Interest in the Giants/NFL

I read somewhere once that there are 11 minutes of action in a typical game, and the other 49 minutes are getting the ball back to the line and the play clock ticking down. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but point well taken.

It used to be a game of big hits and tough dudes. Now that we're all on the same page that's gross to cheer for, we're left with a less violent game.

To offset that, the league wants more action. So they make defense impossible and slow the game down with penalties for basically everything.

I'd start with utilizing that 49 minutes nothing is happening. Trim the play cock down to 15 seconds after the ball is set. Maybe reward the offense with 25 if they get a first. Tire out the players but let them play defense. Make big plays happen because there are more plays. And see how quickly fans stop batching about too many commercials. It's not too many commercials, it's too few plays.

Commercials, injuries (additional commercials), flags every play, officials inserting themselves into the game, everyone stinks and is 8-8 quality.

The officiating is horrendous. Blandino doesn't know what he's doing and his on field officials are lost. What's a catch? Whats a blow to the head? When is a receiver defenless? What's unsportsmanlike? When can you review a call? Why do we have replay? Who knows?

There are too many ads.

On the other, and I seem to be in the minority here, I love watching the TNF and MNF games. Redzone is great. The NFL is still great but there are some serious issues which need to be addressed. I'd start by replacing Blandino with someone who's worked as an official for at least one football game.

The NFL has turned into total shit. It's not fun to watch any more. I can't turn on a game without seeing another terrible officiating call, missing a play or two because chain break runs over, and turning off the sound because I can't stand the announcers. I hate the new rule changes (especially XPs and two unsportsmanlikes being a disqualification), I think meaningful games played outside the US are an absolute abomination, and I'm sick and tired of all the player showboating during the games. And that's only the start of my gripes.

I haven't seen more than about half a game this season, and that now includes the GIANTS who are on their way to another losing season.

I find that I am watching meaningless Yankee games, the CFL, and the NHL instead of the NFL now. The Buffalo-Montreal hockey game tonight was a lot more entertaining than the Denver-San Diego color smush. Even a few years ago that would have been unthinkable for me.

I haven't completely cut the cord with the NFL yet, but it's coming. And soon.

This has been talked about quite a bit on here in recent months. Not only on here, but alot of places. It's not some new phenomenon. Too many flags (league-wide), too many commercials, too many time stoppages, the rule changes have hurt the game more than they've helped, the style of play these days is alot more sloppy than it's ever been, there's no flow to these games. Just alot of awfulness. People who deflate footballs get more severe penalties than people who commit serious crimes (ie, Sheldon Richardson, for one). The funny thing is alot of this stuff is easily fixable. Most of that stuff is common fucking sense that the NFL had down to a tee not too long ago. It's weird to a certain degree. Oh, and Goodell sucks ass.

but I've been dealing with a bunch of family stuff, apartment stuff, work stuff. I just haven't had the attention to give to the NFL.

Maybe this weekend I'll post about the family stuff.

And their poor play over the last few seasons have made even them difficult for me. I used to watch as many games as I could. Now, for a variety of reasons most of which have already been mentioned I can't. I'm bored out of my mind half the time.

game tonight. Until Redbone mentioned the Thursday night game, in his post, I had completely forgotten about it. I don't ever remember doing that before. So, there ya go.....

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The league keeps monkeying around with the rules. The officiating keeps getting worse. The game itself is a pale shadow of the quality of the past. The broadcasts are larded down with ever more commercials. The league has oversaturated the schedule. It used to be that Sunday afternoon was for football, with one game on Monday night. The broadcasts were precious for that reason - you only got a few of them. Each one seemed like a big event. Now there's those awful Thursday night games of invariably poor quality, plus Sunday night. It's too much. It waters down the sport.

I was around 8. Fortunately for me this was the beginning of the great 80's Giants teams. The NFL at that time was amazing!! Teams had distinct personalities....the 49'ers, Bears, Redskins, Eagles etc... NFL films was incredible!! The networks and game coverage seemed so much better. Madden and Summeral, MNF intro's, Jimmy the Greek!!! Lol
Everything seemed so grand to me as I was digesting everything in. The players were superheroes the teams were like the avengers, justice league, suicide squad. I would be up late and watch NFL films on espn. I was hooked and I haven't missed a game since to this date. The Giants are more than a team to me, it's a bond I had with my father and uncle (RIP) its Sunday dinners, it's fun conversation, it's remembering the past when the current team sucks!! With all that being said the present NFL doesn't excite me. The programs for the most part do not have the character of the old NFL films. The Broadcast teams are not fun to listen to. The pregame shows do not excite me and the panels for the most part of full of egomaniac ex players. It doesn't help that the Giants have been awful for the past 5 years!

this year were the lowest ever. Well, when you play a shitty game every Thursday (yep, I didn't even watch a second last night), of course it's going to dilute ratings! Monday Night used to be a special night for games, and yes it started to slip before the Thursday night games, but that was the nail in the coffin. They are finally getting hit with the results everyone predicted. Get rid of Thursday night crapfests and watch the ratings improve a tick.

For the OP I think the answer can be found in the fact that you are 31.

For many other expressing such sentiment I expect these sentiments will disappear when the Giants begin to win again.

I am 32 and your post summed up how I feel. I don't really have a connection to the players, the team has sucked for 4 years, not too long ago the organization fucked my dad over with PSL's that he didn't want since he had just retired, no connection to the stadium, penalties, no celebrations. List goes on and on.

I still watch every Sunday. The teams for the most part sucked under Fassell too, but I just connected more with Hammer, Armstead, Garnes, Barrow etc.

One thing I definitely don't watch much of now is Sunday/Monday/Thurs nights when the Giants aren't in the game. I would rather sleep.

The Giants are the first thing I've ever loved. It will be like that until the day I die. I haven't missed a game since I was probably 6 or 7 years old. Don't think I ever will miss a game either. I love the team so much I have the Giants NY logo tattooed on my ribs.

I don't watch as many random games from like the Broncos or Falcons, but that's only because I'm normally watching the Giants game on TV & a division game on my phone.

Then I do NFL. NFL can be boring and if your team isn't involved in the game being played sometimes there is nothing to get me interested in watching it. I used to watch every game, especially Monday night football.

In College, every game counts. Any high ranking team can go down on any given day which can effect your team and their rankings. It's also much more satisfying to see the Alabama's and Ohio State's lose when they actually do. If you lose one game it could be the end of your season.

college football. I used to find it boring and much preferred the pro game. Now, I love the pageantry and passion, the rivalries and unpredictability of the college game more than the NFL. If the Giants aren't playing, I find it very easy to miss or turn off an NFL game. And for the first time in my life, it's not out of the question to do the same during a Giants game, for all the same reasons mentioned by others. Winning would help me find enthusiasm for the Giants again, obviously.

The exposure league wide s over saturated and the product isn't as enjoyable, so I doubt I'll ever get interested in general if it doesn't involve the Giants.

they don't make the playoffs, it's filled with average or worse players with a handful of exceptions, and - most painfully for me, and I know many of us - 0 for their last 4 and going back further 3-13 (with only 1 of those wins meaning shit) vs the Eagles.

Of course it's not pleasant to watch this trash. Of course it's more fun to watch Michael Strahan.

I've never watched a ton of other teams...I really only love the conference championship games - not even really the SB - which are often super high quality matchups. But I continue to love and plan my Sundays around Giants football.

the thrill is gone for many of the reasons posted on this site.
Add to that the disrespect of the national anthem.
Hockey has gotten more traction even if I do root for a losing team.
Still very hard to avoid watching the jints, however much easier turning them off earlier than it used to be...

Well done. I am 45. Same feeling sad most here. Back in the 80s and 90s I couldn't get enough. Now the passion isn't there. Sucks. I sold my tickets for this weeks game. Rather be home with my family. Never thought I'd do this. Gong to old Giants stadium meant something special to me. Once they knocked that down it all started to change. Once Eli hangs it up who knows. Odell has made it fun as well but the tantrums are getting played.

for the other similar ones that have popped up here in the last week. i'm 33 and feel exactly the same way.

first, let me counter the replies of some that simply think its because the Giants aren't doing well. for me at least, that's not the issue. even in the crappiest of seasons over the last 25 years, an NFL game was always something i would just turn on to watch because it was entertaining and usually i could convince myself into some type of rooting interest (for the Giants) like cheering against another NFC east team for example. now, i'm less inclined to watch any non-Giants games because it's just not an entertaining product.

the game as is flat out sucks now. defense has been neutered, no two refs call a game remotely the same way, and i feel like i'm watching what is akin to an arena league game now. and that goes for NYG too. they're just so unenjoyable to watch versus many of the seasons i loved, even ones that didn't end in ring (most). we have what seems to be literally 1 running play and it feels like the playbook itself is about 10 plays deep.

i also agree with the sentiment of feeling no connection to the players anymore. hell, even in the 90s there was certainly a connection to the crop of defensive guys we drafted through the years. now since around 2010/2011, the team has become a massive revolving door. and you can say that's the NFL, but its been well documented that NYG has had an extremely poor retention of its drafted players.

i always liked the idea of build a core within and add pieces. hell just look at the '05 offseason. Plax/Piece/McKenzie. but those ended up being core guys and big contributors. they were part of a core to me for sure. now? who does anyone really feel a connection to on this team other than Eli? who's actually on this team that was there even say 3 years ago??

i saw somewhere that Vernon said they have to get back to playing Giants football (?!) you don't even know what the fuck that is! you've been in NY for a minute and haven't done a thing!

i hope this is just a passing phase. but with King Roger and crew, they've sure taken the golden goose and ripped it in half. luckily, the fans are responding.

and have been watching since I was 8. I liked the 80s more than today's football, but I think the issue for me is really more about the consistent losing than anything else. It was not very much fun to watch the Giants during the 70s either. If they were winning, I would definitely be very excited about future games.

Accompanied with a shitty team for five years and now politics being too involved (for me personally anyway) it's just not the same. I didn't watch one second of the game last night. I could have cared less. 10 years ago I would have watched any game whether or not the Giants sucked. Mark Cuban may have been right.

I think its as simple as the NFL loses older fans (less time to watch, death, etc) they aren't being replaced by the youngins at an equal rate because millennials and younger stream a lot more of their content. Netflix, youtube, hulu, etc. A higher percentage of cord cutters.

Look at cable TV in general, it's all down.

98-2010.... 2011 by default. Gameplay seemed to get worse after the new CBA

My biggest issues is the length of time it takes to complete these games. It shouldn't be more than 3 hours.

The commercial kickoff commercial is absolute torture. I'm not convinced officiating is worse. I think the HD tv/relays makes it look worse.

I know that the nfl and the various teams are doing what they can to prevent them, but football is a very violent sport. The player I'm cheering for may have a lower life expectancy due to football. It's getting harder to cheer for that.

in the games anymore and a large part is because they've essentially changed the game to appeal to a casual fan. They've tilted the scales to reward offense and punish defense to the point that it is absurdly unfair. They have a clown running the officiating which has made things go from bad to worse and there is no consistency to replay and rulings.

From a business sense, they've succeeded in bringing in more fans and catering to fantasy football, but in the end, they have fans who are less invested and loyal and it is just a matter of time before that ends up coming back to haunt them.

I liken it a bit to NASCAR. NASCAR has a devout, loyal fan base. Then they started trying to appeal to everyone, changing the format for declaring a champion, expanding into other markets where racing is not as popular, and using gimmicks to attract viewers, and it has kicked them in the ass to the point where the sport has seen reduced attendance and viewership several years in a row.

The NFL hasn't hit that point, and has time to change things, but I doubt they will. for them, a 7-3 defensive battle is like reading War and Peace to Brahms Lullaby

and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems...

In comment 13172601 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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in the games anymore and a large part is because they've essentially changed the game to appeal to a casual fan. They've tilted the scales to reward offense and punish defense to the point that it is absurdly unfair. They have a clown running the officiating which has made things go from bad to worse and there is no consistency to replay and rulings. From a business sense, they've succeeded in bringing in more fans and catering to fantasy football, but in the end, they have fans who are less invested and loyal and it is just a matter of time before that ends up coming back to haunt them. I liken it a bit to NASCAR. NASCAR has a devout, loyal fan base. Then they started trying to appeal to everyone, changing the format for declaring a champion, expanding into other markets where racing is not as popular, and using gimmicks to attract viewers, and it has kicked them in the ass to the point where the sport has seen reduced attendance and viewership several years in a row. The NFL hasn't hit that point, and has time to change things, but I doubt they will. for them, a 7-3 defensive battle is like reading War and Peace to Brahms Lullaby

A 7-3 game would stink.... I think great scorelines are 17-14 21-17 24-20

I watch portions of OTHER games, but rarely make a point to schedule a day around any other teams' games. If the Giants aren't p[laying, I'm a very casual NFL fan. Like nearly all on BBI, when Big Blue is playing, I'm riveted.

Still, I get the overall sentiment, CMicks.

Guys in my age bracket (40s/50s) have seen so much better, and even the much younger guys (20s/30s, and dudes my boy's age - late teens) have seen some good stuff.

But it's true - McAdoo is a vanilla character. As much as some of us love Eli, he's a vanilla character. And our most interesting and likely best talent? He's a child, emotionally. So while we are huge fans of his, we also think the way our former coach has articulated of late - I'll bet I could help that guy pull his head out of his arse.

Our passion for things NFL has waned. I think more than it being about the product (be it the Giants or the NFL as a whole), guys in my age range are simply more thinly spread. Painting with a very broad, general brush, your average 40s/50s guy is trying to follow the Giants and maybe the NFL closely but also working on his marriage, raising his kids (and for many, coaching/advising them in various extracurricular activities and sports), working a full-time job (plus), maintaining a house or properties, managing extended family (and if married, hers as well), and in some cases, trying to do all that while navigating a divorce and in some cases, re-entering the dating scene (and unenviable thing).

Put all that together, add a sprig of maturity/life experience, and suddenly, not every moment turns on a New York Football Giants win or loss. Yeah, the wins make the following days feel cleaner and easier, but the losses - if you've evolved even a small bit - while they sting and grind, don't really make a big difference in your Tuesday or Wednesday (notice I didn't say Monday, because hey, we're still human, and these past two days-after have SUXED).

There's another aspect that I don't harp on myself, but it's one I think factors at some level for many of us in our 40s/50s. At very least, it occurs to us now and again.

Tom Coughlin represented our Dads, or if not, maybe an uncle who was stern and you saw now and again and every time you did, you knew what to expect. He was the salt of the earth, and he was consistent (good or bad). You had respect.

NFL coaches - ours included - are seeming to be more like a younger cousin, or maybe little brother. Fight it as we might, many of us have had the moment when we think: there is no WAY he knows as much about this stuff as I do! What the fuck is he THINKING?!? I mean, does he even know what number John Mendenhall wore? Probably not. (Note: None of this makes logical sense, but we're not talking sense ... it's emotional.)

All this said, I get it ... all the CMicks commentary and much of the follow-up from others, I'm there ... and no matter how fucking pissed off I get at the league's changes, the delays, the stripping down of a much more glorious game "back in MY day," I'm still starting to get a little bit fired up for this Sunday's game on a Friday morning, and I will plan my Sunday morning (and much of that day) around those 3-plus hours.

The product is diluted. The junkie is still needy. And as much as the edges may be more rounded these days, the addiction isn't going anywhere any time soon.

I never thought the day would come that my love for NFL football would die. Over the past 6 or so years my overall time I spend watching football has decreased exponentially. I still never miss a Giants game but can care less regarding the other games. I feel that its a combination of things from action, officiating, rule changes, off field issues and just the general commercialization of the NFL. I find myself these days getting more into hockey and find myself enjoying the experience more and more. Given a choice to see a hockey game versus a NFL game hands down today I would go to the hockey game.

In comment 13172605 I Love Clams Casino said:

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and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems...

When you spend time and money hiding health research and information from your employees, you deserve everything you get when it comes to criticism and lawsuits. Yes, playing Soccer and Hockey can lead to concussions and CTE, but the NFL has atleast half the players on the field colliding on every play, of which there are 100+ per game. It's pretty obvious to me why they are the whipping boy and they have only themselves to blame.

And a lot of it has to do with the Gmen being absolute dog shit. Even in the mid 90s, the Giants weren't very good but had a lot of exciting players on defense. The offense the past 2 weeks, along with the Saints game, has been frustratingly unwatchable.

Were the commercials any worse in 2008, when the Giants finished 12-4 and were just rolling through teams in the fall? I had a great time watching then.

i've felt this way even before our last SB. The game is too saturated with too thin a talent pool, there's too many injuries leading to sloppy play, too many entities have their hand in the game (Broadcasting, Media, Social Media, etc), there's too many off the field issues with the players for me to be emotionally invested, and there's more stuff to watch on TV that's far more compelling.

Outside of rooting for the Giants, the only other reason why I watch as much as I do (which isn't even 1/4 of what it used to be) is fantasy football. And even that I cut down from 3 leagues to just 1, which consists of the same 11 guys i've been playing with for 15 years. If that league ended, I wouldn't play at all, and would watch even less of the NFL.

For me, it's hard to say. I've definitely had a downturn in interest in the past 20 years, but I've also had a complete shift in priorities. Just out of college jcn with a lot of time on his hands would spend all of Sunday watching football. Current day, I'm lucky I get the time to sneak in the Giants game live when I'm not somehow tied up with the kids or work. A lot of times I'll have to go the DVR route, because it's just too hard to free up half a day of the week.

Beyond the dwindling free time, though - everything from the shift to fantasy football and a more offensive oriented game to them making it as bland as humanly possible. I used to laugh at basketball for the technical foul, and now I'm seeing guys flagged for taunting for dancing after a TD. And flags? I feel like there's a ton more flags (with the requisite ton more stoppages) per game, but I don't have the stats so I don't know if that's just perception or reality.

Then add the safety changes, which I wouldn't have any other way but still diminish the original interest nonetheless, and the fact that owners are so damn cheap. They have limited roster sizes that mean and injury or two basically damn a team right out of the playoffs, and a tight cap that means roster turnover is inevitable to the point where you're not really watching the same team for more than 2-3 years running - and you lose the personal connection that you had to root for.

Put it altogether, inundate the airwaves with extra games on Sunday night, Thursday night, mornings from London - and yeah, my interest isn't anywhere near what it used to be.

But that's not the reason. The Giants stunk in 1995-96 and I was far more interested in the rest of the NFL than I am now.

The salary cap and the general mediocrity it enforces doesn't help. There's such a sense of randomness to the modern NFL, everybody can bear everybody else to a much greater extent than used to be true. Where are the great teams? There hasn't been what I would consider a great team since the back to back Broncos. No, I don't consider the Patriots on that level. How many HOFers have played for the Brady-era Patriots besides the man himself? Moss for a couple of years, and if Gronk stays healthy he'll likely get there. Maybe Vinatieri becomes the rare kicker to make it, but after those guys I'm drawing a blank here.

however, my time is dwindling due to the fact my 2 year old rather watch the Lion Guard with me. I will always watch the Giants. However, the other non-Giants game is dwindling to the point where the game is on in the background but I am busy doing something else.

If the Giants were a dominant team like a 12 win team. All these posts about being done, I can't get through a game, the officiating blah blah blah it's a matter of the Giants not being a good team and this being the norm since 2012. Once we turn that corner we will never see a Thea's like this again. Not calling out the OP, I actually agree with some of this thoughts it's the responses that make me sick.

In comment 13172637 Tuckrule said:

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If the Giants were a dominant team like a 12 win team. All these posts about being done, I can't get through a game, the officiating blah blah blah it's a matter of the Giants not being a good team and this being the norm since 2012. Once we turn that corner we will never see a Thea's like this again. Not calling out the OP, I actually agree with some of this thoughts it's the responses that make me sick.

That's such a shitty argument. So you are telling me if the Giants win more games, I will be more interested in the NFL? I still watch every Giants game even when they are losing, so unless the Giants somehow play more games each season by winning more (not speaking about playoffs) how would that lead to me watching more football? What does the Giants winning or losing have to do with poor officiating, too many stops in action, too many injuries, and video game rules favoring the offense?

were a 12 win team, we'd watch more of the NFL as a whole? I don't buy it. Most people here admit they watch the Giants. Some are saying they've gotten to the point where they only catch all of the Giants game and then watch snippets or none of other games. And that's during a stretch of down seasons.

It is pretty clear that interest in watching other NFL games is dwindling, and that's being reflected in the ratings this year.

My interest in the NFL as a whole is completely unrelated to the performance of the Giants. Whether the Giants win or lose, I still don't really care about the rest of the league.

other games. And with all the commercials even their games are hard to stay focused on. I didn't watch 1 minute of the Broncos game last night. I was much more interested in the baseball game and the Rangers opener against the Fishsticks.

As others have pointed out:

1) too many bad games/poor quality of play.
2) Too many commercials. TD, commercial, kickoff , more commercials. Rules too technical to understand or for the refs to apply consisitently
3) rules changed to the point that it's not even football anymore. My father used to call it "association", which he said is what they called touch football when he was a kid. And he called the Bill Walsh Niners that. Imagine what he'd call this tripe!

Whether you're a baseball fan or not, at least it's still BASEBALL. Although with the advent of replay and banning of take out slides, I fear that MLB is copying the worst aspects of the NFL model.

the first season I remember well and following closely was 1993. Simms's last year and Reeves's first. So I did grow up with Dave Brown & co. There is no question in my mind that Eli's worst day is more watchable than the best day during the Reeves-early Fassel era.
This team, even whey suck, has competitive HoFers on the field. Back then, most days it felt like almost nobody on those 90s offenses could even make a roster until Tiki Barber showed up.

Saturation is a goofy point to get up in arms about.

There are finite games and match-ups, if more are on TV it doesn't change anything. Now you can argue 4 days between games impacts the quality of play and I'll buy that.

The masochistic IR rules are an easy one to pick off. A 4,8 and season IR is so simple it's laughable. So much good ball is dumped down the drain because a guy who breaks a bone is shelved week 2.

The on the field calls are tough with ultra HD and 4K replay. The OBJ catch last week would have been a non-issue 15 years ago. But with optical zoom you get down to the green space between cleat and line.

Everyone says back in the day this was this a this and you just knew it. The variability was always there. But now the ref needs rails, because if s/he goes on gut, that red flag means 22-camera 4K replays, 4K jumbo display in front of 70K people, and millions at home.

fans some are losing interest because of the cumulative toll of losing. really we are trending now for our 5th straight non playoff season, 7 out of the last 8. that is a lot of bad play. and even when we won the super bowl in 2011, we barely squeaked into the playoffs, thanks to some victor cruz heroics.

sure, there are other reasons generally why ratings are down: people have less attention these days for a 4 hour tv show with a tonne of commercials for 11 minutes of actual action, have competition with their phones, streaming sites, are taking on more gig economy type jobs that require weekend work, etc etc

but at least as giants fans, things will look a lot better if and when we ever turn things around and start winning again.

in the interest levels.

Football on Sunday used to be event TV - the 6 hour stretch per week, barring the one game that ran on Monday night, that you could catch a football game.

Now take that window and stretch it out to include Sunday night, Thursday night, the occasional Sunday morning games, the Saturday games in December.

Biggest part though, IMO, is the salary cap and the roster turnover. I know all the Giants, because I'm a Giants fan. I won't miss a Giants game. My interest in other teams has waned, though, in part because those teams change so quickly I have limited knowledge of their personnel and identity. Granted, I don't play fantasy football or Madden, so that could be a limiting factor, but it's not like it used to be when a team's roster would stay static for a few years, and you identified certain players with certain teams.

In comment 13172504 I am Ninja said:

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Commercials, injuries (additional commercials), flags every play, officials inserting themselves into the game, everyone stinks and is 8-8 quality.

I think you nailed it here. Nothing really to add.

wait until Sunday. I'd spend all day in my "man cave" watching as many games as available. Now I only watch the Giants and maybe a division game if available.

Watered down talent, free agency, poor officiating, too many rules and penalties have sucked the excitement from the game imo.

I generally watch more football and football related shows when the Giants are winning.

When they lose - and are generally a miserable team all around, like they have been - I just tune out everything football related (for the most part) for the rest of that week. I have less interest in watching Dallas win, or the talking heads fellate Carson Wentz or Kirk Cousins, or Ben R when my team looks like they are high school caliber.

with a poster above, the game has become more saturated.
Half the time, I don't watch Thursday night games.
Blandino never officiated a game, but he is the head of officials, read his bio if you haven't.
Too many commercials as well, the NFL RZ might have something to do with the ratings? I have heard talk of that recently.
Next week, you have to watch the Giants at 9:30 (EST).
Games being played in London are a joke to me.
In recent years, the Giants have a losing culture going on,
it takes a lot less time to get over a loss.

I absolutely agree that way too many commercials and bad officiating (and many bad teams) are contributing factors.

to a lesser degree is the amount of hype applied early in the season. Non-stop coverage of Josh Norman or Beckham gets tiring. Talking about 3-0 teams like they are shoo-ins for the postseason and the Super Bowl is meaningless. The Media has become a lot like BBI - they overreact week to week. After week two, they loved the way the giants had rebuilt themselves and praised the defensive additions. Sunday night, NBC had several graphics cued up to lambast the signings.

The Media has probably always been like this, but when in the past you only had the pregame show on FOX and CBS (or NBC and CBS before that), the exposure was far less. Now you have ESPN starting coverage at 10AM, the NFL Network devoting Sunday AM to gameday, ridiculous mediums like the Fantasy Channel, plus the standard studio shows, bu the time 1PM rolls around, if you are an actual die-hard fan, you're exhausted.

London, and somewhere like Berlin, and they start running 4 different game slots on Sundays.

I agree that Thursday and Sunday night games suck. I hate when the Giants play those nights, and rarely watch if it's not the Giants, unless it's a really compelling matchup...but those are rare these days

if I were to miss a Giant game. I certainly don't care as much when they lose, but maybe that's cause I expect them to lose. I will say that I am much more likely to watch the late games on a Sunday when the Giants win. What may drive me away is the feeling that watching the NFL is a guilty pleasure given the games violence and greedy commercialization.

You make good points. I especially agree about catering to the casual fan. However, I remain in the minority in this thread. The Giants have been ingrained in me since 56.

Enjoy watching them too much to give it up. But agree the quality of play in the NFL has declined. Too many decisions driven by money have hurt the game.

I usually wait 30 minutes before starting a Giants game. With fast forward that will generally allow me to fully skip halftime by the time I'm caught up. For non-Giants game, you couldn't pay me to sit through for 3 hours without it being DVR'd.

In comment 13172693 Les in TO said:

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and even when we won the super bowl in 2011, we barely squeaked into the playoffs, thanks to some victor cruz heroics.

lol, truly the worst.

6 years now, born and raised in NJ. When I came down here I was purely an NFL guy. Sure I watched College football but didn't really have a team I would throw the remote over like the Giants.

After 6 years I'm now a huge College FB fan too... the game is so much more exciting now only to watch on TV, but to actually go to the games.

Im still a die hard Giants fan and always will be. But I have to admit that College is more exciting. Im watching teams I dont even root for.

On saturday afternoons during College football, my subdivision is littered with College Team flags flying outside the homes, cars have the flags hanging from the windows, and the food stores are loaded with fans. I really have come to enjoy it. And believe me, the Bulldogs are alot like the Giants lol...

The NFL just seems like a long drawn out 3 1/2 hours now.

In comment 13172709 LG in NYC said:

Quote:

I generally watch more football and football related shows when the Giants are winning. When they lose - and are generally a miserable team all around, like they have been - I just tune out everything football related (for the most part) for the rest of that week. I have less interest in watching Dallas win, or the talking heads fellate Carson Wentz or Kirk Cousins, or Ben R when my team looks like they are high school caliber.

THIS. Part of being a good fan is can't get enough of the Giants winning, and can't stand them losing. Also, the reverse for Dallas, Philthy and DC. When those fortunes are reversed, I naturally seek out other things to do. As one poster said, when the Giants lose at 1, it's yard work at 4.

this season I have shut the game off the last 4 minutes .
I have never done that since 1964 .
The officiating is lousy the unsportsman like and late
hits are ridiculous .
The average fan can't afford to even go to a pre-season
game . You can't fingerpoint but you can unload on someone
in the endzone while scoring a TD .
You Allow players like AP stay in the league ..after beating
a child . Goodell is the worste thing to ever happen to
the game . The owners are greedy and the expansion of
games on Thursday Sunday Night and now London ?
It certainly doesn't help when your team has sucked for
for straight years ....

The total add time to content is not extraordinarily different than 10 years ago. The issue is the "content" is lots of blabbering in between small doses of football.

Really think why a basketball broadcast is an hour shorter when the clock is the minutes shorter.

The NFL is stretching out what really should be 2 hours into 3. That's the problem with the game, most of the time spent you are not watching a game.

I honestly and truly forgot there were games on last night and Monday night. I was sitting there Monday night watching TV with my wife and though, "oh, there's actually a game on right now". Didn't know who was playing, didn't care. Didn't think about it again after that. Last night never thought about it until this morning.

Could not care less.

it really hits you when u go watch it live - the amount of standing around the players do in between drives, even during series when there's a penalty or TV time-out, is unreal. There's no real momentum and you realize that watching live. It's just random plays strung together.

The Giants in particular seem to have that problem because they can't string together well executed plays without f#cking something up, which causes delays.

I'd still watch them the same amount. But I'd still not care much for Monday or Thursday or Sunday night non Giants games. Those used to be events. Now they are just 3 hours I'd rather spend doing something else instead. Just my personal view.

At least, no difference from recent years. In high school and college I was more into neutral games than I am now, but that's nothing new, and has nothing to do with changes in the game or the broadcasts. There's just more to do. But Giants games are still sacrosanct to me, and all playoff games are high priority.

The NFL bet wrong that substituting scoring for violence would be enough.

The league seemingly didn't think through how handcuffing defenses would lead to more stoppages.

It's also crazy a team gets 25 seconds AFTER the ball is placed.

The media overhyping is very annoying. The coverage by ESPN is way over the top. Every little thing becomes a big story and it has become a turnoff. The refs are so inconsistent and can determine the outcome of games. The Thursday nite games should be eliminated. I. Only watch the Giants pretty much. Wish we would have fired JR 2 years ago.

In comment 13172752 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

I usually wait 30 minutes before starting a Giants game. With fast forward that will generally allow me to fully skip halftime by the time I'm caught up. For non-Giants game, you couldn't pay me to sit through for 3 hours without it being DVR'd.

IMO, this has become the only way to watch these games, although I think a one hour delay works better. I still have not watched a commercial during a Giant game this year!

I still don't understand how having more games on TV makes it less exciting. I never watch Thursday games because I always have work functions.

Still watch MNF and a couple of games on Sunday. Thursday night football just doesn't exist to me.

I rabidly watch Giants Games - even when they are sucking it up --- and will watch other games but they are not a priority for me -- in fact I'd rather watch a good golf match than football if it's not the Giants playing

I am optimistic that this team will go on a run and improve upon the season


Go Giants!!!

... I would still watch a non-Giant's NFL game game over just about any other sport.

I'm 54 and grew up during the 70s when baseball was king. Now pre-September baseball games are pretty much unwatchable. The post-season MLB games (and pennant races) are still kind of exciting except its still almost impossible to sit down and watch a 9 inning game uninterrupted.

NBA regular season hoops also unwatchable until the second or third round of the playoffs. I may be in the minority but I love NHL hockey although I won't start seriously watching until football is over.

It could also be the case that the remote control combined with 600 channels just make the idea of sitting down and watching Panthers-Bucs in its entirety almost impossible.

I will say that the 3 hours of watching Giants football on those 16 days a year is still pure bliss for me - everything else is just filler at this point.

But I agree with other posters with less interest in the Night games.
I give two reasons what made the game on the field worse:

Free Agency and The new CBA.

Football when played properly needs Continuity and Practice and in todays game both are lacking.
With the NEW CBA rules there is really not enough practice time and hitting to play the game with crispness. Dumb penalties, missed assignments and poor blocking and tackling are the norm.

I know Free agency is fun during the off season and it has put more money in the players pockets (which is a good thing)but every year the deck gets shuffled and teams are incorporating younger players before they are ready to play.

But think about the game pre 1993, and how much better the product on the field was, and sorry to say it will never be again.

My interest in the NFL has been waning, but I will never miss a Giants game on tv. I might sell my tix when they are sucking, but I will always watch them. For a long time now, the Giants have been very disappointing. When they are winning, a lot of other games become interesting. Not just the cowboys, eagles and skins, but any team that will effect the Giants standings in the playoffs. Seems lately, they have shit the bed early in the season, therefore making football less interesting.

All day on Saturday and just watch the Giants on Sunday or whenever they play and be happy. There are times where I just don't care enough about the other games to watch them. I might have them on in the background while I do something else, but that's it.

Ability to watch your favorite team more often has decreased league-wide interest.

As a kid in LA, with 4 TV games a week, I watched Rams games just to see the in-game highlights of the Giants.

When I lived in the Bay Area as an adult I can't remember watching a single 9ers game not against the Giants in 15 years.

Interest is just more specialized now - and access to want you want, and especially when you have constant entertainment in your hands.

going along with it, encouraging it and actually showing it every game is pissing me off. If this gets anymore widespread or if Jennings and a bunch of Giants start doing it I will not watch anymore.

Love the pros, but college is starting to creep up with me.

Giants will always be #1.

In comment 13172605 I Love Clams Casino said:

Quote:

and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems...

Which major sport do you think it's reasonable to expect has similar CTE outcomes?

In comment 13173323 chris r said:

Quote:

In comment 13172605 I Love Clams Casino said: Quote: and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems... Which major sport do you think it's reasonable to expect has similar CTE outcomes?

Soccer. You know, the game that has so many concussions that they've banned younger players from using your head. You really are a dumbfuck.

In comment 13173330 PeterinAtlanta said:

Quote:

In comment 13173323 chris r said: Quote: In comment 13172605 I Love Clams Casino said: Quote: and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems... Which major sport do you think it's reasonable to expect has similar CTE outcomes? Soccer. You know, the game that has so many concussions that they've banned younger players from using your head. You really are a dumbfuck.

Ok. Now point me to evidence of CTE in retired soccer players. TIA PIA.

In comment 13173332 chris r said:

Quote:

In comment 13173330 PeterinAtlanta said: Quote: In comment 13173323 chris r said: Quote: In comment 13172605 I Love Clams Casino said: Quote: and the fact that the NFL has become CTE's whipping boy. I'm not sure that is within good reason or not considering what I've heard anecdotally about other sports with CTE problems... Which major sport do you think it's reasonable to expect has similar CTE outcomes? Soccer. You know, the game that has so many concussions that they've banned younger players from using your head. You really are a dumbfuck. Ok. Now point me to evidence of CTE in retired soccer players. TIA PIA.

How difficult is it for you to use Google to search CTE in soccer? Thanks for confirming my last sentence.
Link - ( New Window )

but now that is dwindling due to # and type of penalties, the refs being part of the game, and the offensive nature of today's NFL.

I like great defense. The first half of the Pats - Panthers SB was a classic. SB 25 was awesome.

Still won't miss a Giants game if I can get near a TV, but my broader interest is waining.

Cte is much easier legislated out of soccer than football. Ban heading. Won't change the game nearly as much as trying to prevent it in football..

Football is deservedly carrying the cte issue as a black mark. Particularly here where it's a much bigger sport than soccer. Particularly after the cover ups.

Other reasons as have been pointed out, extreme parity, over hype, poor new generic stadium design (the old mile high rfk and candlestick were far more entertaining than their boring modern replacements), and lack of distinct personalities for teams mostly due to free agency and the cap, and worst of all fantasy football creating a legislation against defense and allow offense to rack stats up have left today's game awful for the die hard.

of retired soccer stars with dementia are numerous, but most of the players are foreign, so I figure contrarian asswipes don't really scan the International news.

I'm 64 and the Giants have been the center of my entertainment for virtually my entire life ... I've always refused tickets to go to a game (unless it's preseason) and I never allow anyone else in the room when the game is on.... I've never missed a game and I watch every one alone... and now I suddenly find my interest waning and I don't have a clue why.

One thing is for certain. It has NOTHING to do with winning or losing. I LOVED the Giants during the "lost years" of the mid 60's and 70's.

For almost 20 years I worked Sundays, days one week and nights the next. My Giants games were DVR'D or watched (jeopardized my job) on the job on a little battery operated tv. Monday night games were an every other week game for me and I watched every Thursday game, and was glad I could..

I retired two years ago and Sundays became a warm place for me, I had the NFL package because it was given to me for signing on to DirectTV. I bought it this year (no more though).

Now that I can watch every game slot televised I think besides chord cutters, bad reffing and ridiculous commercial breaks, over saturation is a problem. Sundays and Mondays were religious, the occasional Thursday fun. Now it's over done.

I still watch every single game I can, but I can see how it could wear thin on some people.

the Giants have been the center of my sports interest for over 40 years. I rarely watch the playoffs and Super Bowl these days. When Eli retires I wonder if I will hold on as a football fan anymore. I hope so but it will be a test.

like this one:
Goal line stand against the Bears - ( New Window )

I sat in section 127 for that game; my usual seats were in 109.

Watched the tape when I got home. What a day!

ESPN on its Sunday morning program used to feature a video of the ten biggest hit of the week before. Just about all of these hits today would result in ejection.

NFL can't go back to that era, but has to make some concessions to the fans. No roughing the quarterback for a moderate shove in the back after the whistle. Penalize the player, not the team for taunting. With only 16 games a year, you can't have one of the games decided by an official's judgment that a player wasn't polite enough to the other team after scoring.

I don't know if the rule on what constitutes a pass reception was changed or officials just started calling it different. but the old way of judging receptions, pretty much just catching the ball, keeping it in your hands for two seconds and still having it in your hands when you hit the ground. ("The ground can't cause a fumble")

Now they watch the receiver four times in super slow motion and strain to see if he jiggled the ball for a half a second on the way down.

.

.
NFL ratings plunge could spell doom for traditional TV - ( New Window )

Agree more with this thread. The NFL product has become watered down, inconsistent, unprofessional and insulting to wathch.

For many of you during games (in game threads) and after the games (fromfollow on celebratory or bitchfest threads), you seem to be pretty damn passionate about our Giants at least.

If the games or the results of games caused you to lose sleep (some posters have mentioned that in previous posts), go ballastic on the team or other posters, or spend hours of your week talking about all the mistakes or whatnots, then your still pretty much invested in this team no matter if your have or haven't lost passion for it or relate to the team or players.

Once we start winning again, most of you guys will change your tunes. Winning solves everything.

I'll never lose passion or interest in the Giants. As far as other teams/games go, I'll watch them over many other things on TV, but won't really bat an eye if I have something else to do.

for the Giants, i'm sure most of that is true, but not the NFL. The product is brutal and has so many problems. I'll always watch the Giants play regardless of our record, but that's the extent of my NFL interest outside of following players in my 1 fantasy league. Even interest there is waning. I still pay attention and am very much active on fantasy related topics, but I went from 3 leagues to 1.

Winning cures everything, but it won't fix the larger issues with the NFL.

I honestly think that, in many cases, habit is a powerful force. The same reasons I have lost interest in the league as a whole apply to the Giants, but I've been following them for 30 years. It's second nature to watch the games, follow team news, obsess over statistics, and so on. It's reflexive.

In comment 13182319 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

for the Giants, i'm sure most of that is true, but not the NFL. The product is brutal and has so many problems. I'll always watch the Giants play regardless of our record, but that's the extent of my NFL interest outside of following players in my 1 fantasy league. Even interest there is waning. I still pay attention and am very much active on fantasy related topics, but I went from 3 leagues to 1. Winning cures everything, but it won't fix the larger issues with the NFL.

Yeah...for the most part, my comment was in response to people saying they've lost interest or passion for the Giants. I can see that for the wider NFL, but no matter what anyone says, Giants still being out strong responses from most of us.