NFL Picks Week 15, Thursday Edition: 'Greek' says ...

by The Greek! on Dec 11, 2008 3:24 PM EST in News Comment 5 comments

I’ve got to say, going into this week before I checked out the schedule; I was kinda hoping that there was no Thursday night game. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching as much football as possible, especially given the state of affairs of my Buffalo Bills, but these Thursday games, I fear, are starting to water down the excitement level.

Assuming that you don’t watch college football, your plate of football looks something like this: Thursday night, Sunday at 1 (possibility of 2 games), Sunday at 4 (possibility of 2 games), Sunday at 8, Monday at 8:30 (All times Eastern standard). That’s 5 games a week without even ordering Sunday ticket, and if you follow college football, you only get 2 days without games, and no days without analysis from ESPN.

The NFL has a great product, but we are starting to learn that they are stretching their efforts a bit thin. Look at the reaction to this year’s game in London compared to last year. Look at the reaction for last week’s game in Toronto. Viewers are being flooded with choices now and unfortunately, it is undermining the product. One of the great things about the football season is scarcity. With only 16 games in the season, every game means something. With games only on during certain times of the day and the week, watching football has become an event in itself. By taking that away, with all the random games on throughout the week, the NFL is taking away what makes it so great.

One just needs to examine Monday Night Football today vs. 10 years ago. With the advent of satellite, and the ability to watch any game you want, Monday Night Football no longer holds the mystique and reverence it once did. If Monday night is a terrible matchup, who cares, you had your pick of games to watch Sunday and a full slate of games next week. Monday Night Football used to mean something, but now it’s become just another game, despite all the promotion that ESPN has done.

Thursday Night Football works, but only if other games are eliminated. Back when TNT had the first half of the season’s Sunday night games, the league would move some games to Thursday night. This meant that there was no Sunday night game, and having a game on Thursday was considered a treat. If things don’t change, I fear many will see Thursday night games as a chore, and it will end up diluting what is a fantastic league.

New Orleans at Chicago (-1.5)

Last week: 8-8
Season: 105-98-5

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Good post

There is too many options and I’m getting bored with it too. I don’t necessarily think it dilutes the league, we just have to come to the realization that cutting back on a few games is ok. In the past I’d take in any game I could get, but lately I’m fine with watching my game and maybe just a little bit of others.

by potroast on Dec 11, 2008 5:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

With so many options you wind up with a lot of bad games on TV.

by Ed Valentine on Dec 11, 2008 7:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

honestly

the reason I don’t watch Thursday night or Monday night games is b/c they start and (more importantly) end way too late. Unless the Giants are on, I just don’t have interest watching a game until 1 in the morning. If they fixed that problem, I’d be much more likely to watch those games. That, and if I had the NFL Network

by cjmulrain on Dec 11, 2008 6:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

With regards to the Bills game:

As a resident of Toronto and a manager of a popular downtown sports bar, I can tell you that we already have three crappy sports teams this year, and at the prices Rogers was charging and the Bills current record I’m surprised anyone went to that game. That said, the Air Canada Centre consistently sells out for Leaf and Raptor games, the bulk of which go to corporate season ticket holders. (As I’ve ranted about before). It’s not a question of whether Toronto CAN support a team, it’s a matter of the current economy, price gouging and an uncertain economy. As for the Thursday night business, I agree to a point. I think theorhetically it could work but only if they could flex those games too. Which of course would be a scheduling nightmare.

by NYcON on Dec 11, 2008 6:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs