I know you probably go to Cowboy games too. Doesn't it bother you that there is not ONE moment of silence during the entire game? It's a constant barrage of rap, hip hop, and loud commercial announcements. Yuk!

coopercougar wrote: You're an absolute moron if you think the NFL is even remotely close to losing it's true fans to 15 minutes of Beyonce shaking her glorious thighs. The NFL has never been more popular and just delivered an outstanding game. And I love college football more than any other sport by a wide mile but college football will NEVER catch the NFL in any way... ever.

thugger wrote:
You have a good product.  The true football fan is getting turned off by all the party bs and music acts.  If you guys continue to fail to focus on football you are going to lose your core audience.  Once college football gets the heads out of the a$$es and gets a real postseason tournament the NFL might be as popular as the NBA.

Plenty of true football fans love the NFL. Its by far the most popular sports league in the nation. Almost 3 times more popular than CFB.

I didn't get to hear it all, I had to go puke mid way through it. 

coopercougar wrote:

Stratbuck wrote: 
NFL may be becoming "trendy," but I sure as hell am not near as interested as I was 10 years ago.  I guess I need to get back into a money fantasy league to to get interested again.

The NFL knows that and the NFL doesn't care because they know you'll still watch some and for every fan like you that fades away, there are at least two who take your place. 

I've said this before, but as a game, the NFL is far more interesting to me than it ever has been because this is the style of football I grew up playing.  The stuff New England and New Orleans, Green Bay, Carolina, Washington, Seattle, etc are doing, we were doing in high school (albeit on a less sophisticated level).  Seeing the game become faster and more wide open is how I played it, it is the style I most enjoy watching at the college level and it's now coming into the NFL which is making the NFL much more watchable to me.

This is why the NFL continues to win over new, young fans.  The game is constantly evolving with the generations.  The older generations don't like it, but they still watch and the younger generations become more passionate.  No other sport can say that because no other sport lends itself to the kind of game evolution football does.

That and I don't see how CFB is going to catch the NFL when the NFL dominates all the large tv markets and CFB controls ones no one cares about like Tuscaloosa.  People in New York, Philly, and Chicago are Giants/Jets, Eagles, and Bears fans. 

It's also laughable to think that CFB is not going with massive acts at halftime as a choice to remain football centric.  You don't think they would jump at the chance to get Beyonce on stage?  I went to a CFB title game and the halftime show was Ashely Simpson and Kelly Clarkson.  They were trying to do it back then. 

Both products have a good amount to offer, and both esp. CFB have a lot to be annoyed with.  If you think that the SEC's dominanting competitive balance and exposure is a good thing and is actually promoting growth nationally, I'd like to hear it.

OSU81 wrote: I know you probably go to Cowboy games too. Doesn't it bother you that there is not ONE moment of silence during the entire game? It's a constant barrage of rap, hip hop, and loud commercial announcements. Yuk!

I don't go to Cowboy games.  I have been since they moved to the Death Star but those were special cases where I got hooked up with tickets.  Yes, the atmosphere sucks.  It's that way at every stadium though the Cowboys have taken it to a new level.  Expect the rest of the NFL to follow Jerry's lead as much as they can because he has set the bar for how to generate revenue that doesn't have to be shared (see how he intentionally built the stadium with too few parking spaces).  The atmosphere is the way it is because that generates money and they're are enough people like me who frankly don't care.

But what keeps me from going to Cowboy games is the same thing that keeps me from going to the Red River Shootout and the same thing that keeps me from going to Austin more for Texas home games... cost.  There was a study a couple of years ago that said Texas home games were the most expensive in the nation for fans to attend.  The RRS is consistently among the top 5 highest games in terms of average ticket price.  It's just not worth it to me.  I love going, don't get me wrong, but I don't like spending half a rent payment to go to Austin for a football game.

And those of you who prefer college to pros because of the atmosphere, I get it but be prepared for change.  The way college football is being run is increasingly following an NFL model.  One need look no further than your own Big Ten for that.  One need look no further than The University of Texas.  Ever wonder how the program generates as much money as it does, FAR more than any other program?  It's because we have for a few years now followed an NFL model for revenue generation.  Countless corporate sponsorships, commercials, monetizing anything and everything, etc.  Yes, it does rob from the atmosphere some and as a purist it kinda drives me crazy when I pay attention to it, but it is what it is and not only is it not changing, everybody and their monkey is trying to copy it.  

You can either do as I do and pick and choose when I attend a game and then just ignore the giant Taco Bell commercial on Godzillatron, or you can just quit going to football games all together.  We all know no self-respecting football fan is going to choose the latter.  And therein lies the evil genius of the NFL and major college football.  They have you by the balls and they know it.

coopercougar wrote:

OSU81 wrote: I know you probably go to Cowboy games too. Doesn't it bother you that there is not ONE moment of silence during the entire game? It's a constant barrage of rap, hip hop, and loud commercial announcements. Yuk!

I don't go to Cowboy games.  I have been since they moved to the Death Star but those were special cases where I got hooked up with tickets.  Yes, the atmosphere sucks.  It's that way at every stadium though the Cowboys have taken it to a new level.  Expect the rest of the NFL to follow Jerry's lead as much as they can because he has set the bar for how to generate revenue that doesn't have to be shared (see how he intentionally built the stadium with too few parking spaces).  The atmosphere is the way it is because that generates money and they're are enough people like me who frankly don't care.

But what keeps me from going to Cowboy games is the same thing that keeps me from going to the Red River Shootout and the same thing that keeps me from going to Austin more for Texas home games... cost.  There was a study a couple of years ago that said Texas home games were the most expensive in the nation for fans to attend.  The RRS is consistently among the top 5 highest games in terms of average ticket price.  It's just not worth it to me.  I love going, don't get me wrong, but I don't like spending half a rent payment to go to Austin for a football game.

And those of you who prefer college to pros because of the atmosphere, I get it but be prepared for change.  The way college football is being run is increasingly following an NFL model.  One need look no further than your own Big Ten for that.  One need look no further than The University of Texas.  Ever wonder how the program generates as much money as it does, FAR more than any other program?  It's because we have for a few years now followed an NFL model for revenue generation.  Countless corporate sponsorships, commercials, monetizing anything and everything, etc.  Yes, it does rob from the atmosphere some and as a purist it kinda drives me crazy when I pay attention to it, but it is what it is and not only is it not changing, everybody and their monkey is trying to copy it.  

You can either do as I do and pick and choose when I attend a game and then just ignore the giant Taco Bell commercial on Godzillatron, or you can just quit going to football games all together.  We all know no self-respecting football fan is going to choose the latter.  And therein lies the evil genius of the NFL and major college football.  They have you by the balls and they know it.

+1. 

Ohio St just announced more price hikes if I recall for tickets.  I don't expect that to change in the future.  There's a market for spring games for crying out loud, and that market WILL be exploited.  It's funny you mention the Cowboys b/c I believe they are at the forefront of NFL delusions in terms of fan expectations (their tradition, their history, their talent, their stadium, even their women trump the rest of the league...they even call themselves America's team for good measure).  There are about a dozen CFB programs who feel the same way as Cowboy fans do.

tomtango wrote: +1. 

Ohio St just announced more price hikes if I recall for tickets.  I don't expect that to change in the future.  There's a market for spring games for crying out loud, and that market WILL be exploited.  It's funny you mention the Cowboys b/c I believe they are at the forefront of NFL delusions in terms of fan expectations (their tradition, their history, their talent, their stadium, even their women trump the rest of the league...they even call themselves America's team for good measure).  There are about a dozen CFB programs who feel the same way as Cowboy fans do.

I don't think expectations are delusional.  In the modern day NFL which is defined largely by parity, the Dallas Cowboys can offer what very few (if any) other NFL teams can offer.  Dallas has as many natural advantages as any other team in the league.  All of which is undone by an owner/GM who can't get out of his own way.  It's very reasonable for a Cowboys fan to expect to win the NFC East every year and make it to multiple Superbowls in a decade.  What is unreasonable is $60 to park on gameday.

coopercougar wrote:

tomtango wrote: +1. 

Ohio St just announced more price hikes if I recall for tickets.  I don't expect that to change in the future.  There's a market for spring games for crying out loud, and that market WILL be exploited.  It's funny you mention the Cowboys b/c I believe they are at the forefront of NFL delusions in terms of fan expectations (their tradition, their history, their talent, their stadium, even their women trump the rest of the league...they even call themselves America's team for good measure).  There are about a dozen CFB programs who feel the same way as Cowboy fans do.

I don't think expectations are delusional.  In the modern day NFL which is defined largely by parity, the Dallas Cowboys can offer what very few (if any) other NFL teams can offer.  Dallas has as many natural advantages as any other team in the league.  All of which is undone by an owner/GM who can't get out of his own way.  It's very reasonable for a Cowboys fan to expect to win the NFC East every year and make it to multiple Superbowls in a decade.  What is unreasonable is $60 to park on gameday.

no it's not.  Those expectations are right in line with all the delusional CFB fans, who believe they have more talent than everyone else.  The NY Giants are a first class organization, so expecting to beat them every year is a bizarre expectation.  It's a salary cap league...the Cowboys offer nothing more than any other team who can overpay them.  Please explain these "natural advantages".  B/c it's a parity driven league, the expectations in bold don't make sense as long as these advantages are marginal.  I doubt Mario Williams cares about the size of the jumbotron at Ralph Wilson as long as he's getting a large contract.