Read the debate intro and Loyal Homer’s argument that the NFL needs the pre-season.
Pop Quiz.
Question: What do all the items on the following list have in common?
- attending insurance seminars
- watching paint dry
- press-conferences about Brett Favre announcing his retirement
Answer: They are all better uses of your time than following the NFL pre-season!
The biggest joke in professional sports is the NFL pre-season! What other venue, event, or activity can boast the fact that it is simultaneously bad for the players, fans, AND the organization? For a league that is generally regarded as the best run business in American professional sports, this is one area where the NFL falls short.
For the players, the risk is most obvious. They are asked to play at full speed, with full contact, for an outcome that does not matter. I understand they are professional athletes who participate in a game where injury is a very real possibility, and they are compensated very well for that risk. The games should at least count for something if they are going to be put at risk.
Sure, there are usually a few legitimate position battles that take place during training camp, but those battles are RARELY decided during a pre-season game. Can you REALLY gauge how a defensive back is going to perform on Sundays if his level of opposition is a fourth string quarterback?! Can a quarterback REALLY prove his worth when he is being protected by third string linemen, and is throwing to third string receivers?! The answer is no. In reality, most of the positions are decided off the field, so the excuse of seeing players “in action” does not provide any REAL advantage.
In 2006, Clinton Portis, the established starter at running back for the Washington Redskins, dislocated his shoulder during a pre-season game, and missed the entire 2006 season. If the game had counted for ANYTHING, then the injury would be accepted as part of the risk that comes with playing in the NFL. But the game did not count! Two weeks later, the REAL football season began, and Portis had to spend it on the sidelines. Neither he, nor the Redskins, had anything to show for the injury.
As for the fans, pre-season football is a rip-off. As an NFL season-ticket holder, I absolutely DESPISE the fact that I am forced to pay regular-season prices for tickets to two games which are meaningless. I have to pay full price for parking, beer is still $6 a cup, sodas are still $4.50, but instead of watching NFL caliber football, I get to watch the Detroit Lions practice squad take on the water boys from the Cleveland Browns.
To put it another way, if I go to Morton’s Steakhouse, and I am forced to pay Morton’s prices, I had BETTER get a Morton’s steak on my plate! Imagine arriving at Morton’s and the maitre d’ informs you that the restaurant will be using ALL forms of steak products (not just the best ones). Tonight, that means you are getting Steak-umms, but still paying as if you were eating a prime cut of Filet Mignon. That is a rip-off! The product provided is not proportionate to the fee being charged!
Last, it is bad business for the organization. First is the absorbed risk of seeing your top-level athletes get injured, which could negatively impact the entire regular season (the Redskins finished at 5-11, in last place in the NFC East during the year that Portis was injured).
There are additional financial reasons which make the pre-season bad business for the teams. First, they still have to fund a full game-day production for the event. The stadium must be opened and operated, complete with a full staff of vendors, ushers, security, etc. The visiting teams also have to travel to their destinations, and pay for lodging and meals. All told, the cost to the business of presenting a pre-season game is exactly the same as the cost for presenting a regular season game.
The problem is that the substandard product of a pre-season game does not generate the same revenue as a regular season game. While season-ticket holders are forced to pay for a game day ticket, single-game ticket sales are drastically lower than their regular season counterparts. There is also less fan interest for a television broadcast of the game, so TV advertising does not generate the same amount it normally would.
The NBA and MLB also present “pre-season” or “off-season” games, such as the cactus/grapefruit leagues. The key difference with those activities is that they are organized at a much lower cost, and are staged in out-of-market areas. The leagues gain an opportunity to generate and attract new fans through regular exposure to those markets. For a couple months out of the year, residents of Ft. Myers get to call the Boston Red Sox THEIR home team.
Pre-season NFL comes with the exact same costs as regular season NFL, but cannot match ANY of the rewards.
