Hold on to those Season Tickets!

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Rescooter

Rescooter

Section 243
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First off, I will NEVER sell my season tickets.

Watching the Vikings Game last night got me thinking. The show of Union Solidarity at the beginning of the game was sickening. Unfortunately, there is a faction of NFL players that have gotten away from the love of the game and forgotten who signs their paychecks.

This whole thing is bound to escalate and I believe there will be a strike next year. Short of seeing a "Replacements" type of league in its place, I believe that College Football will be the only viable option to the NFL. Could we be seeing Saturday & Sunday College Football next year? Time (and TV Contracts) will tell.

Basically, if the above scenario happens, the price of your tickets and local interest will skyrocket. There is now an economic reason to being a season ticket holder. I haven't even discussed the pros & cons of the "professional football fan" at TCF Stadium, but this is purely an economic discussion. It would also be good financially for colleges across the US.
 

Well, this isn't the first time there have been strikes/lockouts in the NFL. I don't recall any college ticket prices skyrocketing when there have been labor issues in the NFL in the past. It isn't like NFL fans are sitting around with NFL heroin needles and will need to get a FIX of live college football if their heros aren't playing on Sunday. Also, college game schedules are set long in advance and I doubt any NFL labor issue would extend long enough to have any effect on college game scheduling.

Each level is what it is. A LOT of people gravitate to the NFL, just like they gravitate to well marketed movies, breakfast cereal, etc. It is a product and it is put out there by management and employees. All the pro sports wrestle with labor from time to time. There is soooooo much money in it. The players always want their fair share. The public is always sickened by how much money the players make and how much money the owners rake in. Despite that, they keep buying the jerseys, hats, tickets, and keep tuning in on Sundays. People complain about the money grubbing without understanding THEY are the ones pouring the money into it.

I don't blame the NFL players, or the management... it is just bound to happen when everyone wants their share of the cash cow.

The business aspect of the NFL has taken over more and more, especially in the last 20 years. I suppose it is no wonder that during that same span of time, I have become more interested in the college game. Strike, lockout, whatever... that won't change for me. If it is on, I'll watch it (like last night), but I look most forward to college game day.
 

Rescooter, that's an interesting idea to have games on Sunday next year. I hope that the teams/conferences/networks have the flexibility to make that happen if a strike goes through as expected.

Go Gophers!!
 

I doubt the NCAA will push their scheduling to Sunday if the NFL has a lockout. They don't want to start a war with the NFL where the NFL starts scheduling games on Saturdays when they come back. It's a war the NCAA will lose. Right now there is a gentlemen's agreement that the NFL will stay away from Saturday games until the CFB regular season is done and CFB will stay away from Sunday once the NFL season begins after Labor Day.
 

BleedGopher said:
Rescooter, that's an interesting idea to have games on Sunday next year. I hope that the teams/conferences/networks have the flexibility to make that happen if a strike goes through as expected.

Go Gophers!!
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Sunday college football will not happen on any scale other than it is now.

1. There will be an NFL schedule, whether the games are played or not. No one will no for sure until games get cancelled.
2. No one will risk moving a game to Sunday and have the two sides settle the weekend before.
3. No one will want to play a "short week"--Sunday, then the next Saturday.
4. "Flexibility" and college football/TV scheduling is nearly impossible. Too many games (not just 16 NFL) on TV now to do the shuffle. Too many logistic dominos.
5. The NFL plays on Sunday BECAUSE of college football on Saturday, not the other way around. Just the tradition alone is the best reason to stay on Saturday. TV is not a good reason.
 


Solidarity!

I was heartened to see the NFL players show of solidarity last night. I stand with the players and not the greedy owners.

Solidarity!
 

I don't know that there is an objective way to answer this question but I'm going to throw it out there anyway---

If the NCAA moved some games to Sundays, would they lose to the NFL?

Especially in non-NFL markets (Iowa, USC, Oklahoma)...

Personally, I'd much rather see a college game no matter what state I'm in.
 

If college football tried to go head to head with the NFL, college football would get lose out big time. There are cities that don't have NFL teams, but that doesn't mean they aren't NFL markets, people watch NFL football there. If Iowa, Oklahoma or USC moved to Sundays, they would get less viewers than they would on Saturdays. There are individual players in the NFL who make more money per year than a lot of college teams entire yearly revenue, that's because the TV ratings for the NFL are so strong even in cities without a team.
 

This time might be different

wels0081 said:
I don't know that there is an objective way to answer this question but I'm going to throw it out there anyway---

If the NCAA moved some games to Sundays, would they lose to the NFL?

Especially in non-NFL markets (Iowa, USC, Oklahoma)...

Personally, I'd much rather see a college game no matter what state I'm in.
Click to expand...

College football is quite a bit bigger now (conference networks, more evening games). Add that on to the following:

1) Alternative would be baseball (or worse yet basketball).
2) No way that men (or some discerning women) will give up their fall Sunday afternoons. It's ingrained, almost sacred.
3) A strike in this economy would swiftly turn the tide against professional sports
4) Colleges and Universities are looking for money right now. State and Fed have cut back on support and grants.

Non-professional state fan-base would rally around their sport. For them, professional sports are Ok, but college football is life.

The Rescooter household would support college football on Saturday and Sunday.
 



If the NCAA and the NFL went head to head, I would want to shoot myself. I enjoy the college experience more, without a doubt. However, I am more able to develop a league-wide understanding of each team when there are only 32 teams in the league. Further, the talent level is far superior in the NFL. Those probably end up making it a wash as to which I would eventually gravitate towards. Then you take into account that I am in a few fantasy football leagues for the NFL, and pay to play. NFL probably wins unless the Gophers are playing. And therein lies the problem - people may remain loyal to their local market team, but you will lose national interest in all except top ten against top ten teams, or possibly regional interest for conferences.
 

Why you want to watch any college football game over watching Keanu Reeves lead a bunch of ragtag misfits to Superbowl victory?!
 

carh1981 said:
I was heartened to see the NFL players show of solidarity last night. I stand with the players and not the greedy owners.

Solidarity!
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I'm not really for either. I haven't heard one of 'em talk about adding in a kickback to fans when their team doesn't perform at high levels and the ticket owners can get some pro-rated refunds. Who ever pushes for that has my vote!
 

carh1981 said:
I was heartened to see the NFL players show of solidarity last night. I stand with the players and not the greedy owners.

Solidarity!
Click to expand...

I will be in favor of whichever party throws out the radical idea of paying for their own place of business instead of holding taxpayers hostage.
 



Rescooter said:
College football is quite a bit bigger now (conference networks, more evening games). Add that on to the following:

1) Alternative would be baseball (or worse yet basketball).
2) No way that men (or some discerning women) will give up their fall Sunday afternoons. It's ingrained, almost sacred.
3) A strike in this economy would swiftly turn the tide against professional sports
4) Colleges and Universities are looking for money right now. State and Fed have cut back on support and grants.

Non-professional state fan-base would rally around their sport. For them, professional sports are Ok, but college football is life.

The Rescooter household would support college football on Saturday and Sunday.
Click to expand...

If there is a strike, moving some games to Sunday would be a big win for college football. But moving games to Sunday when the NFL is not on strike would be a big loss.
 

Yeah that was a HUGE reminder of one of the many reasons why I hardly watch the No fun League anymore.
 


Schnauzer said:
Well, this isn't the first time there have been strikes/lockouts in the NFL. I don't recall any college ticket prices skyrocketing when there have been labor issues in the NFL in the past. It isn't like NFL fans are sitting around with NFL heroin needles and will need to get a FIX of live college football if their heros aren't playing on Sunday. Also, college game schedules are set long in advance and I doubt any NFL labor issue would extend long enough to have any effect on college game scheduling.

Each level is what it is. A LOT of people gravitate to the NFL, just like they gravitate to well marketed movies, breakfast cereal, etc. It is a product and it is put out there by management and employees. All the pro sports wrestle with labor from time to time. There is soooooo much money in it. The players always want their fair share. The public is always sickened by how much money the players make and how much money the owners rake in. Despite that, they keep buying the jerseys, hats, tickets, and keep tuning in on Sundays. People complain about the money grubbing without understanding THEY are the ones pouring the money into it.

I don't blame the NFL players, or the management... it is just bound to happen when everyone wants their share of the cash cow.

The business aspect of the NFL has taken over more and more, especially in the last 20 years. I suppose it is no wonder that during that same span of time, I have become more interested in the college game. Strike, lockout, whatever... that won't change for me. If it is on, I'll watch it (like last night), but I look most forward to college game day.
Click to expand...

This.

I'll always love the Vikings (as long as they are in MN), but the Gophers (and all of college sports) are my TRUE love.
 


Gdizzle said:
Why you want to watch any college football game over watching Keanu Reeves lead a bunch of ragtag misfits to Superbowl victory?!
Click to expand...

You were supposed to put Spoiler Alert before this.

Now I have to tell my wife to return that movie, no sense in watching it tonight.
 

carh1981 said:
I was heartened to see the NFL players show of solidarity last night. I stand with the players and not the greedy owners.

Solidarity!
Click to expand...

Please, the players are just as greedy as the owners. Millionaires vs. Millionaires isn't a battle I have a rooting interest in.
 


Rescooter said:
Watching the Vikings Game last night got me thinking. The show of Union Solidarity at the beginning of the game was sickening. Unfortunately, there is a faction of NFL players that have gotten away from the love of the game and forgotten who signs their paychecks.
Click to expand...

Grow up. Love of the game, my ass. If you're like most fans, you love football at least partly because of the violence. Look at the length of an average career; look up the average age of death for a professional football player; read up on the toll the game takes on their bodies and how it affects them after retirement. Nobody makes them play, but there's a real price that they pay. I would guess most of them love to play, but maybe the owners should remember who the fans come to see. It sure isn't Jerry Jones or Zygi or any of the others.

You don't have to back the players but them raising a finger at the beginning of the game was hardly sickening. Are you worried they're going to start taking it easy on each other and you won't be able to see as many hits? Tell Percy Harvin that. Don't be because, remember, their contracts basically aren't guaranteed.
 

I see nothing sickening about a gesture of union solidarity. The owners certainly work together for their own interests, why shouldn't the players? The owners may sign the paychecks, but it is the players who produce the value.
 

Mulligan said:
Grow up. Love of the game, my ass. If you're like most fans, you love football at least partly because of the violence. Look at the length of an average career; look up the average age of death for a professional football player; read up on the toll the game takes on their bodies and how it affects them after retirement. Nobody makes them play, but there's a real price that they pay. I would guess most of them love to play, but maybe the owners should remember who the fans come to see. It sure isn't Jerry Jones or Zygi or any of the others.

You don't have to back the players but them raising a finger at the beginning of the game was hardly sickening. Are you worried they're going to start taking it easy on each other and you won't be able to see as many hits? Tell Percy Harvin that. Don't be because, remember, their contracts basically aren't guaranteed.
Click to expand...

Raising their finger was sickening as it reminded me why I dislike pro sports. There's a boyhood dream that I have that these overpaid millionaires actually care about winning and the fans that support them over some greedy union. The problem with them is they are disconnected from the people that support them with their hard-earned cash. We are the goose that lays the golden egg every fall. The union (and owners) have now decided they will eat that goose.

If this strike becomes a reality, the Vikings staying in Minnesota is pipe-dream. There will be no stadium, and no Minnesota Vikings. The Packers will be the closest team geographically.

Perhaps the Gophers will garner more of a following. In that event, TCF will need to be expanded sooner rather than later. I would love to see TCF stadium have to add 20,000 more seats.
 

Rescooter said:
If this strike becomes a reality, the Vikings staying in Minnesota is pipe-dream. There will be no stadium, and no Minnesota Vikings.
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There won't be a stadium, strike or not. That Viking ship has sailed.
 

Rescooter said:
If this strike becomes a reality, the Vikings staying in Minnesota is pipe-dream. There will be no stadium, and no Minnesota Vikings. The Packers will be the closest team geographically.
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Wow, you really have no clue on this topic. Go and educate yourself on it if you're going to attempt to post intelligently.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Wow, you really have no clue on this topic. Go and educate yourself on it if you're going to attempt to post intelligently.
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Enlighten us, then. (Not meant to be a harsh or tongue in cheek response.. I honestly would like to know whatever information you have).
 

Formo said:
Enlighten us, then. (Not meant to be a harsh or tongue in cheek response.. I honestly would like to know whatever information you have).
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1. There is zero percent chance of a strike. There may (and probably will be) a lockout, but odds of a strike are zero.

2. If the lockout does occur, it will most likely be resolved before any games are lost. It seems bad now, but anyone who follows labor issues knows how this works. The two sides won't sit down and start negotiating until they absolutely have to, i.e. when a deadline for resolution is within reach.

3. If the unlikely scenario occurs, and it actually does come to lost games, the owners will be fine. It was written into the most recent TV deals that the teams will continue to receive full payment from the networks even if zero games are played. In essence, they are financing the lockout, to be repaid when the new CBA is signed. Scabs are also a possibility, but I feel the league doesn't want to go down that road again.

4. People need to come to grips with the fact that an NFL franchise will be in the Cities as long as the NFL exists. If the Vikings leave, they will be quickly replaced by a relocated or expansion franchise. Either option will cost the citizenry far more than nutting up and paying for a stadium now.
 

dpodoll68 said:
1. There is zero percent chance of a strike. There may (and probably will be) a lockout, but odds of a strike are zero.

2. If the lockout does occur, it will most likely be resolved before any games are lost. It seems bad now, but anyone who follows labor issues knows how this works. The two sides won't sit down and start negotiating until they absolutely have to, i.e. when a deadline for resolution is within reach.

3. If the unlikely scenario occurs, and it actually does come to lost games, the owners will be fine. It was written into the most recent TV deals that the teams will continue to receive full payment from the networks even if zero games are played. In essence, they are financing the lockout, to be repaid when the new CBA is signed. Scabs are also a possibility, but I feel the league doesn't want to go down that road again.

4. People need to come to grips with the fact that an NFL franchise will be in the Cities as long as the NFL exists. If the Vikings leave, they will be quickly replaced by a relocated or expansion franchise. Either option will cost the citizenry far more than nutting up and paying for a stadium now.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I wasn't sure what part you were responding to.. The lockout issue or the Twin Cities not having an NFL team.

I agree with you on a few things, but mostly the 4th point. I'm so damn pissed at the MN legislature because they had the opportunity to sit down and hash a stadium plan out YEARS ago, before the recession, and could have built Zigy's almost billion dollar stadium for more than half of today's cost (can't remember where I read that.. I'll have to look it up again). But instead, the state kept pushing back the Vikings, year after year after year. Now, when it's time to 'nut up' (like that phrase BTW), the cost of the dumb stadium will be HUNDREDS of MILLIONS more than the same damn thing would have been 5-8 years ago.

I also get pissed off at the legislature for continually shrugging off stadium plans.. Even ones that don't involved a penny of public money (no raising taxes!!) and don't even bother to come up with any alternative plans. It's gotten to the point that if it comes to the team leaving or staying.. I almost hope they leave. Just to show the state how much $$$$ it's gonna miss when tax season hits. The state makes more money off the NFL team, it's players and it's fans than it is willing to admit but refuses to even TALK about a stadium, much less help finance one.
 

Mulligan said:
Look at the length of an average career...
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Please, let's stop with this nonsense. The "average career" of anyone is 3-5 years (America's Dynamic workforce: 2006; U.S. Department of Labor). Getting to the NFL as a player is not supposed to be the last job of your life.

Having a rookie come into the league and become the highest paid player at his position is what will drive the lockout. It is an unsustainable system. It will be fixed. Well...altered, but maybe not "fixed".
 

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