Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by John Canzano
TV has affected my behavior at the gates in another way. The high variability of game times--often announced less than two weeks prior to game days--just made buying season tickets less efficient. I just started buy them piecemeal. When you're bringing a family--all of whom have other stuff going on their lives--it just becomes to complicated to plan around. I miss the days when you could depend on a 1:00pm start every Saturday.
The game is over. College football is no longer played for the benefit of the fans or the players. Tradition, rivalries, and academics have all taken a back seat to television. College football games are now basically TV content, TV inventory. Players and coaches have become commodities. Conference commissioners and athletic directors sold their soul to television in pursuit of the almighty dollar. And the combination of unregulated NIL and the transfer portal have accelerated the descent into professionalism. It's a crying shame, but the sport we knew and loved all these years has become NFL 2.0.
I don't watch sporting events on tv that are not recorded. The commercial interruptions are overbearing and seem to increase every year. You also suffer just as much at live games. How many minutes wasted watching a ref stand over the ball while waiting for the tv ref to signal the commercial and the sideline reporter are done with the b.s. It's not football, it's entertainment of some sort and just not as fun as it used to be.
With college football going after the almighty dollar it is destroying college football. Like you say John, it hasn't helped the game. Maybe we should follow Linfield instead of Oregon or Oregon State.
I think attendance would improve if college football went back to regional tv broadcasts. There is no reason every game needs to national. The NFL still does this and college football did it for generations. I actually think it would be a net revenue increase given that all games could be available via streaming.
It would greatly reduce the number of night games and allow Pac 12 fans to watch the full slate of Pac 12 games. This would create more interest in the Pac 12 by serving the actual Pac 12 tv market. It would also allow game times to be set earlier which helps attendance and creates additional gate revenue. There is a total return on investment that is not being considered in the current structure.
The only way that I see the Pac 10 surviving and thriving is if Phil Knight and a group of similarly situated alumni of the remaining schools and perhaps the schools themselves create their own media service to supplement the income for the remaining schools.
The Pac 12 Network obviously failed, which gives me pause, but something that included MMA, Pancrase or even captured the small remaining leagues might open up a wider audience.
They should also consider simply playing some games in LA. My guess is the Ducks vs. Miami at Charger stadium would generate some real interest. There is simply no reason that JerryWorld and Atlanta control those types of games. The Pac 10 could get actively involved if it wanted to.
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by John Canzano
Schools need to ensure they don’t loose the connections with their students, who eventually will become money donating alumni. One thing I hope USC and UCLA do is give students free admission to home football games. Currently at USC all sports except football are free for students to attend. Getting students hooked on the fun of the in person game day experience helps keeping them coming back after graduation and watching on TV if not in the area.
I still love college Football but living in Portland and 8pm kickoffs in November is not for the kid here..I didn't renew my Beaver tickets of 20 plus years .. It saddens me but I'm going to survive...but will they?...Still a Beaver fan but TV will be my medium for now.
I keep hoping that some college presidents will wake up and realize the mission of their schools is to educate people and not be the owners of multi-million dollar sports franchises. We need some presidents and chancellors to stand up as real leaders and push back against the networks - even if it means less money for their school. College football was great because it wasn't the NFL. The creation of NFL-Lite mega conferences without any regard to tradition and geography is a road to nowhere and I think will ultimately fail. But in the process we could easily lose a whole generation of fans.
TV has pulled people away from the stadium, but I think the bigger concern is that younger generations just don't follow sports, including college football, as closely as my generation does. There are far more options than ever for our attention, and sports will continue to shrink as a result. Some will go to TikTok, some to Twitch, etc.
Not only are there more screens and apps to divert people, almost every other option is cheaper than sports. TV streaming is cheap and easy, but if you want live sports, you still have to pay a lot per month.
The next turn of events will be the death of free to watch college football. The broadcasters will put all the important games on their streaming channels which require subscriptions. You'll still have commercials to deal with but the streamers will increase the revenue. This is how the broadcasters will increase their profits after spending billions on rights.
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by John Canzano
R.I.P. West Coast College Football 1915-2022
It was a fun ride rooting on innocent kids between the ages of 17-24 for the American public the past 107 years. Then the tail wagging the dog, just simply became the dog. What followed was the toxic behavior of tv networks to one up at all cost.
Oh well, autumn in Oregon is about the best season there is for getting outside anyway. While I will miss the anxiety and adrenaline riddled Saturday's I am quite certain my family will not and you know how the saying goes "happy wife......happy life". Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise after all.
Las Vegas, ESPN and Fox really perpetrate the hate on OSU and not give Smith and Co the respect they deserve. These three games will make or break this season.. a 3-0 win would do wonders in Oregon... but watch ESPN will barely notice
I think a lot of it is they place so much weight on legacy of program wins... not where the team is currently and what their trajectory is. ESPN and Fox want blue bloods, and that is what is being shoved down our throats. All they want to talk about is the CFP, Bama, Ohio State, SEC, B1G... and in that order. No wonder people are tired, they don;t talk about what people want to hear, they are trying to force us to care about things we simply don;t
If Pac 12 minus 2 and ESPN thinks they can get people to sign up for an extra charge for ESPN+ for Pac 12 minus 2 games,...they are WRONG. I want to watch,... but paying extra is a no go. I will listen on radio or online. Enjoy pounding sand!
Thanks, John. I’m a teacher, and not “season ticket” material. When I was single my brother & I would buy tickets to THE game - we watched Oregon beat Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, etc. With kids and much higher ticket costs, it’s harder to justify the costs these days.
TV has affected my behavior at the gates in another way. The high variability of game times--often announced less than two weeks prior to game days--just made buying season tickets less efficient. I just started buy them piecemeal. When you're bringing a family--all of whom have other stuff going on their lives--it just becomes to complicated to plan around. I miss the days when you could depend on a 1:00pm start every Saturday.
The game is over. College football is no longer played for the benefit of the fans or the players. Tradition, rivalries, and academics have all taken a back seat to television. College football games are now basically TV content, TV inventory. Players and coaches have become commodities. Conference commissioners and athletic directors sold their soul to television in pursuit of the almighty dollar. And the combination of unregulated NIL and the transfer portal have accelerated the descent into professionalism. It's a crying shame, but the sport we knew and loved all these years has become NFL 2.0.
I don't watch sporting events on tv that are not recorded. The commercial interruptions are overbearing and seem to increase every year. You also suffer just as much at live games. How many minutes wasted watching a ref stand over the ball while waiting for the tv ref to signal the commercial and the sideline reporter are done with the b.s. It's not football, it's entertainment of some sort and just not as fun as it used to be.
With college football going after the almighty dollar it is destroying college football. Like you say John, it hasn't helped the game. Maybe we should follow Linfield instead of Oregon or Oregon State.
I think attendance would improve if college football went back to regional tv broadcasts. There is no reason every game needs to national. The NFL still does this and college football did it for generations. I actually think it would be a net revenue increase given that all games could be available via streaming.
It would greatly reduce the number of night games and allow Pac 12 fans to watch the full slate of Pac 12 games. This would create more interest in the Pac 12 by serving the actual Pac 12 tv market. It would also allow game times to be set earlier which helps attendance and creates additional gate revenue. There is a total return on investment that is not being considered in the current structure.
The only way that I see the Pac 10 surviving and thriving is if Phil Knight and a group of similarly situated alumni of the remaining schools and perhaps the schools themselves create their own media service to supplement the income for the remaining schools.
The Pac 12 Network obviously failed, which gives me pause, but something that included MMA, Pancrase or even captured the small remaining leagues might open up a wider audience.
They should also consider simply playing some games in LA. My guess is the Ducks vs. Miami at Charger stadium would generate some real interest. There is simply no reason that JerryWorld and Atlanta control those types of games. The Pac 10 could get actively involved if it wanted to.
The in-stadium atmosphere is one of the things that make college football special. I'm sorry, but TV doesn't capture that for me.
Schools need to ensure they don’t loose the connections with their students, who eventually will become money donating alumni. One thing I hope USC and UCLA do is give students free admission to home football games. Currently at USC all sports except football are free for students to attend. Getting students hooked on the fun of the in person game day experience helps keeping them coming back after graduation and watching on TV if not in the area.
I still love college Football but living in Portland and 8pm kickoffs in November is not for the kid here..I didn't renew my Beaver tickets of 20 plus years .. It saddens me but I'm going to survive...but will they?...Still a Beaver fan but TV will be my medium for now.
I keep hoping that some college presidents will wake up and realize the mission of their schools is to educate people and not be the owners of multi-million dollar sports franchises. We need some presidents and chancellors to stand up as real leaders and push back against the networks - even if it means less money for their school. College football was great because it wasn't the NFL. The creation of NFL-Lite mega conferences without any regard to tradition and geography is a road to nowhere and I think will ultimately fail. But in the process we could easily lose a whole generation of fans.
TV has pulled people away from the stadium, but I think the bigger concern is that younger generations just don't follow sports, including college football, as closely as my generation does. There are far more options than ever for our attention, and sports will continue to shrink as a result. Some will go to TikTok, some to Twitch, etc.
Not only are there more screens and apps to divert people, almost every other option is cheaper than sports. TV streaming is cheap and easy, but if you want live sports, you still have to pay a lot per month.
The next turn of events will be the death of free to watch college football. The broadcasters will put all the important games on their streaming channels which require subscriptions. You'll still have commercials to deal with but the streamers will increase the revenue. This is how the broadcasters will increase their profits after spending billions on rights.
R.I.P. West Coast College Football 1915-2022
It was a fun ride rooting on innocent kids between the ages of 17-24 for the American public the past 107 years. Then the tail wagging the dog, just simply became the dog. What followed was the toxic behavior of tv networks to one up at all cost.
Oh well, autumn in Oregon is about the best season there is for getting outside anyway. While I will miss the anxiety and adrenaline riddled Saturday's I am quite certain my family will not and you know how the saying goes "happy wife......happy life". Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise after all.
Las Vegas, ESPN and Fox really perpetrate the hate on OSU and not give Smith and Co the respect they deserve. These three games will make or break this season.. a 3-0 win would do wonders in Oregon... but watch ESPN will barely notice
I think a lot of it is they place so much weight on legacy of program wins... not where the team is currently and what their trajectory is. ESPN and Fox want blue bloods, and that is what is being shoved down our throats. All they want to talk about is the CFP, Bama, Ohio State, SEC, B1G... and in that order. No wonder people are tired, they don;t talk about what people want to hear, they are trying to force us to care about things we simply don;t
If Pac 12 minus 2 and ESPN thinks they can get people to sign up for an extra charge for ESPN+ for Pac 12 minus 2 games,...they are WRONG. I want to watch,... but paying extra is a no go. I will listen on radio or online. Enjoy pounding sand!
Thanks, John. I’m a teacher, and not “season ticket” material. When I was single my brother & I would buy tickets to THE game - we watched Oregon beat Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, etc. With kids and much higher ticket costs, it’s harder to justify the costs these days.