The clock stop rule for going out of bounds changed in 1990. Before that, when a ball carrier when out of bounds the game clock stopped until the next snap. Since 1990, the game clock starts as soon as the refs spot the ball. The main exceptions (where the game clock remains stopped until the snap) are the last 2 minutes of the 2nd quarter, the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, or a change of possession.
There’s also a bit of weirdness around the ball carrier must be moving forward after contact with a defender, but that’s not a big factor in game duration.
As I indicated, we also find the posturing off-putting. We dislike that sort of thing wherever we see it in sport - whether NFL, NBA, or Olympics. I do not recall Dick Butkus, Doug Buffone, Mike Singletary, or Walter Payton mugging for the camera to the extent I perceive today.
Perhaps the lack of posturing is one reason we gravitate towards golf/marathons. Similarly, in music, I no longer am impressed when a musician contorts their body/face while playing a solo. Just personal preference, I guess. (See - I can explain my likes/dislikes without getting all pissy about it! )
Now that you mention it, I always assumed something under 3 hrs. Game times were generally noon and 3 and, unless the first game went into OT or something, it RARELY ran into the 2d game. (But this is based on nothing other than my recollection from 30-40 years ago.)
Yeah, looking at an old TV Guide from 1985, I do see start times as noon and 3 for NFL games on the same channel, so they must have usually wrapped up in under three hours, so maybe closer to that 2:30 I saw referenced about 1970s games.
However, this NYT article states (paywalled, and I appear to have gotten a free read of it) says:
(Speaking of the 1990 and 1991 seasons in the second snippet).
The context of the article is shortening of the game, so it seems by the 80s, the games started exceeding the 3-hour mark, and they were hoping to get them at around 2:45. Going into October, that season’s longest game was 3:26.
There used to be two commercial breaks after a score with the kickoff sandwiched in between them. They straight up removed one of them; now there is only one commercial break before the kickoff.
Famous touchdown celebrations were already a thing in the '80s. The Ickey shuffle, Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson, etc… Hell, the Bears released the cringiest music video ever made on MTV with the Superbowl Shuffle.
Right, and then, for a while, the NFL clamped down on such celebrations.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that the league started to allow them again, although there are still things that are forbidden, like using one’s fingers to simulate a pistol.
I am not a sports fan (not professional, anyway), and for me, it is just enjoying the atmosphere when I am watching with friends. It can be so amusing! People yelling, sloshing their beer, knocking over bowls of snacks, the interesting ways of cursing, the armchair analysis, the non fans watching with bemused expressions on faces….the game on the TV is only a part of the fun, for me, that is.
IMHO there’s a difference between celebrations and taunting. I have no problems with celebrations as long as they aren’t elaborate things that interrupt the flow of the game. Taunting should remain a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
I like football. If there was nothing else happening, I could happily watch three pre-season games in the same day (I’m married and have 5 kids - there’s always something else happening, so that hasn’t happened in 35 years!) I never played, but dreamed of being a running back and have coached, so I would say I’m more knowledgeable than the average person.
Actually, the most fun I’ve ever had singing was when we did a Bluegrass Mass.
I can see what you mean here. I think football works best on television for fans because of the long time between plays. It gives time for analysis on the play (replays, etc.). I could see it sucking if you don’t know anything about the game; that analysis might not teach you anything, but if you’re even casually knowledgeable, you learn tactics, may learn rules/penalties. Baseball on television drags on - there’s not enough happening for there to be meaningful analysis between pitches. Hockey on television is too frantic - if the camera zooms in enough to see the puck, you miss what’s happening on the rest of the ice; if you can see the maneuvering for position, etc., you can’t see the puck. Not a fan of basketball or soccer, so can’t comment on watching the games.
As with a lot of things, if you care about it, it’s interesting; if you don’t care, it’s boring. I can watch a White Sox game because I care about them, so the anticipation of what may happen on each pitch keeps me interested in the game. You put on, let’s say Braves vs. Diamondbacks, and I don’t know the players, don’t care about who wins, and I’m only mildly interested at best, and then only when something outstanding happens. With football, there’s a lot happening at any one time. Of course, you see the ball carrier and (hopefully) the extra effort to get the additional yards; you can also see the misdirection at time of handoff (did the QB keep the ball?), the blocking to create the hole, and the linebacker stuffing the hole to make the tackle. There’s a lot going on, and the announcers can fill the time between plays by picking out one of those things to analyze.
Yeah, I kind of agree with you; I guess I ignore that stuff. Taunting is officially a penalty, but it isn’t enforced often.
WAG - Prime needed to lower fidelity because of how many people would be streaming the EXACT SAME THING at THE EXACT SAME TIME.
Now it’s time to actually go back and read the thread…
I personally don’t get the irritation with celebration. You’ve just accomplished something. The human instinct (in my case, at least) is to celebrate. It’s fun. It’s exciting. Sports isn’t the place for stoicism for me. I’m watching humans with emotions play the game, not a bunch of company drones. I dunno. I like a little smack talking, a little jibber jabber, a flip of the bat, a dance in the endzone, ripping off your shirt as you skid to your knees and are mobbed by your teammates after scoring a goal. It’s entertainment.
One of the good things about The Olympics is that you get to see things that you don’t normally see. There are occasionally ice skating competitions shown or gymnastics, but you NEVER see speed skating or Winter Biathalon or luge or… until it’s Olympics time. It’s fun to watch different things.
This. The breaks give me time to reflect on what’s happening, make predictions on what will happen next, look up stats or a player’s background, complain about officials, etc. If my wife is there, we sometimes have discussions. The breaks can be beneficial.
To me, football is just the right pace. Frenetic action with small breaks between. Baseball goes for a long time with not much happening (which can build up tension that some fans enjoy, not me as much). Basketball is a lot of dizzy action with not enough breaks for my liking (though I was a massive NBA fan in high school). Football seems like a happy medium between the extremes. Again, total personal taste. I also like that with only 17 regular season games per year, almost every game is monumental.
I like the celebrations a lot. They don’t celebrate everything. A score, a good reception, a sack, a turnover, a great tackle for loss, a huge play for a first down. The passion makes it fun. When they made pretty much every celebration a penalty it took a huge piece of the game away and that sucked.
Absolute agree. The argument of “but that’s their job!” doesn’t do it for me - I don’t exuberantly celebrate successfully writing an Excel formula because I don’t have a 240 lb. athlete running at full tilt trying to take my head off if I don’t do it right. Competition includes adrenaline, and with that comes exultation.
And I’m sure someone will say “I’ve gotten excited when I get a bit of code to finally work” - okay, and when you whoop for joy, does your boss get mad at you for doing so? Do your clients?
Let players have fun - it’s a game. And for them, there is a LOT on the line.
Or too early and drop the ball before the goal line, which happens more often than it should. You’d think one example of this would serve warning enough.
OMG, yes. Even when they manage to hold it a split second past the goal line, it irks me. Just hold on the ball for 2 or 3 seconds so there can be no question. They act like the ball is lava hot once they hit the end zone. Otherwise, I guess I’m okay with them having some fun. Although I do find the end zone partying after an interception by the whole defense a bit over the top.
Or when you slow down and showboat (without dropping the ball) right before you enter the end zone and get blasted before you get a chance to score. Cam Newton used to do that all the time.
While I am of the same camp as Vince Lombardi: “When you get in the end zone, act like you’ve been there before”, I have no problem with spontaneous celebrations.
It’s the scripted and choreographed celebrations that IMHO are over the line.
However, the current generation is not as far over the line as the celebrations in the 80’s and 90’s that led to the NFL clampdowns.
Different people have different preferences. Which is cool. My preference is when an athlete does something spectacular, and just acts as though it was part of their job. They EXPECTED to excel, and KNOW they excelled. They don’t have to (often literally) beat their chests over it.
My wife used to be quite involved in speedskating, and we know the families of some skaters who made this and previous Olympics teams. Olympic skaters behave very differently after victories. And celebrations vary among sports. Our preferences are for the more subdued celebrations. Personal preference.
And I play and watch some amount of golf. A fist pump or a little more is about all you’ll see after a fantastic shot. Maybe after winning a major tournament someone will be overcome by emotion and shed some tears. But I have never seen in golf the sorts of celebrations I perceive in football. Like I said, I LOVED it when the Packer was celebrating his interception in the 2d qtr - WHICH COST HIS TEAM 20 yards or so!
And the concerts I go to are more about the music/skill than outward emoting. Someone nails a solo - you might get a smile and a nod. Any listener who was listening knows if it was good or not. But I’ve never been a fan of activities where I want to be part of a group being worked up into some emotional state. Again, just my preference.
Again, vive la difference! Some folk cannot recognize faces. I’ve encountered people who almost get angry if you ask them why they chose one option, or why they prefer one thing over another. I have a hard time imaging what it would be like to go through life and just feel that I liked some things and disliked others, without being able to offer myself or others any explanation for my preferences.
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