College Football has been my favorite stick and ball sport for many years. The tradition, passion, rivalries, bands, exciting product and overall fun atmosphere make it a good watch. The popularity of college football and football in general has steadily grown. But, it seems College Football is moving to surpass the NFL. In the last couple of years, the NFL TV ratings and attendance in many stadiums has been dropping precipitously. Ads for shows like the NFL are sold based on rating expectations. When those expectations are not met, revenues for the NFL drop. I have seen recent reports that estimate the NFL will lose at least $500 million in TV revenues this year in addition to lower ticket and gear sales. The NFL has gone out of its way to assure everyone the National Anthem protests are not the cause for their travails. The Presidential election, hurricanes and any other excuse they could think of was provided for public consumption. But, based on the timeline and public sentiment it is clear the protests were an overriding factor. The truth of the matter is, in this fast paced world with so many entertainment options, once people move away from your product and find other things to do…… they will quickly acclimate successfully without it. People are moving on from the NFL in droves.
College Football has been a beneficiary. There is growing fan interest, more coverage on TV and radio shows and the ratings have continued to be strong. Therefore, the growth in coverage has been welcomed by those of us that have been fans for a long time. But, I cant help but feel somewhat guilty. I should be pleased more people are realizing college is a better product than the NFL, therefore more games on TV and general coverage. But, now we have teams playing up to 15 games. After tomorrow’s conference championship games, 13 people will meet to decide the teams that will play in the four team championship playoff. As we enter December, it seems the practices in August and September games were a long time ago. In football terms for “student athletes” college football is a long season and its getting longer. I cant help but cringe thinking of these kids, yes kids, “student athletes,” playing the amount of games that they play. The running backs and other players receiving excessive wear and tear on a weekly basis should concern the NCAA. We consistently hear about NFL players and concerns with CTE(brain injuries). Yet, they push these college athletes to the max. It is now a big business and it continues to grow.
Tomorrow night I will join millions of people watching whatever college games are on TV. It will be more entertaining than the number of irrelevant, boring NFL games that you can find this weekend. I wonder if any NFL players will be taking a knee during the National Anthem for Kate Steinle.
Clifton Park and Beyond 