Doyers y Esleigher
05-26-2009, 09:26 AM
Just read a piece you wrote. Wanted to discuss it a bit. Anyone else can chime in too.
Keep the Super Bowl in America: The rumor that will not die is that the NFL is considering at some point playing the Super Bowl overseas. The Super Bowl is a uniquely American event. For the rest of the world, football is played with a black and white round ball. There is no rational reason for the Super Bowl to be played anywhere besides the US. Additionally, the Super Bowl should be played in inclement weather. The stuffed shirts corporate executive types may not want to sit in Green Bay in early February, but playing in the elements is the essence of football.
The only place in the world without an NFL team that should get a Super Bowl is Los Angeles, and we should get one the minute the stadium in Industry opens.
But inclement weather? Really? Do you know how many people that would just piss off? I'm sorry but this is a marketing disaster. You risk pissing off the guests and media, who look at the SB as a vacation. You also risk ruining your game, as snow games can be downright trench struggles which the average SB watcher doesn't care to see. Furthermore, the weather can decide a regular season game, but should have no bearing on the Super Bowl. What if you get a legendary QB matchup that can draw tons of money? You can't risk letting weather cancel that out.
Don't expand the season: The latest money grab from the NFL's front office is the idea of expanding the season to 18 games and eliminating two preseason games. Goodell says that the fans don't get thir money's worth for preseason games, which is true. Preseason games should be half-priced and not subject to blackouts. However, the preseason is important for teams to evaluate personnel and prepare for the regular season. The move to 18 games and two preseason games would only dilute the quality of the early season games.
Agreed. It dilutes the quality of late-season games too. And preseason games are too expensive, but most NFL stadiums are a high % of season ticket holders anyway so they don't have to drop the prices.
Maintain labor peace: Nobody wants a work stoppage, but right now the NFLPA and the NFL seem on a collision course for this to come to pass. The most important first step is for the small and large market owners to figure out a revenue sharing plan that works for them both. Then the must negotiate with the NFLPA in good faith.
Easier said than done. I understand why you'd include this but I think you're preaching to the choir. Everyone WANTS labor peace, but money is money and the more of it there is, the more things can get fucked up.
Simplify the rules: Every year the rulebook gets more and more complex, and increasingly the officials calls decide the outcome of games. There are too many penalties that can be called, and they are enforced inconsistently. Big penalties are huge momentum swings, and they need to be called consistently.
The new rules suck dick. Agreed.
Change the blackout rule: With the astronomical costs of purchasing tickets to an NFL game, it is ridiculous to assume that people aren't going just because it is on television. If the NFL isn't going to take it away entirely, they need to make it a gameday decision. They also need to remove the blackout restriction from those who purchase their NFL Sunday Ticket package. The fan who has bought "the ticket" has already paid over two hundred dollars to get access to the games.
Sorry but this is a pipe dream. The NFL blackout rule is working. Almost every NFL city is sold out on a weekly basis. Some teams are at 100% season ticket holder capacity and don't even need a public single game on-sale. The NFL needs rules like this to pressure the teams to properly market their product, otherwise the teams are getting a ton of free TV exposure and revenue without earning their keep. This rule should have forced Al Davis to hire a better marketing department.
While some of these suggestions are nice and fan-friendly, they just don't make a lot of business sense in my humble opinion.
Keep the Super Bowl in America: The rumor that will not die is that the NFL is considering at some point playing the Super Bowl overseas. The Super Bowl is a uniquely American event. For the rest of the world, football is played with a black and white round ball. There is no rational reason for the Super Bowl to be played anywhere besides the US. Additionally, the Super Bowl should be played in inclement weather. The stuffed shirts corporate executive types may not want to sit in Green Bay in early February, but playing in the elements is the essence of football.
The only place in the world without an NFL team that should get a Super Bowl is Los Angeles, and we should get one the minute the stadium in Industry opens.
But inclement weather? Really? Do you know how many people that would just piss off? I'm sorry but this is a marketing disaster. You risk pissing off the guests and media, who look at the SB as a vacation. You also risk ruining your game, as snow games can be downright trench struggles which the average SB watcher doesn't care to see. Furthermore, the weather can decide a regular season game, but should have no bearing on the Super Bowl. What if you get a legendary QB matchup that can draw tons of money? You can't risk letting weather cancel that out.
Don't expand the season: The latest money grab from the NFL's front office is the idea of expanding the season to 18 games and eliminating two preseason games. Goodell says that the fans don't get thir money's worth for preseason games, which is true. Preseason games should be half-priced and not subject to blackouts. However, the preseason is important for teams to evaluate personnel and prepare for the regular season. The move to 18 games and two preseason games would only dilute the quality of the early season games.
Agreed. It dilutes the quality of late-season games too. And preseason games are too expensive, but most NFL stadiums are a high % of season ticket holders anyway so they don't have to drop the prices.
Maintain labor peace: Nobody wants a work stoppage, but right now the NFLPA and the NFL seem on a collision course for this to come to pass. The most important first step is for the small and large market owners to figure out a revenue sharing plan that works for them both. Then the must negotiate with the NFLPA in good faith.
Easier said than done. I understand why you'd include this but I think you're preaching to the choir. Everyone WANTS labor peace, but money is money and the more of it there is, the more things can get fucked up.
Simplify the rules: Every year the rulebook gets more and more complex, and increasingly the officials calls decide the outcome of games. There are too many penalties that can be called, and they are enforced inconsistently. Big penalties are huge momentum swings, and they need to be called consistently.
The new rules suck dick. Agreed.
Change the blackout rule: With the astronomical costs of purchasing tickets to an NFL game, it is ridiculous to assume that people aren't going just because it is on television. If the NFL isn't going to take it away entirely, they need to make it a gameday decision. They also need to remove the blackout restriction from those who purchase their NFL Sunday Ticket package. The fan who has bought "the ticket" has already paid over two hundred dollars to get access to the games.
Sorry but this is a pipe dream. The NFL blackout rule is working. Almost every NFL city is sold out on a weekly basis. Some teams are at 100% season ticket holder capacity and don't even need a public single game on-sale. The NFL needs rules like this to pressure the teams to properly market their product, otherwise the teams are getting a ton of free TV exposure and revenue without earning their keep. This rule should have forced Al Davis to hire a better marketing department.
While some of these suggestions are nice and fan-friendly, they just don't make a lot of business sense in my humble opinion.