Indy is not a NFL town

**GOTA** · 11-29-2011, 10:14 AM

Indy has always been and will always be a frontrunning NFL town. No Manning means no interest. Once the Jeff George era returns they'll be back to blackouts.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...rn=nfl-wp12732

The Indianapolis Colts are a sad, mopey, miserable football team that aggressively drains the life force out of anyone who watches them play because they want them to win.

Still, people expect them to be on television, which raises an interesting question: At what point does a local network television affiliate have a social responsibility to not show something that makes people so sad? It's like showing a live beheading in primetime. Yeah, it would probably be a ratings hit, but is it a good thing for society? When is it up to a TV station to protect viewers from themselves?

For the local Fox affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a two-hour drive from Indianapolis, that time came Sunday. Ten losses were enough. One more metaphorical shiv to the ribcage at the hands of Cam Newton(notes) and the Carolina Panthers? No thank you. The people of Fort Wayne will watch the Bears, and they'll like it. (Chicago is also only 200 miles away from Fort Wayne). From FortWayne.com:

The Fox channel had the rights to the Colts' home game, but it could only broadcast one game because CBS had the doubleheader Sunday. Indiana's NewsCenter chose the late-afternoon Chicago Bears game at Oakland over the Colts' 27-19 loss that dropped them to 0-11.

"The buck stops with me," Jerry Giesler, president and general manager of Indiana's NewsCenter, said in a telephone interview. "We talked a lot about it internally. Of course, the year in, year out logical choice would be the Colts. Absolutely, no question. The reason we went with the Bears was to follow the compelling story, their (playoff) hopes alive, a new quarterback."

**Ravenswintitle** · 11-29-2011, 10:44 AM

I can't believe Pats at Indy is the sunday night game - pathetic. Would like to see them flex an afternoon game instead but I don't think the rules allow.

**chicagoravensfan** · 11-29-2011, 11:20 AM

I'm glad to see the chickens come home to roost for Irsay and the Polians. Bill Polian and his son have been treated like geniuses because they had the good fortune of drafting one of the all time best QBs, yet Polian carried himself with the same arrogance that we see from Belichick and Parcells. They made some nice picks in Freeney, Mathis and Wayne but the fact that they are so miserably bad now is a reflection of how badly they've drafted and managed the cap for the last 5 years.

It's annoying that they get to have the #1 pick again in a year with a top QB coming out because they're a team that deserves to be JaMarcus'd.

**sailorsam** · 11-30-2011, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by chicagoravensfan

I'm glad to see the chickens come home to roost for Irsay and the Polians. Bill Polian and his son have been treated like geniuses because they had the good fortune of drafting one of the all time best QBs, yet Polian carried himself with the same arrogance that we see from Belichick and Parcells. They made some nice picks in Freeney, Mathis and Wayne but the fact that they are so miserably bad now is a reflection of how badly they've drafted and managed the cap for the last 5 years.

It's annoying that they get to have the #1 pick again in a year with a top QB coming out because they're a team that deserves to be JaMarcus'd.

good points. draft 5-7 players a year for 10 years or so and you're bound to get some winners (Bob Sanders, Marvin Harrison), but this year shows how thin the team really is, not to mention the idea of a playoff-caliber team with no proven backup qb. (Ravens in that position only because Bulger went home unexpectedly; rumor was he was set to return if Flacco went down).
oh, wait, the Polians fired their D-Coord. so that was the problem!

**Tyrian** · 11-29-2011, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

I can't believe Pats at Indy is the sunday night game - pathetic. Would like to see them flex an afternoon game instead but I don't think the rules allow.

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

**Paintballguy** · 11-29-2011, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrian

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

I have a feeling that the Saints will blow out the Lions.

**Ravenswintitle** · 11-29-2011, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrian

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

thanks - good news I guess; beats pats/colts

**GOTA** · 11-29-2011, 02:47 PM

I'm sure local ratings suck for Indy games. Rats are always the first to abandon ship

**bensmotorcyclehelmt** · 11-29-2011, 03:04 PM

"Indy is not a NFL town"

The headline from "No Sh-t!" Magazine...

**Captain Silver** · 11-29-2011, 03:40 PM

Indy is one horse town, er man, er Manning... when he's gone, they should finally change their name and logo. Put some ghosts on the helmet to reflect the fans.

Seriously, for all the dominance, 1 Super Bowl victory? I never want to hear people yammer about the Ravens defense and only 1 ring. Manning has the same number as Ray. Who won multiple Super Bowls besides the Patcheatriots?

Bet the Ravens will have more fans over the next 10 years at the stadium then the Colts will.

**SteelFaninBMore** · 11-29-2011, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Indy has always been and will always be a frontrunning NFL town. No Manning means no interest. Once the Jeff George era returns they'll be back to blackouts.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...rn=nfl-wp12732

The Indianapolis Colts are a sad, mopey, miserable football team that aggressively drains the life force out of anyone who watches them play because they want them to win.

Still, people expect them to be on television, which raises an interesting question: At what point does a local network television affiliate have a social responsibility to not show something that makes people so sad? It's like showing a live beheading in primetime. Yeah, it would probably be a ratings hit, but is it a good thing for society? When is it up to a TV station to protect viewers from themselves?

For the local Fox affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a two-hour drive from Indianapolis, that time came Sunday. Ten losses were enough. One more metaphorical shiv to the ribcage at the hands of Cam Newton(notes) and the Carolina Panthers? No thank you. The people of Fort Wayne will watch the Bears, and they'll like it. (Chicago is also only 200 miles away from Fort Wayne). From FortWayne.com:

The Fox channel had the rights to the Colts' home game, but it could only broadcast one game because CBS had the doubleheader Sunday. Indiana's NewsCenter chose the late-afternoon Chicago Bears game at Oakland over the Colts' 27-19 loss that dropped them to 0-11.

"The buck stops with me," Jerry Giesler, president and general manager of Indiana's NewsCenter, said in a telephone interview. "We talked a lot about it internally. Of course, the year in, year out logical choice would be the Colts. Absolutely, no question. The reason we went with the Bears was to follow the compelling story, their (playoff) hopes alive, a new quarterback."

There's a couple problems with this story.

One, the Colts aren't normally on Fox. They were only on Fox because the Panthers (NFC team) were visiting. The Colts will not be on Fox again this year, so it won't be up to the local Fox affiliate to choose between them and the Bears.

Two, the Colts have three of their last five games on the road. I'm willing to bet that the Fort Wayne area is a secondary market for the Colts, much like the York, PA area is for the Ravens. If that's the case, the NFL dictates that the local CBS affiliate MUST show Indy's road games, much like CBS stations in Central PA must show the Ravens when they are on the road.

Three, of the Colts two remaining games at home, one of them is on Thursday night. That leaves one home game (vs TEN at 1 pm, week 15), where the Fort Wayne CBS station has a choice of what game it wants to show. And that week, there are only three early games on CBS - Titans/Colts, Bengals/Rams, and Dolphins/Bills. Nothing that looks more attractive enough to bounce out the Colts.

So yes, for at least 4 out of the last 5 weeks of the season - and probably all 5 - the people of Fort Wayne will watch the Colts, whether they like it or not.

**Kevlar** · 11-30-2011, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by SteelFaninBMore

Two, the Colts have three of their last five games on the road. I'm willing to bet that the Fort Wayne area is a secondary market for the Colts, much like the York, PA area is for the Ravens. If that's the case, the NFL dictates that the local CBS affiliate MUST show Indy's road games, much like CBS stations in Central PA must show the Ravens when they are on the road.

Do central PA stations always show the Ravens? My comcast out of Gettysburg (southern york county) trumps the Ravens all the time for the Eagles/Steelers if there is a conflict.