# If the NFL Ran the World Series... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 2, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432 "2016-11-02T12:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/1 "2016-11-02T12:47:16Z")
Overweight former players would have been on live TV screaming at each other for an hour already. They’d be speculating whether Joe Madden would be fired before the game or right after. There would be five or six ways to play it as a fantasy game as opposed to actually watching it. The celebrities would be getting ready to party in roped-off hotel ballrooms before heading to their glassed in skyboxes at the stadium. And they’d be wearing suits and gowns at sponsor parties instead of throwback jerseys among the hoi polloi. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/2 "2016-11-02T12:51:38Z")
Big football fan, I see. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/3 "2016-11-02T13:36:07Z")
Non fan with no particular feelings one way or the other, but “football” these days seems to be about absolutely everything except what’s happening on the field. Fantasy leagues, parties, tailgating, endless computerized simulation and analysis, how many ex-jocks you can get on one panel, etc. - brief cuts to the actual game just seem to be distractions. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/4 "2016-11-02T14:43:12Z")
I think the big thing is that the NFL has presented the Super Bowl as a major national event, in a way that the World Series, NBA Championships and Stanley Cup Finals don’t come close to. So the World Series would be presented as a similar event, although they’d probably push for it to be a single game to heighten that “event” mentality, rather than something that can stretch to seven games over the period of about a week and a half. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/5 "2016-11-02T15:10:25Z")
But with MLB, if you ever wondered, every\* really\* wondered, in a world series game 6, with the away team leading, with the temperature above 50, and one team wearing red, and two ties in the NFL in the season (WTF), what percentage of said away teams have ultimately won the series, you can get than answer. Who comes _up_ with this stuff? And does anyone think these kinds of stats actually have any meaning at all? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/6 "2016-11-02T15:48:53Z")
Of course, if the NFL ran the World Series, several times a game a pitcher would throw directly at someone’s head. This would be considered just a ball (even if the guy actually got beaned), unless the umpire decided it was really, really, really, bad, in which case then it would be a walk awarded. After the third time hitting someone in a single game, the pitcher would risk a small fine. Meanwhile, one player would be tossed from the game and suspended for the next game for taking a half step towards the pitcher after being beaned. Two more would be declared out because they jumped too high in celebration when they crossed home plate. They would also be fined and risk being ejected and/or suspended as well. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/7 "2016-11-02T15:59:48Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Non fan with no particular feelings one way or the other, but “football” these days seems to be about absolutely everything except what’s happening on the field. Fantasy leagues, parties, tailgating, endless computerized simulation and analysis, how many ex-jocks you can get on one panel, etc. - brief cuts to the actual game just seem to be distractions. I disagree. Sure, there’s a ridiculous pre-game show that goes on for hours and displays all this nonsense. But once the game starts, the broadcast focuses on that. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/8 "2016-11-02T16:55:00Z")
There’d be five minutes of commercials after every scoring play, even if a guy just walks with the bases loaded. Then there’d be one gratuitous play (kickoff) and five more minutes of commercials. > [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Big football fan, I see. The game is fine. It’s what the NFL has done to it that’s not. They sell the broadcast rights for a ridiculous amount and the broadcasters have to squeeze every dime out of it they can just to break even. The NFL didn’t notice that the Golden Goose is getting strangled. Now Prime Time ratings are plummeting. Let’s see if they notice. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/9 "2016-11-02T17:56:55Z")
Far be it from me to defend the NFL (or any sport), but… > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Overweight former players would have been on live TV screaming at each other for an hour already. Aren’t Pete Rose and Frank Thomas the World Series pre-game commentators? > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > There would be five or six ways to play it as a fantasy game as opposed to actually watching it. Fantasy sports pretty much originated with Rotisserie baseball. > [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The celebrities would be getting ready to party in roped-off hotel ballrooms before heading to their glassed in skyboxes at the stadium. And they’d be wearing suits and gowns at sponsor parties instead of throwback jerseys among the hoi polloi. You think there are no crazy luxury boxes at modern baseball stadiums?? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/10 "2016-11-02T18:02:09Z")
So I suppose football fans aren’t smart enough to figure out to turn on the game itself if they don’t like the ancillary stuff? You don’t HAVE to play fantasy football. You don’t HAVE to watch the pregame or listen to sports radio to enjoy the game. You don’t even have to have the sound on if you don’t want to. I see a whole lot of doomsaying and not a lot of actual thought into why from a lot of talking heads. ‘Plummeting’ my ass. How many times does baseball EVER beat out football in ratings? Only when it’s championship time (and this year happens to be sexier than most, with the Cubbies not having won a World Series since 1908). No, that’s not a typo. And this week, the super interesting night games were? Jaguars-Titans, Cowboys-Eagles, and Bears-Vikings. Not exactly the greatest slate, not even the Cowboys anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/11 "2016-11-02T18:18:42Z")
> [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > Far be it from me to defend the NFL (or any sport), but… > > Aren’t Pete Rose and Frank Thomas the World Series pre-game commentators? > > Fantasy sports pretty much originated with Rotisserie baseball. > > You think there are no crazy luxury boxes at modern baseball stadiums?? 1. Not 12 hours before the game starts. 2. When was the last time you saw a commercial advertising Rotisserie baseball? Or a dozen TV shows dedicated to it rather than the game itself? 3. I see Bill Murray and Eddie Vedder and Vince Vaughn and John Cusack and Chris Chelios and Andre Dawson sitting in the stands, not in boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/12 "2016-11-02T18:28:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > ‘Plummeting’ my ass. Check the news. You’re behind the times (and it’s never mentioned on ESPN). Prime time ratings for NFL are down 20+%. Monday Night Football is down 25%. That’s on the season, not this week. > [@](#): > > Monday Night Football is down 24% from this time a year ago, Sunday Night Football is down 19% and Thursday night is down 18%. > **[National NFL TV ratings continue decline](https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/10/25/tv-ratings-decline-primetime-games)** > > Through seven weeks of the 2016 season, the NFL’s TV ratings continue to suffer. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/13 "2016-11-02T19:24:18Z")
The 7th inning stretch would be 35 minutes with a mini-concert from Katie Perry. Animal Planet would have kittens running around on a baseball shaped mini-field chasing little baseballs. This would switch to puppies doing similar at the top of the hour. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/14 "2016-11-02T19:33:26Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > 1. Not 12 hours before the game starts. > 2. When was the last time you saw a commercial advertising Rotisserie baseball? Or a dozen TV shows dedicated to it rather than the game itself? > 3. I see Bill Murray and Eddie Vedder and Vince Vaughn and John Cusack and Chris Chelios and Andre Dawson sitting in the stands, not in boxes. Well, points 1 and 2 only prove that the NFL is crazy popular right now. _ **Somebody** _ must be watching all that crap if it’s on TV every week. If there were money to be made on similar MLB shows, you know they’d cash in too. Point 3 is an interesting one. I’m sure there must have been plenty of celebrities in the stands at the Super Bowl. Maybe the TV coverage for football just doesn’t tend to show them? I don’t watch much baseball, but it seems to be much more common to show crowd reaction shots in baseball than other sports. Usually with football you just get endless replays from 100 different angles of the play that just happened. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/15 "2016-11-02T19:58:26Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Check the news. You’re behind the times (and it’s never mentioned on ESPN). > > Prime time ratings for NFL are down 20+%. Monday Night Football is down 25%. That’s on the season, not this week. > > [NFL TV ratings continue decline, national networks down - Sports Illustrated](http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/10/25/tv-ratings-decline-primetime-games) Funny how a) neither of the stats you mention appear in your cite and b) the author made the exact same two points that I did in his article. He compares game-to-game one year apart. Vikings-Bears this year to Colts-UNDEFEATED PANTHERS (hello?) last year. You’re twisting your stats. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/16 "2016-11-02T20:18:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Funny how a) neither of the stats you mention appear in your cite and b) the author made the exact same two points that I did in his article. He compares game-to-game one year apart. Vikings-Bears this year to Colts-UNDEFEATED PANTHERS (hello?) last year. You’re twisting your stats. WHAT? > [@](#): > > Update on year to year NFL viewership through Week 7 > > Regionalized > FOX: -1% > CBS: -9% > > Non-Regionalized > TNF: -18% > SNF: -19% > MNF: -24% > [@](#): > > Wow. Look at those double digit losses for primetime NFL games. Monday Night Football has lost basically 1/4 of its audience from 2015. That’s\*\* through week 7\*\*, not week 7 2016 to week 7 2015. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/17 "2016-11-02T23:06:44Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > WHAT? > > That’s\*\* through week 7\*\*, not week 7 2016 to week 7 2015. Wtf? That was not the page I got when I clicked on that link before. I got an article, without tweets, about how the WS out-rated MNF and how that MNF game was 18% off from the previous year’s of the same week. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/18 "2016-11-03T01:52:07Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Check the news. You’re behind the times (and it’s never mentioned on ESPN). > > Prime time ratings for NFL are down 20+%. Monday Night Football is down 25%. That’s on the season, not this week. > > [NFL TV ratings continue decline, national networks down - Sports Illustrated](http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/10/25/tv-ratings-decline-primetime-games) To be fair, I’ve also heard that streaming numbers are breaking records. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/19 "2016-11-03T14:31:53Z")
If the NFL ran the world series— They’d treat it like the Super Bowl: They’d cover the screen with giant banner ads for shows no one wants to watch They’ll mic up players during the game who have nothing useful to say (or maybe say nothing at all) They dredge up the most useless stats and offer them up as if they were meaningful They’ll put their worst (or at least, most unpopular) announcer as the play-by-play ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432/20 "2016-11-03T17:31:33Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > The game is fine. It’s what the NFL has done to it that’s not. They sell the broadcast rights for a ridiculous amount and the broadcasters have to squeeze every dime out of it they can just to break even. The NFL didn’t notice that the Golden Goose is getting strangled. Now Prime Time ratings are plummeting. Let’s see if they notice. I personally have a suspicion that the 2008 recession put a huge dent in the advertising, and it hasn’t really caught back up to where it was beforehand. I mean, I recall earlier Super Bowls having _new_ commercials being shown during the entire game. For a while post-2008, it seemed like we got the new ones in the first half, and repeats of them in the 2nd half. Combine that with a surprising number of people who went to the parties and watched for the commercials, and you have a recipe for a lot of people stopping their commercial-watching, and the numbers declining for the Super Bowl in particular. It’s a sort of vicious circle- less ad revenue means less ads, and so on and so forth. There’ll be a new equilibrium, but probably not a pre-2008 one for a while yet. As for the NFL in general, I suspect that it hit the point of maximum hype and exposure in the very recent past, and we’re seeing something of a contraction back to a more sustainable and reasonable level. Either that, or the younger generations (millenials and the like) are just not interested in pro football, and it’s starting to show in the numbers. I don’t see any decrease in people my age (Gen X) or older. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-nfl-ran-the-world-series/770432.md?page=2)