. It was just sick.

Lol, I did not. It's just how I feel about where the NFL is now compared to where it was in 2016.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Why did you need another post that was almost exactly the same as your other one where you said you're still gonna remain a Cowboys fan but your interest in the NFL is waning it's the exact same post did you really need 2 places to vent the same subjects?

Yes I did. This one in particular was largely a vent from yesterday's game with how rigged that was. It was a case in point for partly why my interest is waning.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

If the NFL were manufactured they would have every incentive, both fiscally and narratively, to make sure the Cowboys at least reached a title game, if not the Super Bowl, in the past 30 years. It's almost impossible to script all the ways we've managed to blow various opportunities with completely different personnel in some instances. The only time the league really screwed us was the Dez no catch in 2014.

They also would have every incentive to have made sure Detroit was in the Super Bowl this year. That was who everyone wanted.

Didn't Jerry try to start a coup against Goodell in 2017?

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

@RustyBourneHorse

The game has changed in a large way over the years, several times for us older folk. It’s all about money and selling the product, that’s no secret. The ones who lose are the fans. Always.

But my guess is your discontent is mostly about not only does your team stink, it’s run extremely poorly by two billionaire narcissists who think they are doing a great job. There’s little hope for any time soon.

There’s been periods where the Cowboys weren’t good, but I always had my hope that they were building toward something better. Now, I’m fully convinced these two have no chance, not even the blind squirrel thing.

They refuse to spend on both coaches and players, then laugh at the others that do…and watch the playoffs on tv. Unfortunately, this isn’t rock bottom, which is what we need to happen. If there’s any good news…they are well on their way.

There's also a lot of manufacturing in the games like last night.

 

[KJJ]

I know the NFL likes to think of itself as an entertainment business. However, I must say that I find that the NFL is not very entertaining anymore. I mainly watch because 1. I'm a Cowboys fan and 2. There's not exactly a viable competitor for professional American Football. However, as stated yesterday, I have other sports I prefer to the NFL.

Firstly, I think the NFL is overly manufactured. Just the production of the games lately looks off. I know the game is more made for TV, but it just looks... obviously manufactured. The officiating looks like it is there more to navigate a game in a certain path. Then you have the way the media is set up to keep the talk of the game going. Maybe I'm not as enthused because I'm a Cowboys fan and it gets boring hearing them rip on us, but, outside the Pat McAfee Show, the talk shows about the NFL are either boring or are toxic. It feels like there is a narrative being pushed every season, and it gets painfully obvious as the season drags on what the narrative is. I'm not trying to say the game is rigged, perse, but I do think it's manufactured in a way that fits what they want. Think about Taylor Swift being shoved in our face all last season and this season. Then this year you hear about nobody winning 3 in a row. Then the Chiefs get incredibly lucky calls or no calls. I'm not saying it's rigged, but I do think the games are manufactured and manipulated to reach an outcome or a spot where the League gets the narrative it wants.


When FIFA got slammed with a massive scandal a decade ago (https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FIFA-corruption-scandal), it was for "More than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates were implicated in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. Central to the scandal were accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar". What the NFL is doing makes FIFA's scandal look like a mild inconvenience. As for hockey, it's incredibly hard to manufacture an outcome in hockey, compared to an NFL game. If the puck is over the line, it's a goal. If not, it's not a goal.

Secondly, I will admit some of this has to do with the Cowboys. It just feels like we are Sideshow Bob. What I mean by that is that it feels like we were sold out a long time ago by Jerry. It feels like he actually enjoys seeing us Cowboys fans be miserable and upset. Have you ever noticed how sometimes we have very good teams, but there's always one or two glaring holes that never quite get addressed or get outright ignored. Then, at a certain time in the playoffs, we end up being eliminated. It almost feels like Jerry enjoys it because he gets paid and media attention either way, and the NFL likes it because they like to bag on us. It has gotten rather old and repetitive. Then, like this year, when we are absolutely useless, the media still finds ways to take the piss out of us. All in all, much like point one, it just feels like a hamster wheel that's gotten repetitive and boring.

Thirdly, the game itself isn't as good as it used to be. With the rule changes that have been implemented and the game being not as physical as it used to be, the product itself just seems like a cheap knockoff for what it used to be. It's like watching a concert with a band that broke up years ago, but they try to make it seem like they're still the same band with the same songs, but the music just isn't as good. I understand that the players are bigger and faster than they used to be, but the game just doesn't seem as good. Even without the officiating and manufacturing points from point one, the product just looks worse.

All in all, it feels like the NFL has sold out it's core fanbase and it's core customers for the quick buck that is the new fans and the Swifties. It feels like a watered down manufactured product that appeals to the masses as opposed to the key fanbase that actually love what the game used to be. Maybe I'm just rambling, but it just feels like the NFL is not what it should be. Personally, whenever there is a new commissioner, I hope the next commissioner is a former player like a Tom Brady or a Ray Lewis so we can have American Football be American Football. Not this manufactured "American Football" garbage.

The NFL is entertaining as ever. Last nights Chiefs/Bills game was very exciting. You’re just down on the Cowboys. They’re ruining your enjoyment of the game. It’s obvious by your posts. Plus Philly in the SB also has you down.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

The NFL is entertaining as ever. Last nights Chiefs/Bills game was very exciting. You’re just down on the Cowboys. They’re ruining your enjoyment of the game. It’s obvious by your posts. Plus Philly in the SB also has you down.

It'd have been exciting if it wasn't clearly manufactured and manipulated.

 

[blueblood70]

Yes I did. This one in particular was largely a vent from yesterday's game with how rigged that was. It was a case in point for partly why my interest is waning.

tomato- tomahto, they look the same to me..

 

[KJJ]

It'd have been exciting if it wasn't clearly manufactured and manipulated.

Are you saying the NFL is fixed? If the Cowboys were in the SB you wouldn’t be seeing it that way.

 

[fivetwos]

There's also a lot of manufacturing in the games like last night.

I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I think the officials just aren’t perfect, and never were.

You’ve got old dudes chasing world class athletes and are expected to make a split second perfect decision.

The difference is now we have the technology to really point that out on TV, yet they refuse to use the same method to try to get things right. So yeah that suggests they want to maintain some semblance of control.

There is really no reason at all why ALL egregious things can’t be resolved by replay. The fast type…not the under the booth thing.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Are you saying the NFL is fixed? If the Cowboys were in the SB you wouldn’t be seeing it that way.

I'm not saying it's rigged, but I am saying it's manipulated and manufactured. There's a difference.

 

[MS17]

I'm not saying it's rigged, but I am saying it's manipulated and manufactured. There's a difference.

Manipulated, most likely. But My pet peeve is the proliferation of commercial ads running during a game now. Impacting entertainment value. For illustration, this study.....
(From the Wall St Journal)
Breakdown of average NFL game minutes (% of total)
1-Players standing around 1hour 7 Minutes=35%
2-ADVERTISING 1 H 3M = 33%
3-Other (cheerleaders,etc) 34m =18%
4-Replays 17m = 9%
5-ACTUAL PLAYING TIME 11Minutes = 6%

Let that sink in.