# Why is the NFL not as enjoyable to watch, as it was 25 years ago? (or is it?) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 20, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892 "2011-09-20T01:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/61 "2011-09-22T17:43:16Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > For me it also is the continuity of the teams. As a Cowboys fan, the good old days were the mid 90s. And with only a few changes, the team was the same year in and year out when they were winning Super Bowls. And it wasn’t just the Cowboys, but the 49ers and Bills who were their main rivals also having the same players year in and year out. I could always count on seeing Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Don Beebe, etc being Bills, and Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Bill Romanowski, etc always being 49ers. Now I find it hard to either like or dislike a team when the roster changes so much every year. This is your imagination talking. The top of the rosters stayed the same, but the guys underneath churned up pretty well. Between the [1992](http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1992_roster.htm) championship and [1995](http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1995_roster.htm) championship, the Cowboys changed most of their starters. including nearly the entire defense (and of course who whole coaching staff). The big stars stayed the same, but the team around them changed. Same with the Bills. Four years ago, the [Packers](http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/2010_roster.htm) had Aaron Rodgers handing off to Ryan Grant, John Kuhn blocking, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson catching passes, and AJ Hawk, Charles Woodson and Nick Barnett on defense. Any of those names familiar? [Four years](http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/2006_roster.htm) before they won a championship, the Saints had Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Mike Karney, Marques Colston, Devery Henderson. BAD teams have a lot of turnover, but that’s a good thing. 99% of free agents are not core players on good teams … they are guys who were unneeded or minor players; and if they find success in the new home, they usually stay there. That’s a win-win. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/62 "2011-09-22T17:58:36Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Bullshit. Head to head hits are not an integral part of the game. A whole slew of players make huge hits, wrap up and tackle, and separate a receiver from the ball, without leading with their helmet, aiming for their head, or spearing them in the back. Some folks miss the good ol’ days, when we didn’t worry about made-up sissy things like [permanent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Waters) [brain damage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Webster#Ailments) . ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/63 "2011-09-22T18:45:26Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Now ask yourself, how can that be? If FGPct is rising, and FGA is consistent, then shouldn’t FGM be going up as well? FGA isn’t consistent, really. (Though, you’re probably right – it, and the percentages, don’t quite line up, almost undoubtedly due to rounding.) FGA was (relatively speaking) high in 1970, when the goal posts were on the goal line. It then dipped down in '75, and has been fairly flat since '85. At any rate, my original point – that, despite accuracy being much higher now (especially compared to the 1970s), there really aren’t substantially more field goals today than in the past – still largely stands. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/64 "2011-09-24T11:27:38Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Some folks miss the good ol’ days, when we didn’t worry about made-up sissy things like [permanent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Waters) [brain damage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Webster#Ailments) . Honestly, I think this is true. Some of the appeal of football, at least for some fans, is the brutality. Sure, they don’t want the players to be seriously injured, but they can’t deny that the more brutal attacks were more entertaining for them. I’m only a social football watcher, so take what that for what it’s worth. But I do have (or, at least, did have) freinds that seemed enjoy football at least partly because they liked the fierceness of the tackles. Now, if I understand correctly, the players have to be more careful. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/65 "2011-09-25T20:50:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I wasn’t passing judgment on it, just saying that roster continuity was something that made it a lot more fun to follow your own team, than today’s teams where half the team may not come back year to year. I’m not sure how much this matters in general (I won’t doubt your word that it affects your personal enjoyment.) It seems logical, but there’s two problems with it: 1. College football is immensely popular despite having very little player continuity. 2. People like continuity but it’s also true that they love trades and free agency moves and all other sorts of stuff involving player movement. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/66 "2011-09-25T22:04:10Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > The Designated Hitter. The size of the ballparks. Instant Replay. Lowering the mound and shrinking the strike zone to help offense. Who gets to play. How players cheat. All about “the game”, not just the players. > > Yes, football has more commercials (which, incidentally has fuck all to do with “the game”), because more people watch it. But this idea that somehow the baseball is “pure” is complete and utter bullshit. Baseball is as pure as the driven snow. At least when compared to football. Baseball is still baseball.Football is a advertising business. The NFL will change anything the advertisers ask, if they make another dime. Golf and baseball have natural breaks which allow advertising to procede without busting up the rhythm of the game. They are naturally slower games. Football has had momentum destroyed by advertising breaks. The game has been hurt by commercials. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/67 "2011-09-26T00:21:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Baseball is as pure as the driven snow. At least when compared to football. Baseball is still baseball.Football is a advertising business. The NFL will change anything the advertisers ask, if they make another dime. > Golf and baseball have natural breaks which allow advertising to procede without busting up the rhythm of the game. They are naturally slower games. > Football has had momentum destroyed by advertising breaks. The game has been hurt by commercials. I call bullshit on pretty much all of this. The NFL goes to commercial during changes of possession, which pretty much by definition can’t break up the flow of play. There are no “advertising breaks” that break up the flow of the game. I suppose going to commercial for an injury or an instant replay could be considered to break the flow, but to say those breaks are only taken because advertisers want more airtime is pretty ridiculous. Also, could you maybe list a couple changes the NFL has made at the request of advertisers? ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/68 "2011-09-26T00:33:08Z")
gonzomax just doesn’t like money. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/69 "2011-09-26T17:16:31Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m not sure how much this matters in general (I won’t doubt your word that it affects your personal enjoyment.) It seems logical, but there’s two problems with it: > > 1. College football is immensely popular despite having very little player continuity. > > 2. People like continuity but it’s also true that they love trades and free agency moves and all other sorts of stuff involving player movement. College is different though; I don’t know if you or anyone you know is really into college football, but the recruiting end of things is a BIG DEAL to most hardcore college fans. The whole recruiting competition is like the offseason counterpart to the in-season play. Plus, you have the depth-chart battles, and all that stuff. Anyway, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that has really turned me off from the NFL in the past decade or so, but I used to be a fairly rabid Houston Oilers fan growing up, and somewhere around 2000, give or take a few years, the NFL lost its luster. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/70 "2011-09-26T17:35:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > College is different though; I don’t know if you or anyone you know is really into college football, but the recruiting end of things is a BIG DEAL to most hardcore college fans. The whole recruiting competition is like the offseason counterpart to the in-season play. And Pro fans like following free agency, trades, and especially the draft. > [@](#): > > Plus, you have the depth-chart battles, and all that stuff. > **[Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=nfl%2Bdepth%2Bchart%2Bbattles&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)** > [@](#): > > Anyway, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that has really turned me off from the NFL in the past decade or so, but I used to be a fairly rabid Houston Oilers fan growing up, and somewhere around 2000, give or take a few years, the NFL lost its luster. Personal tastes vary. I have a buddy that has switched from baseball to pro football in the last decade. I’m more into college now, but that’s just me, not some global trend. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892/71 "2011-09-26T17:40:59Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Anyway, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that has really turned me off from the NFL in the past decade or so, but I used to be a fairly rabid Houston Oilers fan growing up, and somewhere around 2000, give or take a few years, the NFL lost its luster. Were I a Houston fan, the last 15 years would have put a serious crimp in my fandom too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-nfl-not-as-enjoyable-to-watch-as-it-was-25-years-ago-or-is-it/596892.md?page=3)