Miasmatic Review

Screwing the fans.

A couple of years ago the NFL started playing with the starting times of their games. They would move a noon game to 3:15, just for better media coverage. That really burned me one year when my Father, Boopie and I had tickets to see the Packer Jacksonville game.

When we bought them, it was a noon game. The week before we went to see them it became a 3:15 game. This annoyed me as the reason we wanted the noon game was so we could drive up, see the game and get back with enough time so we weren’t rushed.
We weren’t rushed before the game because we had a hotel room for Saturday night. After the game, we had to run to the vehicle, hop and drive like madmen home. It annoyed me, I bought those tickets because I wanted a noon game and they moved it on me.

This year the NFL decided that during week ten they would start a flex schedule. They would pick one game slated for earlier in the day and put it on Sunday night. Why? Better TV ratings, if the game was more exciting or important more people would watch. Thus they would get better ratings AND advertisers would spend more to put their commercials on during that time. There’s only one problem. They where screwing the people that had tickets and the ones that made plans based on start times of certain games.

Lets take this weekend for example. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers were scheduled for noon on New Years Eve. Being a Packer fan and living in Northern Illinois, I know there where a lot of people that were making plans around this game. Hell even I invited some people over to watch the game before my regular New Years celebrating started. Four different people I know bought tickets to the game back in June based on a noon start time. They where going to go to the game, and then come back and spend New Years Eve with friends and family.

Now the NFL moved the game until 7:00PM New Years Eve. Two of the people
I know that have tickets are being forced to sell them. They don’t have anyone that can watch their kid while they go to the game. It’s New Years Eve, most people have plans and no one else wants to cancel their plans for them. Then the other two are thinking of selling theirs because they have younger children that they want to spend New Years Eve with.

Other people I know have to choose now between watching the game or doing their planned activities. Not all places have a TV where they can watch the game. Me, well I don’t care what anyone else does, I’m watching the game. As long as the people in the party don’t block the TV, they can live with me watching the game while they do other things. I’m more annoyed at the fact that I had planned on having some friends over to watch the game, and now they wont be coming because they have other plans. It irritates me that the NFL has sold out their fans that pay for tickets for corporate sponsors that want advertising. I’m down right pissed off that they have no regard for people that pay good money to see the game.

I can honestly say that I won’t ever buy a ticket for a game during the flex weeks again. I’d say that I would boycott football during the same time, but I know I won’t. Although my boycott of Monday Night Football has been pretty easy.