04/18/24
August 04, 2006
Are you ready for some football?: Lots and lots of football? Pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about the NFL on TV this fall.
posted by SummersEve to football at 08:54 AM - 23 comments
Down near the bottom of the article, it talks about letting camera operators run onto the field in a test this preseason for close-ups. With the advent of the skycam and all of the high-powered lenses available, is this really necessary? I know they said there would be restrictions in place to avoid interfering with play, but no restriction can cover ALL possibilities. Bad idea, guys, baaaaad idea.
posted by elovrich at 09:08 AM on August 04, 2006
Also, an interesting battle brewing between the NFL Network and cable companies. The NFL Network ran ads asking fans to pressure companies like Time Warner to carry the NFL Network. Now, Time Warner has a website, nflgetreal.com, asking fans and non-fans to pressure the NFL Network to offer it's product without the extra charges. Be interesting to see who wins in the court of public opinion.
posted by SummersEve at 09:08 AM on August 04, 2006
The NFL Network ran ads asking fans to pressure companies like Time Warner to carry the NFL Network. This has always made me laugh, like the old commercials for color tv that used to run...on television....usually a b&w model, or one with poor color.... why on earth would anyone already watching the NFL network give 2 hoots about getting their local cable outlet to carry the programming?
posted by elovrich at 09:42 AM on August 04, 2006
That sort of reminds me of the battle between ESPN and Cox Communications a few years ago - Cox was trying to make ESPN a premium channel because it has become very expensive for providers to carry it. ESPN went full guns blazing against Cox and ultimately preserved its basic-cable status...
posted by Venicemenace at 09:43 AM on August 04, 2006
why on earth would anyone already watching the NFL network give 2 hoots about getting their local cable outlet to carry the programming? Sorry, elovrich, that was poor wording on my part. They've put together a $100 million dollar ad campaign to get people to pressure cable companies. So the ads aren't running on their network, they're running in markets were the network is not being carried.
posted by SummersEve at 09:48 AM on August 04, 2006
I always thought football was so popular because it was one day and one night a week I concur, I watched the entire '04-'05 season mostly because another sport was locked out. I found myself anticipating Sundays because the Jets were having a decent season that year. I tried watching again next season but just couldn;t stomach it. There is nothing more boring than a poorly played football match.
posted by HATER 187 at 09:57 AM on August 04, 2006
I could watch football every day. Saturday (college), Sunday and Monday (pro), and we even sometimes get Thursday night. Football has a short season, so each game is meaningful. I think that is why it is so popular. The problem is with making it more showy and less real football. I just like watching the game. I would like announcers to tell me where the ball is spotted and what substitutions are being made and other things that are helpful to the television viewer.
posted by bperk at 10:06 AM on August 04, 2006
They've put together a $100 million dollar ad campaign to get people to pressure cable companies. That idea worked pretty well for MTV in 81 and 82 with the "I want my mtv" ads. Are there too many options yet? The satalite dish companies have packages, some cable companies have packages, NBC, FOX, ESPN, CBS, and now the NFL network. Playing games on Saturdays and Thursdays more often now. IMO people will get burned out and pro football will loose out in the long run.
posted by Folkways at 11:32 AM on August 04, 2006
The only Thanksgiving Day game I seem to remember (since about 1980) is Dallas vs. Miami in 1993. And Leon Lett. And the fumble. I don't know if stands out in my mind because it was highly memorable or because most Turkey Day games are not. I'm hoping the extra game is worth watching, but if by halftime it's a blowout, I'm going back to the original plan of being either completely drunk or fully asleep by 7 p.m. PST and watching highlights on ESPN.
posted by forrestv at 11:55 AM on August 04, 2006
HATER 187: "There is nothing more boring than a poorly played football match." There is nothing more boring than a poorly played 0-0 soccer game. Sadly, these kinds of games happen so often.
posted by STUNNER at 01:39 PM on August 04, 2006
Next time you see one of them there poorly played football games, I suggest you just turn it off, HATER, and watch Andy Griffith or something.
posted by mjkredliner at 01:58 PM on August 04, 2006
Then again, it is the Jets you are talking about...you might have to watch a whole bunch of Andy this year.
posted by mjkredliner at 02:14 PM on August 04, 2006
Then again, it is the Jets you are talking about...you might have to watch a whole bunch of Andy this year. We got rid of Sermon Edwards so at the very least we'll be competitive. If you want to watch poorly coached football games this year, try the Chiefs. Sermon is the GWB of head football coaches.
posted by cjets at 03:43 PM on August 04, 2006
Definitely, the Jets now have a coach who was a defensive coordinator for one whole season. UPGRADE!
posted by bperk at 04:00 PM on August 04, 2006
Hey, Jets fans, quit your complaining...Herm turned your boy Chad Pennington into a world-class...oh, wait, he didn't, did he? Oh well, nevermind. Sorry I brought it up.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:59 PM on August 04, 2006
Fox spokesman from the article: "We found we've lost some of the attitude we've projected in the past. Robots are sacred ground for that." Just fucking shoot me now. No, hang on, just shoot the guy at Fox who decided attitude=robots.
posted by oscillator72 at 09:29 PM on August 04, 2006
Yeah, I was reading this saying "sweet, no more robots....wait, what?!!"
posted by Venicemenace at 11:06 PM on August 04, 2006
The only Thanksgiving Day game I seem to remember (since about 1980) is Dallas vs. Miami in 1993. Being a Lions fan (God help me) and living in L.A. Thanksgiving day games are one of the few times I get to see them play. I wish DirecTv would offer a package where I could buy just the Lions games instead of having to buy an expensive package of games I probably won't watch anyway. Hell I'd even switch back to cable if they'd do it. I guess that unlike some sports fans I'm a team fan more then a fan of the game itself. For instance while I'd go out of my way to watch a meaningless late season game between my Lions and some other team out of the playoff hunt, I wouldn't bother to watch two other teams playing for a spot in the championship round. That also explains why I haven't seen but maybe two Super Bowls over the years and then only at parties.
posted by commander cody at 11:29 PM on August 04, 2006
I wish DirecTv would offer a package where I could buy just the Lions games Are you feeling okay? I mean, really, are you feverish? Seeing spots? 'Cause that's the kind of statement that gets you involuntarily committed to a "medical" facility.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:09 AM on August 05, 2006
I always thought football was so popular because it was one day and one night a week, and basically on two or three channels. This may have been true before the Internet made fantasy football so more popular, and therefore a big money maker. Then ESPN, CBS and all the others—who already had a stake in the popularity of the sport—had even more incentive to add fuel to the fire. They put more inane chatter on the idiot box and disguise it was a way for people to win big in their fantasy leagues. Win-win.
posted by scully at 09:19 AM on August 05, 2006
...whose famous Hank Williams Jr. theme song has been updated to include Little Richard and Cheap Trick. When Little Richard and Cheap Trick are considered an "update", there is little debate that Baby Boomers are well and truly the most influential age group these shores have ever seen. Rock on.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 02:09 PM on August 05, 2006
I wish DirecTv would offer a package where I could buy just the Lions games Are you feeling okay? I mean, really, are you feverish? Seeing spots? 'Cause that's the kind of statement that gets you involuntarily committed to a "medical" facility. My wife is a psych RN and has a license to commit people for involuntary 72hr evaluations, so I have to be careful not to say my DirecTv wish outloud. Though I could hardly blame her if she sent me away if I did tell her.
posted by commander cody at 06:30 PM on August 05, 2006
Also asks the question, "Can there be too much NFL and too much coverage?" I always thought football was so popular because it was one day and one night a week, and basically on two or three channels. Nice 'n' easy to follow it, you know? Looks like I'm being proved wrong.