"Remember when Roger Goodell came out (which he should have because players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster) and he reduced hitting in this league? What did all the fear mongers do? All the y2k, avian bird flu fear mongers..'nobody will watch the games!!'...'football is gonna be terrible!!'...'bad, bad, bad, bad, bad'...'I'll never watch again'...'nobody will watch, they watch for hitting'. No they don't. No they don't. They watch for QBs. Brady and Manning and Brees and star offensive players. Go look at the jersey sales.So I got the ratings for the Super Bowl. It's a record. I've got the betting numbers for the Super Bowl. $120million. That's a record. So essentially, with a bad football game with two teams from out west, even New York watched it. Seattle is 3000 miles from NY, Denver is 2000 miles....yes, all the fear mongers. You see them politically, you see them in life, they surround us. Run from them, not toward them. Bets on the SB. Up. Ratings on the Super Bowl, bad game. Up. Fantasy interest, I just got the metrics. Up. NFL draft with Johnny Manziel. Up. That's with less hitting. That's with new rules, curtailing hitting. Up, up, up, up. If you wanna live in that cylinder, that incubator of fear, go for it...but the worlds changing, and if you can't accept it, then you go into your corner with your other buddies who are afraid of new stuff. The rest of us will just evolve, and enjoy it. All the numbers for the Super Bowl....up, up, up, up, up..in a horrible game. Why? Because we never watched football for hitting. Let's be honest. Why did everyone gripe about watching LSU-Bama playing a 2nd time for a national championship? Why did you all complain? Cause the first time they played, it was like 6-3. Yet, all of you wanted Ohio St. - Michigan to play again a few years before, because their last game was 42-38. We don't watch for hitting. We don't watch the NFL for violence. It's a myth. We watch it for stars, and QBs, and Percy Harvin, and Reggie Bush, and wild players, and scoring...cause we bet it..technology..and fantasy. That's who's jerseys we buy, and the teams we bet on. That's why everybody be Peyton Manning. They didn't bet the best defense. You bet Peyton Manning, cause he's the guy you like. He's the one with the endorsements, and on Saturday Night Live. "Colin Cowherd - 2/4/14 http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=10407514
Cowherd is quite the azzhole, isn't he? "but the worlds changing, and if you can't accept it, then you go into your corner with your other buddies who are afraid of new stuff." People couldn't possibly have a legitimate point, they must just be afraid of change. Guy should get a job with the Democrat National Committee.And he seems to think that numbers are up because of less hitting, rather than in spite of it. He uses stats like JC5100 does.
From things he has said previously, I tend to think that the "afraid of change" point is generalization of a group of people that regularly sends emails/tweets after every flag is thrown or every penalty is handed down.On the numbers in the Super Bowl. I took it as him saying that even despite all of the rule changes and league enforcement, that the game continues to grow and flourish. The argument that I would have there is that, if what we saw in '13 continues for a few year, where officials don't have a great understanding on what they should be calling and the inconsistency continues, then you could see a slight decline in viewership.
It's why we love soccer so much... /sarcasm
No wonder he got demoted to radio.I believe people didn't want a second LSU-Bama game because they had already played each other and people thought the better team was already determined between those two - give someone else a chance. People want to watch quality. The quality is dropping and once you can be replaced, you will. Tread lightly NFL, tread lightly.
a meteor crashing into the world would change it too. guess I should just wait excitedly to see my new, mutant self.
Not sure what the writer's point is because the new rules have in fact made the game suck. People still watch but the frustration increases every week and there will eventually be a drawdown of support.Also, they did not officiate the postseason the same as they did the regular season. I guess for the biggest most televised games in December and January, you can still do all the things that are usually called illegal in September, October, and November....Including playing with a concussion.
Cowherd is obnoxious. I really just skimmed the quote because I don't care for his dramatics. But, while I wouldn't call it a myth, I do think it is a bit of an over reaction by the fans. To me, the game is suffering more because of the penalties that have a negative effect on the strategic part of the game. Once all the players adjust, football will be football again. I think would most would agree we love it for the strategy more than the hitting. Of course if this evolution leads to a game that lacks physicality entirely, then maybe most of us will lose interest.
We do watch it for the hits. I don't know if you've ever watched a flag football game , but it is lame and boring.
Also, they did not officiate the postseason the same as they did the regular season. I guess for the biggest most televised games in December and January, you can still do all the things that are usually called illegal in September, October, and November....Including playing with a concussion.
Excellent point, and it made the playoffs a significantly more enjoyable product imo. *On topic: I have never heard more then 3-4 minutes of his show, and not more the 10 times total. I couldn't even make it through the entire OP transcript tbh. It really doesn't take long to figure out dude is completely an empty suit shock jock. At least Jim Rome is a very good interviewer. Cowherd is the Springer of national sports radio hosts.
Not sure what the writer's point is because the new rules have in fact made the game suck. People still watch but the frustration increases every week and there will eventually be a drawdown of support.Also, they did not officiate the postseason the same as they did the regular season. I guess for the biggest most televised games in December and January, you can still do all the things that are usually called illegal in September, October, and November....Including playing with a concussion.
You make a great point about the officiating difference between regular season and playoffs, especially the Super Bowl. An acquaintance of mine who was a former Bucs coach was certain last week that Seattle would beat Denver and was the only person I know who said it could be a blow out in their favor. His reasoning was officials we're going to be forced to call a looser game, and Seattle's D would dominate. As the game progressed, I kept thinking back to that discussion.
Everyone quotes the viewership numbers for the Super Bowl and the NFL in general as well as jersey sales, merchandise etc... And there is no question that the NFL has become a financial juggernaut more popular than ever. I can't help wondering however, if the NFL is selling its soul for quantity over quantity. The growth of NFL fans might have come at some expense of the most hardcore and devoted fans who made up the bedrock of NFL support. Many of the greatest diehard fans I knew, were distanced from the Buccaneers and the NFL when they were priced out of the new stadium, and again when the prices increased in the mid 2000's. I wonder if the waves of new fans with a more trendy younger demographic, will be as reliable as the old school support the NFL has enjoyed. Will this fan base be less likely to fill stadiums, or more likely to gravitate to soccer as years go by? Will they be more likely to abandon the game as more and more stories about retired players and their medical problems progress?
Viewership numbers are only relevant if they maintain. If everybody on the planet watches the game and says "that sucked" and switch off for next season, this years figures don't mean much. The trend is good right now, but you need to see how the rule changes effect the long term.With that said, the author has somewhat of a valid point in that people like to see a QB who BEATS the defense. But they also like a defense that makes a great QB look ordinary. So making it such that a QB dissects a defense at leisure is going to get old really quick. What is going to be more exciting? A QB who makes a great play and wins 20-17 or a game that finishes 50-45 simply because a QB messed up or a WR dropped the ball?Fans like hits, but they are usually more indicative of team that makes you beat them. That's what they like.
I agree with some of what he says.We don't want low scoring defensive games. Thats true. We like the big hits, but only sprinkled in exciting, big play, offensive games.
No wonder he got demoted to radio.I believe people didn't want a second LSU-Bama game because they had already played each other and people thought the better team was already determined between those two - give someone else a chance. People want to watch quality. The quality is dropping and once you can be replaced, you will. Tread lightly NFL, tread lightly.
Agree.I don't care about the big hits [you hear that Goldson?] But quality is number 1. Officiating was horrendous last season. Do what it takes to straighten that out pronto. I love to watch guys like Blount and Marshawn run. And a great return guy is exciting also. The big hits are way, way, down the list.
