John Grieshop - Getty Images
6 months ago: CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 27: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals takes the field for the game against the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium on November 27, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals defeated the Browns 23-20. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
In a recent foxsports.com article, Patriots owner Robert Kraft describes that he went to an NHL game between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins and was so impressed with the viewing experience that he approached NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, asking if the NFL could borrow some of the NHL's ideas to encourage the average NFL fan to become more excited and involved.
The league's response, not surprisingly, wasn't an embracing and enthusiastic one. One of the league's brass replied:
"The fan bases actually interact with their teams in a very different way," said Grubman, who has discussed the topic extensively with Kraft’s son and Patriots president Jonathan Kraft. "There are music elements and other things that relate to football that are popular entertainment, but we’re not looking to (other leagues) as a role model. They may be going in another direction of things that other people may enjoy. We’re going football and connectivity."
Admittedly, I haven't been to many hockey game in my liftetime (just not a Cyclones guy), but I can guarantee that the viewing experience at an NHL game is far better than any NFL game I've been to.
At Paul Brown Stadium, Bengals fans have become accustomed to a few cheerleaders before and during the game, but little else of note. It surprises me that the outdated animated tiger intro is still played before the game, and the players only run out to some smoke and small fireworks. Fans can watch highlights from around the league during halftime (because the league mandates that all stadiums must show some NFL RedZone coverage), but these aren't on HD display screens, nor are the screens very big in terms of league standards. I'm there to watch my Bengals, and that's about it.
The NFL and the Bengals organization itself seem to be doing little to improve what is a subpar viewing experience. The league seems to think that the most important area for improvement is the "connectivity" with other fans. As in, let fans tweet and text and check scores on their phones by increasing the available bandwidth in stadiums. That's a good idea, but that's not the only aspect of the viewing experience that the NFL should consider improving. It's not just 'football and connectivity', as Mr. Grubman explains.
If the league decides that improving connectivity is the biggest issue, they should at least focus on doing it well. At our own PBS, AT&T installed a "dual-antenna system" in hopes of improving cell phone coverage late last season. But, that didn't let me get messages any faster when I was at Paul Brown Stadium in November and December. I still received messages at least an hour after they were sent, and couldn't tweet anything until the game was over. I tried to send out a picture message of one of Mike Nugent's missed field goal attempts (sly lady two rows in front of me decided to keep the football and hide it under her seat), but it never sent.
Maybe the league should focus on improving the more pressing issues of the viewing experience, like ticket-pricing, concessions pricing, parking, tailgating, long bathroom lines, and on a related note- TV blackouts. PBS doesn't necessarily reflect all of these concerns, but stadiums around around the country are far behind the trend when it comes to these contant pains.
Take it from the National Football Post's Jack Bechta, who's been to 26 of the NFL's 31 venues and is extremely dissatisfied with what he's experienced, as he explains in a mock letter to the league.
Bechta lists five solid areas of concern that the average NFL fan must face on gameday: ticket prices, getting in and out of the stadium, the parking lot and tailgating, over priced concessions & long lines, and obnoxious fan behavior.
Bechta's argument is definitely worth a read, as it gives NFL fans a bit of perspective on what they have been enduring for years and years. Though Bechta is a little on the whiny side, I certainly agree. There are so many flaws with the fan's experience when he goes to an NFL game. It's a shame that the league thinks the only issue worth addressing is "connectivity".
0 recs | 19 comments
Hockey games are a lot of fun to go to
There’s way more interaction with the crowd and they encourage things like hat tricks. The NFL is like the overloads in the album 2112, by Rush. You know, when Geddy finds the guitar?
UpStateMike - February 15, 2012
Hockey games aren't televised (usually).
They only have the home crowd to cater to. If you ask me, the NFL is much more concerned with putting on a great TV production for all the people watching at home then they are in putting on a great show for the fans that come to the stadium.
kazahani2 - February 16, 2012
What I don't get
Is that there’s two major colleges and how many dozen high schools within 35 miles of the stadium. Why isn’t there a marching band?
On top of that XU has a pep band, and how many hundred people out of college miss playing since they’re out in corporate world? If you can get Dental Hygienists to make up your cheerleading corps, you can sure as hell put together a marching band.
Gigantic drum lines echoing in your head while the horns blare out a fight song, or as in the case of my kids’ high school, everything from Ozzy to Foo Fighters.
That’s what makes the environment at high school and college games.
Don’t tell me there’s no place for whatever the Bengals equivalent of Script Ohio is.
Skyhook - February 15, 2012
If marching bands played at NFL games, I would not go to them. I personally find them kind of annoying (though I definitely respect what they do) I just don’t know why I need to have every single play on the field capped off with a 5 second segment of Seven Nation Army (every college game I saw this year, it was pretty much the same…same song..every play. Obviously they played different stuff during breaks like timeouts and such) I totally disagree that bands would work in the NFL. that atmosphere you talk about is also catered to the biggest customers at those games (students). Obviously I could be wrong, but I just can’t see a band being a positive thing for the NFL crowd.
Then again,I’m not even a big fan of cheerleaders. Not the cheerleaders themselves, but the fact that they are doing their thing during a football game that I came to see.
FrankWyt - February 16, 2012
For one thing a half way living stadium announcer would be nice.
The dull workman like tone of the announcer at PBS can suck the energy right out of the stadium.
Cry - February 15, 2012
Rome didnt evolve with society either
jus sayin….Any great enterprise continuously looks to its surroundings for innovative ideas….why not look at all areas…I am not a hockey fan at all…but I know that hockey fans are ridiculously passionate about the sport…why not try to harness some of that
ticalcaldwell - February 15, 2012
it's silly that the NFL thinks they can come up with every good idea themselves
borrow ideas, research, communicate. it’s how any good business operates
Brennen Warner - February 16, 2012
I was impressed with Reliant
When I went to the playoff game. I don’t think they really did anything different than normal yet I know the occasion was special but they had the crowd pumped all game. They had custom video with their players playing along with some great music. Every time their D took the field they’d play Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine with highlights of one of their players lighting someone up. It had me pumped! PBS could definitely steal some ideas.
Bigcatdaddy - February 15, 2012 via Android app
yea the videos were great, you really got that family atmosphere there. or at least I did
They had so much going on during breaks, that the fans never really got out of the game. I just wished more Bengals fans would have showed up. It was kind of pathetic to think about because I may have only seen a 100 bengals fans, which that maybe kind of a high number lol
AMAS85 - February 15, 2012
That kind of thing happens at almost every stadium that has a winning team call it home. Hell, even ones that don’t. the Bengals are a unique situation though, because the fans feel betrayed by the owner (or whatever it is). Although it’s crappy now, I actually applauded the Bengals fans for actually standing up to the owner. That happens so rarely, usually people just accept the B.S that is thrown at them (example, Browns fans) and say “thank you sir, may I have another”. Unfortunately, things have changed in Cincy, and the fans need to change too.
FrankWyt - February 16, 2012
I really don’t understand what these guys want. I want to see a football game. That’s why I pay money to see a football game. Why do we need circus sideshows?
FrankWyt - February 16, 2012
Circus sideshows is a bit much, no?
Cry - February 16, 2012
Maybe we should bring back Chad if we want to see circus sideshows?
DTFCPDX - February 16, 2012
Yeah probably, sorry. I couldn’t think of a better way to put it. I guess the point is, I just want to watch football. I don’t care about wacky t-shirt cannons and people trying 50 yd FG’s for 10k (what I’d imagine the equivalent to the half court shot or center ice shot through the little hole in the goal thing)
FrankWyt - February 16, 2012
In Mike Brown's defense,
AT&T has GREAT coverage in the stadium. He installed a tower in the stadium for better coverage, but if you have Verizon or something else, you won’t get great service. A friend and I were at the Texans game and each tried to look up something and I started about 20 seconds after my friend and ended up looking up the answer before my friends phone even loaded the first web page.
Mike Fightmaster - February 16, 2012
A decent article from NFP
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Are-NFL-Fans-Getting-Tired-of-the-Stadium-Experience.html
Most of the observations are obvious. I found myself nodding in agreement with regards to parking and tailgating. The league should embrace the tailgating experience instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. It’s one of the few things that differentiates the stadium experience from the in-home experience. Now, obviously that’s a double edged sword since more tailgating means more drinking which means more drunk jerks. But you can solve that problem with more security. Expand the Fun Zone so that its more than an afterthought.
I also wholeheartedly agree with the marching band comment above. It makes the college game experience so much better, and is yet another thing that is better in the stadium than on TV.
For as much as the league does right, they have been completely remiss in looking at the successes that other sports have with engaging their fans. NHL, MLB, college basketball all do things that the NFL can adopt to improve itself. They just choose not to.
EarthwormJim - February 16, 2012
Ooops!
Just noticed the same link was posted in the article. Guess I didn’t read down far enough. :)
EarthwormJim - February 16, 2012
JUST LOWER THE PRICES
its simple…no need for gimics …make it affordable to the average fan…more fans==more money.
mike111 - February 16, 2012
That's the elephant in the room, isn't it?
It’s basic supply & demand. Lower the price point and the demand goes up. But the owners have been reluctant to reduce prices, so the only other alternative to increasing demand is to improve the product.
EarthwormJim - February 16, 2012
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