Will football become ghettoized

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

The NBA has marketed it's product around the world like no other sport. The NFL owners are so focused on profits they are blind to growth. I'm living in India, during the season the NBA broadcasted 3 or 4 games a week. In contrast, the NFL stopped broadcasting games here 5 years ago. How is a sport going to grow without exposure. The cracks in popularity of the NFL brand are showing. Many families, the ghetto included, will not allow their children to play contact football due to the long term injury effects. In Asia I see basketball courts everywhere, I've never seen kids throwing a football around at anytime. The words the players use to define the NFL is Not For Long, this will apply to the owners unless there is more exposure worldwide. However, the injury factor may make the sport outdated in the not too distant future. I make this statement as a fan who has loved the sport for over half a century.

If less and less people play, that means my kids have a chance!!!

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

The NBA has marketed it's product around the world like no other sport. The NFL owners are so focused on profits they are blind to growth. I'm living in India, during the season the NBA broadcasted 3 or 4 games a week. In contrast, the NFL stopped broadcasting games here 5 years ago. How is a sport going to grow without exposure. The cracks in popularity of the NFL brand are showing. Many families, the ghetto included, will not allow their children to play contact football due to the long term injury effects. In Asia I see basketball courts everywhere, I've never seen kids throwing a football around at anytime. The words the players use to define the NFL is Not For Long, this will apply to the owners unless there is more exposure worldwide. However, the injury factor may make the sport outdated in the not too distant future. I make this statement as a fan who has loved the sport for over half a century.

If less and less people play, that means my kids have a chance!!!

I can't imagine kids passing on the glory that comes along with football

The real danger for the NFL is "Over Exposure".

The short season compared to baseball, basketball and hockey make the NFL more fun. The other sports are soooooooo long and drawn out they lose their specialness.

We as football addicts can't wait for FA after the season ends. Then we can't wait for the draft, then TC, then Pre-season games. BUT if we had it every single day for extended periods of time they're be little to wait and hope for. Part of the fun is the wait and anticipation.

Just my opinion. I like it just the way it is. Europe should have it's own league [oops - they did and it failed, Move On]

Amazing that Gladwell would compare the NFL to the military. The average NFL salary is $770K. The minimum is about $550K. The average amount of time spent in the league is about 3 to 4 years. Gladwell must be living in some elitist bubble if he doesn't think the average kid in the suburbs or the average kid from a middle class working family wouldn't do anything he could to make that kind of money to play a game he loves. It's what they call "hazard pay" people. Everyone knows they're risking their health when they play the game. That's why even the lowest scrub on the totem poll is going to make a million or so if he's able to stick for just a few years.

The better analogy is "Rollerball," and not the de-nutted, lobotomized remake, the original. These players are something like gladiators and we all know that gladiators were celebrated and admired. There's a scene in the original Rollerball where the big corporate boss is talking to the players and he says something like, "People want to be in the corporate class, but do you know what those corporate people are dreaming of? They're dreaming of being a Rollerballer."

Nfl revenue in 2011 was $8.8 BILLION

NBA revenue that year was $3.7 billion


and thats only with 16 regular season games and way fewer playoff games

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
The real danger for the NFL is "Over Exposure".

The short season compared to baseball, basketball and hockey make the NFL more fun. The other sports are soooooooo long and drawn out they lose their specialness.

We as football addicts can't wait for FA after the season ends. Then we can't wait for the draft, then TC, then Pre-season games. BUT if we had it every single day for extended periods of time they're be little to wait and hope for. Part of the fun is the wait and anticipation.

Just my opinion. I like it just the way it is. Europe should have it's own league [oops - they did and it failed, Move On]

Yup, witgh a 16 game season, evrey game counts. In the other sports you watch a game knowing it has little to no effect on the season.

<rant>
I got sick of basketball quite a few years ago when every game was a non-stop exhibition of players pounding themselves on the chest and screaming after making two points. It's two fricking points! There's going to be about a hundred of them before this thing is over. Shut the hell up, get back down the court and play defense you vainglorious sissies. I'm just tired of it. The dunking was interesting for a few years, but now, who cares? And the flopping? OMG, what a bunch of crap. You can turn off an NBA game 10 minutes in, turn it on again with five minutes to go and it's like you haven't missed anything. There's no drama - just this incessant running up and down the court. And, when it's all over, you've got a video of the best player in the game lying on the couch talking about how awesome he is. And that's the best the NBA has to offer. To me, it's just all boring - boring game, boring players, boring season, all of it.
</rant>

Originally posted by GNielsen:

I got sick of basketball quite a few years ago when every game was a non-stop exhibition of players pounding themselves on the chest and screaming after making two points. It's two fricking points! There's going to be about a hundred of them before this thing is over. Shut the hell up, get back down the court and play defense you vainglorious sissies. I'm just tired of it. The dunking was interesting for a few years, but now, who cares? And the flopping? OMG, what a bunch of crap. You can turn off an NBA game 10 minutes in, turn it on again with five minutes to go and it's like you haven't missed anything. There's no drama - just this incessant running up and down the court. And, when it's all over, you've got a video of the best player in the game lying on the couch talking about how awesome he is. And that's the best the NBA has to offer. To me, it's just all boring - boring game, boring players, boring season, all of it.

You obviously missed the NBA Finals this season and Game 6 in particular. The NFL is a far superior game but for me the NBA playoffs is a nice time filler during the NFL offseason. As for LeBron talking about how awesome he is. I loved it because I miss the days when there was more contact and more physicality and more hatred in the game. So LeBron stoking his haters is par for the course for me. You want to hate me because I made a decision that best suits me then fine and I will gladly rub my success in your smug little faces. "I ain't got no worries"

The NBA playoffs are totally captivating. The league is so deep and oozing with talent nowadays. The Western Conference itself is AMAZING. Now with Stern gone, it's going to get even better. It's just in a great place right now.

Originally posted by RishikeshA:
The NBA has marketed it's product around the world like no other sport. The NFL owners are so focused on profits they are blind to growth. I'm living in India, during the season the NBA broadcasted 3 or 4 games a week. In contrast, the NFL stopped broadcasting games here 5 years ago. How is a sport going to grow without exposure. The cracks in popularity of the NFL brand are showing. Many families, the ghetto included, will not allow their children to play contact football due to the long term injury effects. In Asia I see basketball courts everywhere, I've never seen kids throwing a football around at anytime. The words the players use to define the NFL is Not For Long, this will apply to the owners unless there is more exposure worldwide. However, the injury factor may make the sport outdated in the not too distant future. I make this statement as a fan who has loved the sport for over half a century.

What are you talking about? The NFL is obssessed with the UK (London) and has been slobbering over China for years. I don't mind them marketing the game internationally and maybe some preaseason games, but I think the regular season games overseas are a bad idea and the desire to actually put NFL clubs in these markets is insane. But it's being spearheaded by Goodell & Co., the people who for whatever reason are seemingly hellbent on destroying the NFL, as there doesn't seem to be a terrible idea they won't entertain. If they can stop ruining the game itself, the NFL is in no danger of collapse by remaining "US-only".

If the NBA moves the WNBA overseas (where a finesse game is respected more) and cuts it down to 8 teams or so (less operating cost,more quality teams) I think they could increase their market share but still couldn't sniff the NFL's feet. Too much money being spent in the states on football, and overseas on soccer (futbol). They always have to settle for second place, but I think the NBA does that in a humble productive way. I still think they need to push their season back to it can end towards the start of August.

Originally posted by DelCed2486:

What are you talking about? The NFL is obssessed with the UK (London) and has been slobbering over China for years. I don't mind them marketing the game internationally and maybe some preaseason games, but I think the regular season games overseas are a bad idea and the desire to actually put NFL clubs in these markets is insane. But it's being spearheaded by Goodell & Co., the people who for whatever reason are seemingly hellbent on destroying the NFL, as there doesn't seem to be a terrible idea they won't entertain. If they can stop ruining the game itself, the NFL is in no danger of collapse by remaining "US-only".

I live in the East, and not the East Coast of the USA, the NFL has stopped broadcasting games. How are you going to build a fan base with no exposure. They stopped the European league, where there was a fantastic fan base in London, Scotland and Germany. I'm of the opinion if there is exposure of football there will become a strong fan base. Only problem is the owners greed.

Originally posted by GNielsen:
Amazing that Gladwell would compare the NFL to the military. The average NFL salary is $770K. The minimum is about $550K. The average amount of time spent in the league is about 3 to 4 years. Gladwell must be living in some elitist bubble if he doesn't think the average kid in the suburbs or the average kid from a middle class working family wouldn't do anything he could to make that kind of money to play a game he loves. It's what they call "hazard pay" people. Everyone knows they're risking their health when they play the game. That's why even the lowest scrub on the totem poll is going to make a million or so if he's able to stick for just a few years.

The better analogy is "Rollerball," and not the de-nutted, lobotomized remake, the original. These players are something like gladiators and we all know that gladiators were celebrated and admired. There's a scene in the original Rollerball where the big corporate boss is talking to the players and he says something like, "People want to be in the corporate class, but do you know what those corporate people are dreaming of? They're dreaming of being a Rollerballer."

Originally posted by AUniner:

Originally posted by GNielsen:
Amazing that Gladwell would compare the NFL to the military. The average NFL salary is $770K. The minimum is about $550K. The average amount of time spent in the league is about 3 to 4 years. Gladwell must be living in some elitist bubble if he doesn't think the average kid in the suburbs or the average kid from a middle class working family wouldn't do anything he could to make that kind of money to play a game he loves. It's what they call "hazard pay" people. Everyone knows they're risking their health when they play the game. That's why even the lowest scrub on the totem poll is going to make a million or so if he's able to stick for just a few years.

The better analogy is "Rollerball," and not the de-nutted, lobotomized remake, the original. These players are something like gladiators and we all know that gladiators were celebrated and admired. There's a scene in the original Rollerball where the big corporate boss is talking to the players and he says something like, "People want to be in the corporate class, but do you know what those corporate people are dreaming of? They're dreaming of being a Rollerballer."

I think there is a lot of misapprehension out there as to why people join the military.

Originally posted by ninermedic:
I think there is a lot of misapprehension out there as to why people join the military.

I'm going to be one of the last people to criticize those who join the military, but the fact is that these days, lots of people join the military because they can't get a job, because they don't have the money to go to college and because they're running out of options. And, having been there myself, I'll share a dirty little secret that everyone pretends not to notice - some people join the military because they want the opportunity to kill people. But the biggest issue is the economy. When there was high employment, it was "can you see me? can you hear me? You're in!" There were court rulings specifying military service rather than jail time. Nowadays, the military can afford to be a little more choosy. But, Gladwell comparing the situation in the NFL to the military to me just shows what an elitist, Ivy League bubble he exists in.