On the off chance that the NFL is listening the reason the NFL tv ratings are down this season is gambling. Yes, gambling. The same reason the NFL achieved its lofty perch in the sports universe, gambling has now become its demise. So what changed?
Contrary to the ingenuine protestations of the commissioner and the owners, people still bet millions of dollars each year on NFL games. Both legal and illegal betting. Office pools, weighted pools, survival pools,point spreads and straight up. And, now, the elephant in the room, Fantasy Football.
The biggest change from 10 or 15 years ago is the technology. In the old days, one guy in the office organized the pool, people made their picks and counting the number right at the end of a long Sunday was fairly easy. The Monday night game did not add complexity, but was a convenient tie breaker. Ten years ago, tabulating the amount of yards run or passed for each player was a full time job. Ten years ago you watched football games and cheered for which ever team I chose that week.
Now, there are dozens of website with Fantasy Football that creates teams, and drafts, and calculates point total for a running back based on the number of yards rushed + rushing attempt + pass completions + yards passing + touchdowns scored - fumbles list + 2-pt conversions. Automatically. I have more trouble remembering my password to Yahoo fantasy football than calculating my point totals for the week. Now, I cheer for Drew Brees to throw a lot, Todd Gurley to run, and the Houston defense to get sacks. I do not watch games any longer because it doesn't matter in my gambling life who won or who lost. How many yards did they throw for? I track that on my iPhone. The only reason I watched any of the Monday Night football game was to see if the KC kicker missed a field goal. -3 points for every missed kick. And if anyone still believes gambling does not drive the popularity of the NFL, the announcers were talking about point spreads and over/under bets, not who won the game.
The ratings for the pre-game shows are higher this year, while the games are lower. The pre game shows will tell me last minute if I need to change my fantasy lineup. The games are 3 hours of footbal where I can see the highlights in 3 minutes on the news, ESPN, Fox Sports, online, youtube, or even Twitter sometimes. When it is time for the playoffs and the fantasy season has come to a close, then, the viewers will return and people will watch again. For now, I have errands to run on the weekends and things I want to do with my kids. Football on Thursday, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday evening, and Monday night is too much. I do not have 15 hours a week to watch football on TV. Thank you anyway, I will watch the updates on my iPhone.
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