A Developing Concern for The NFL...

[HotInHere]

The product itself is inferior.

You make several good points, but this is the big one. The NFL has gotten in bed with fantasy football. And why not? It provides a ridiculous amount of money.

But the emphasis on offense, combined with the rulebook getting more obtuse than the tax code is leading to blowouts, flag-fests, and crappy tackling. Watching the top 10 NFL plays this weekend, half of them were simply clinics in "How Not To Tackle."

Bottom line is that for the growing number of fans who are more concerned with fantasy football than reality football, home with the Red Zone channel is a far far better place than any stadium.

[JStruds]

Going to a live game is a blast. There is nothing like it. The tailgating is great. The atmosphere is fantastic.

However...it is very expensive. Decent seats for a typical Ravens game at M&T can run you a few hundred bucks and that doesn't include food, drinks, parking/transportation. When you factor all of those things together, going to 1 game could be upwards of $500 for two people depending on where the seats are.

That doesn't even consider the cost of PSLs and season tickets. Those options get you into the thousands to tens-of-thousands of dollars.

I look at it like this:

For the cost of 1 set of season tickets, I can get a ridiculous set up at home (TV, sound system, grill, seating, etc), have my pals over every week, stuff my face with delicious food, drink my fill of my favorite beer, and get the best view and angle of the game.

Not to mention being able to (ahem) return that beer without being elbow-to-elbow with 40 of your best "friends".

A buddy took me to a 2013 preseason game; he has great seats right on top of the field but looking right down a goal line. Whenever play was at the far end, I noticed many people watching the big video screen on our end rather than the field. I commented that the game day experience including the tailgating and the "feel" of the crowd are incredible, but that I really believe baseball is a better game to watch live, and football is better watched at home. I think this in large part because you can see every single player and the whole play developing in baseball - there are less moving parts and they are much more separated. Watching football live - I think - requires a fair amount of experience doing so in order to see and comprehend more of the whole play.

He didn't agree, and of course I've never been asked back, but we're still buddies!:)

[Ravensonthego]

I have to admit that I have lost a little excitement for this season, but still watching(Per NFL Sunday Ticket). And I think it is because I really don't think the Ravens are that good. I live in Dallas, so I can't attend a live game (I did go to the Ravens preseason game at Jerry's World).

I think what makes a season exciting is when you believe your team has a chance. Also, I think the loss of Players like Ray Rice, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed has taken the edginess of the team away. Also Harbaugh, He is a good coach but very bland and has team, this year, has taken on has personality.

Not debating if Billick was a better coach, but the team had more personality when he was the coach. They were fun to watch, even when they were losing. I use too love the fact that everyone hated the Ravens. I would talk all kinds of trash here in the DFW Metroplex.

[BIGBALL]

This season the crowd at M&T just hasn't been what I'm used to seeing. I've noticed more and more open seats, and the crowd noise just isn't there like in seasons past.

I went to the game Sunday with my friend who is a season ticket holder, and this is exactly what he told me.

I remember as a kid ( early - mid 70's maybe ) watching some show talking about T.V into the future, and it said in regards to sports there probably would be nothing but cameras at some point. With technology the way it is, the younger generations reliance on technology, etc - I can see this happening down the road.

[Captain Silver]

Any time a team is losing, you can question coaching moves. Whatever coaching moves are being made are not working. Of course that doesn't mean that different moves WOULD work, but certainly it opens the questions. That's why most losing coaches get fired.

If that causes you to back away from the team, then that is your prerogative. But remember, we were a dropped pass from the Super Bowl with Cam Cameron as our OC.

But it is the very definition of fair-weather-fanness: losing team = questionable coaching = "I don't wish to support this team" is the same thing as "I don't wish to support a losing team."

Not at all, you misunderstand. I was there for years during all of Billick's ups and downs, the constant was our D, our identity, Ray Lewis. That is gone now, we are a shell of what we were and the coaching isn't helping to fill that void with the change, you cannot deny that.

And please, back off the 'fair weather fan' what game was I watching? Who cooked what? Who was wearing Ravens gear? Who was watching with all his Raven's fan friends? Fair weather has nothing to do with dropping too much money on what is slowly turning into a mediocre product.

[Money227]

Not at all, you misunderstand. I was there for years during all of Billick's ups and downs, the constant was our D, our identity, Ray Lewis. That is gone now, we are a shell of what we were and the coaching isn't helping to fill that void with the change, you cannot deny that.

And please, back off the 'fair weather fan' what game was I watching? Who cooked what? Who was wearing Ravens gear? Who was watching with all his Raven's fan friends? Fair weather has nothing to do with dropping too much money on what is slowly turning into a mediocre product.

This is alluding to the point I made before. A large portion of our fan base simply does not identify with this team.

[ERey]

I was watching the player introductions on Sunday thinking how nice it was to watch Ray Lewis do his thing for so long. To think for many years they introduced Suggs, Ngata, Reed and Lewis with two of them being sure HOFers. You can't beat that. There's no doubt for me it feels like we're missing something on game day. There's a reason Lewis and Reed are first ballot HOFers. That type of play and energy is not easily replaced.

For 8 straight years Ozzie never missed on that first pick (Ogden, Boulware, Starks, McAlister, J. Lewis, Heap, Reed, Suggs) and that list doesn't include Ray Lewis. The last 15 or so years have been exciting simply because of the personalities on the team. Now those 1st round picks are questionable. The team is clearly transitioning now and I think people aren't sure where it's going.

[Tucker: M&T Sec 527]

In my section our usual neighbors have sold almost their entire season on stub hub and the nfl ticket exchange. The crowds are reminding me of pre-season crowds, late arriving, early leaving and not very loud.

I have stuck with my tix since 2007, mostly cause I like the community of watching at the stadium. But I'm with you on seeing some change in that community. I put it off last year to the success of 2012 drawing curious, more casual fans onto the band wagon. But again this year I get dirty looks or worse for yelling (very loud, but still PG-13 at my worst) when the DE-fense is on the field. I realize I'm in the Upper Deck, a long way from the field, but the collective noise of 70,000 Ravens fans can be a home field advantage for the defense. It's not like the place discourages it in the "Don't be a Jerk" lecture. In fact they encourage it with B. Cunningham's "Baltimore - it's 3rd down...." Hell, making noise is one of the signature experiences of seeing the games in person. Those delicate souls (some of them PSL owners!) who object to loud, non-profane cheering should stay home! Sheesh.

I've got 2 separate pairs in the same section and sometimes sell a pair through NFL Exchange (used to use Craig's List, but I stopped getting traffic even when priced just above face value). I'm thinking it's all part of the same sea change: less hardcore fans buying or using their season tix means more casual (late arriving, early leaving, less fervent, etc, etc.) fans having more access to resale market tickets to try out the experience.
There's probably a generational piece to this, as well. Older fans w/ the disposable income and sense of tradition (i.e. lots of folks on here) are aging out of the experience. Younger millenials don't/can't pony up for season tix and need the [over]stimulation of the their home electronics to make it through 4 quarters.

[GOTA]

Ravens' fans embraced the fact that the success of this team revolved around the defense. It gave the team a blue collar type of feel. We weren't glamorous, but we would beat the crap out of everybody.

That identity is gone and many people are struggling with that fact. There just isn't the same enthusiasm about the team from the fan base as a whole.

Just my take on it...

A lot of fan bases who used to have great defensive teams went through the same thing. The Giants and Chiefs come to mind. Those places were nuts in the late 80's and 90's. Not quite the same anymore. That seems to happen when a team goes away from defense.

[JustaslowZ06]

I've had PSLS since 2008 and before that went to at least half the games before that dating back to 2001. In 98,99 and 00 I only got to one maybe 2 games because I was stationed in NC. This year I'm out in KC. So am utilizing the Sunday Ticket lol. I would MUCH rather be at the stadium to be honest. But I can see what they mean. Their haven't been "blackouts" because teams like Jax and the Redskins and even Miami have tarp ed half their seats lol so that the "capacity" is far less. I don't know what they can do to make it better. But I like the idea of getting rid of some of these dumbass penalties. There's just way too many. Like holding on the other side of the field. No impact on the play but we'll throw the flag and slow the game down. That being the extreme but still. PI needs to be looser. The WR already has the advantage of knowing where the ball is coming. If he can't catch it without being wide open than oh well. Honestly alot of Torrey calls he gets frustrate me. Like you should've caught the ball anyeaany

[BMann]

There's probably a generational piece to this, as well. Older fans w/ the disposable income and sense of tradition (i.e. lots of folks on here) are aging out of the experience. Younger millenials don't/can't pony up for season tix and need the [over]stimulation of the their home electronics to make it through 4 quarters.

This. I got my PSLs as soon as the team arrived in '96, and for the first dozen years or so at the new stadium, we had pretty much the same group of guys and gals around us for, say 6 or 7 of the 8 games. Not so the last few years, though. The Chargers game was the first time in probably 2 years that I've seen as many as maybe 75% of us there at the same time. We're all pushing (or have already pushed past) 50, and we hang on to our tix for a) the Big Games (Steelers, prime-timers, playoffs) and b) the next generation, I think. Otherwise, I see a bunch of new faces just about every week ("Oh, I'm Bill's nephew!" "Joe gave me these tickets for my birthday." and so on.) I only went to 5 games last year, my lowest total ever.

I still enjoy going, and it's great that my son is old enough now (15) to want to go, also. But I definitely see some of that "stimulation of their home electronics" factor in him, as he just isn't as live-or-die into the games as I am... or used to be, at least. He likes being there, but he's very different than I was at that age, going to Colts/O's games. Maybe it's a generational shift...

[Greg]

I can envision a scenario where the NFL skips network contracts altogether. They will offer exclusive packages for big $$$. These will be offered via smart TV's or apps. I can see the days of network football coverage being over. This could force people to games and/or into buying packages to even watch the games. I can see the exclusive package scenario happening regardless of stadium attendance.

As for going to games, I don't go. Although I live comfortably, I recognize price-gouging when I see it. My wife has been to a few games, but that was a treat and I don't let her tell me how much tickets cost.

It isn't gouging if people are willingly buying something they don't need.

As for offering the games on TV or other device for cash, that would be cool (assuming it was not a lot, for example $99 per season to get all of a team's games) if it eliminated a lot of the commercials, which is how the network games are paid for. They aren't free. The time of a game could be cut damn near in half without all of the commercial stoppages. The natural ones are fine, but obviously there are more and longer stoppages just for TV commercials.

That said, I don't see fees for watching being enough to offset what networks pay for the games and get from ads. I just can't see enough people paying enough cash for games on TV.

As one who goes to games I would love to see them sped up with less commercial break time.