i watch basketball and i watch baseball. not sure if you do. watch an Atlanta Hawks homegame. or...watch most baseball games not in New York, chicago or Boston. don't know about you, but i'm watching the product on the grass or hardwood, not the bums in the seat.
one game is made to punish on a smaller field. the other game's made to scamper around a big field. one game emphasizes athletic QBs. the other emphasizes coach gameplan executers and focuses on height, not athleticism. you can't match them up.
the NFL is the best revenue league in the world. it having the most superior product, when compared to the other major professional leagues, is strictly one's opinion. their on-field product and entertainment value per game would be considered by pundits to be inferior to that of hockey or basketball. the NFL exists as it does today because it is fueled by betting. it is the best betting league out there. but as an unbiased sportsfan, i'd rank it #5 in terms of product and entertainment.
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i would suggest that it's pace is on par with baseball. and herein lies the NFL problem. it really is a boring league. go look at last week's box scores. Eli Manning passes for just over 100 yards and he's a top level qb. bills vs chiefs: neither qb passed for more than 200 yards. neither runningback ran for more than 50 yards. go through the box scores and most games and performances are duds. but the tv production value? amazing. the hype? amazing.
that was a weird and random thing to wish for. but ok.
Well Hannu, I myself don't watch baseball or NBA- basketball. I just can't see how anybody could like "basketball." I mean really if your tall- like 6'7 inches and you can run, it doesn't take much talent to jump a couple feet in the air, and hoop a score. I will say we're all different though, and everyone enjoys different sports. If you talk to a lot of Americans-"deep south"-they can't understand why people like hockey. I say everyone to their own, and watch what you enjoy.
As for the difference in the NFL and CFL-- you make a lot of good points, but nothing is carved in stone. Yes, it's played on a smaller field, but it still demands a lot of athleticism, and strength. The CFL game because it's only 3 downs, is more like a pitch and run game. Running is not emphasized that much. You say that the NFL emphasizes height, and generally your correct, but a lot of shorter QB's could do well, as is the case with Russel Wilson of Seattle. Also Doug Flutie did well in the NFL, so it depends on the player.
You are right that betting does really fuel interest in the NFL- I have no doubt about that, and "that's good." It keeps the interest up in a lot of games. The NFL though doesn't receive money from bettors or gaming houses, but the betting gets a lot of people tuning into the games, and they receive their money from television networks, and advertisers,( which depend on viewership) and gate attendance.
I just ran my post because I think the CFL is in trouble, and when I click on the TV and see the stands 3/4 empty--why would I care who won that game, when the home team fans couldn't care less who wins. It's a very "apathetic vacuum" the CFL is fighting, and are losing the war--especially with the bigger city Eastern clubs --like Toronto and Montreal. I question whether or not they will survive, and if so-- just how long can they eat these losses ???
Anyways--as a Winnipeger, and a great sports enthusiast like yourself, I guess I'll watch hockey -NHL, and also watch the NFL and CFL -- but generally only if the Bombers are playing. You can't spend your whole life watching sports, as you have to work and do other things. I'd love to see the CFL and NFL merge, but the chances of that happening anytime soon, is close to nil. Toronto would have the best chance, but the fans there I would not trust to attend an NFL game. The only loyalty I see Toronto fans giving is to the Maple Leafs, because it's a long standing tradition. I wonder why their not interested in, or have no passion at all for the Argos ??--like 13,000 people a game !!! That's a complete joke, and they don't deserve a team, but if someone wants to eat the losses--what can I say.
I think the thing with Toronto is that many of the people there are transplants for jobs etc, and their originally from other cities, and they don't support CFL (Argos-football,) and or baseball, I've heard they have attendance problems ??? I don't know how their attendance is for the Raptors-NBA ??--maybe it's good.
TO Fans are really passionate about the Maple Leafs though, and have always supported them, and I think tradition has a lot to do with it, and a lot of support is from people that grew up in Toronto, and not transplants from other cities.
My point initially was, that something has to be done to keep the CFL afloat, or try to "grow" the game here in Canada, and right now we're regressing backwards, and may soon see the CFL fold in the next 10 years or so--sad to see really. My suggestion was to try to merge the CFL with the NFL to prevent this.( very tough thing to do)