The football bubble

[dw3dw3dw3]

It would be interesting to wonder what ESPN thinks of all of this. It seemed that Big East basketball has been their baby for the past 10 years, I suspect their influence will go a long ways behind the scene in keeping these basketball centric schools in the limelight. The Big East and its tournament is still good for them and fills a lot of programming during the winter months. If they have any bit of a contrariness in them, they should double down on

BTW.. does anyone think college football is a bit of a bubble market right now? I can't help think of the .com bust, the real estate bust and just thinking that all these networks and conferences are leveraging way too much on it all right now. I'd have to think the networks are paying much more per minute per viewer for college than the NFL.  I get the average state school football game is watched more than the average state school basketball game (outside of Kentucky/Kansas etc..) but I'm sure there are a lot of factors which diminish the value of football rights. I think this would be a good topic for those stat/number junkies writing for this board.

[MUMac]

BTW.. does anyone think college football is a bit of a bubble market right now? I can't help think of the .com bust, the real estate bust and just thinking that all these networks and conferences are leveraging way too much on it all right now. I'd have to think the networks are paying much more per minute per viewer for college than the NFL.  I get the average state school football game is watched more than the average state school basketball game (outside of Kentucky/Kansas etc..) but I'm sure there are a lot of factors which diminish the value of football rights. I think this would be a good topic for those stat/number junkies writing for this board.

I guess I am in the minority.  I loved College Football until the BCS.  Now that the BCS is trying to take over all of major college athletics, I am getting completely turned off.  I truly feel the BCS is destroying college sports.

[tower912]

I enjoy and understand football.   I have not watched a single play of college football on TV this year.   High school and pro, yes.   But the BCS is so corrupt and so single-handedly destroying a sport I am passionate about, college basketball, that I will not give it a single minute of my time.    They can go abe themselves.    Greed-mongers.   May their corruption drag them to hell. 

[avid1010]

I have no interest in college football because I believe the NFL is played at a much higher level, and every game means something in the NFL...so NFL football is high quality and played in an impressive manner.

To me, NCAA basketball is the highest level of basketball where games mean something and players play hard every night.  The NBA doesn't do much for me.

It's too bad I'm in the minority on this...  I would love to see an all basketball conference.  I have no clue what the $$$ would look like, but it would be fun to not have to deal with any and all the drama that will be playing out with the NCAA, BCS, power conferences, etc. and just have a focus on high quality basketball.  

[brewcity77]

I have no interest in college football because I believe the NFL is played at a much higher level, and every game means something in the NFL...so NFL football is high quality and played in an impressive manner.

To me, NCAA basketball is the highest level of basketball where games mean something and players play hard every night.  The NBA doesn't do much for me.

It's too bad I'm in the minority on this...  I would love to see an all basketball conference.  I have no clue what the $$$ would look like, but it would be fun to not have to deal with any and all the drama that will be playing out with the NCAA, BCS, power conferences, etc. and just have a focus on high quality basketball.  

Every game means something? You're kidding, right? At the end of the year, there are countless games between playoff non-contenders that are meaningless, usually starting around Week 10 or so. The top seeds play meaningless games usually for the last 2-4 weeks of the season. I would say probably a quarter of NFL games are meaningless. If you count early season games between teams that are perennial non-factors, it's certainly even higher than that.

The only sport that can come close to making that claim is the European soccer leagues, where promotion and relegation loom over teams like a grim spectre. Every American sport has numerous games that are meaningless. It's somewhat ironic that the most capitalist society in the world has the most socialist sports leagues. The way the NFL, NBA, and MLB are run it seems that they are becoming more and more socialist, as every team that is given a chance to win the title despite not deserving a shot by finishing 3rd or 4th in their division. I'm more impressed with a team making a run throughout the season than a team getting hot for 3-4 weeks and winning an undeserved title (*cough* 2010-11 Packers *cough*). The best team of the past 30 years in the NFL was undoubtedly that undefeated Patriots team that will be forgotten by history because they didn't win the Super Bowl despite being far and away one of the most dominant teams football has ever seen.

Sorry...I digress...but the simple truth is that a good portion of EVERY major American sport is filled with meaningless games because we prefer running our leagues like socialist systems. In a true free market system, teams like the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Golden State Warriors, and New Jersey Nets would be rightly ran out of the leagues thay play in rather than allowing them to continue to embarass the sport they participate in at a professional level.

[avid1010]

IMO you're way off.  To me...every minute of live play in the NFL means something because there is so little (see the NFL draft).  Socialism isn't playing out in the current conference shake-up.  Revenue sharing allows for a more profitable league.  Curruption continues to plague the English Premier League. 

Every game means something? You're kidding, right?

[Aughnanure]

Every game means something? You're kidding, right? At the end of the year, there are countless games between playoff non-contenders that are meaningless, usually starting around Week 10 or so. The top seeds play meaningless games usually for the last 2-4 weeks of the season. I would say probably a quarter of NFL games are meaningless. If you count early season games between teams that are perennial non-factors, it's certainly even higher than that.

The only sport that can come close to making that claim is the European soccer leagues, where promotion and relegation loom over teams like a grim spectre. Every American sport has numerous games that are meaningless. It's somewhat ironic that the most capitalist society in the world has the most socialist sports leagues. The way the NFL, NBA, and MLB are run it seems that they are becoming more and more socialist, as every team that is given a chance to win the title despite not deserving a shot by finishing 3rd or 4th in their division. I'm more impressed with a team making a run throughout the season than a team getting hot for 3-4 weeks and winning an undeserved title (*cough* 2010-11 Packers *cough*). The best team of the past 30 years in the NFL was undoubtedly that undefeated Patriots team that will be forgotten by history because they didn't win the Super Bowl despite being far and away one of the most dominant teams football has ever seen.

Sorry...I digress...but the simple truth is that a good portion of EVERY major American sport is filled with meaningless games because we prefer running our leagues like socialist systems. In a true free market system, teams like the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Golden State Warriors, and New Jersey Nets would be rightly ran out of the leagues thay play in rather than allowing them to continue to embarass the sport they participate in at a professional level.

Really? American sports are run as socialist systems? WOW. Cause when I think mlb baseball and Yankees, I think socialism. Why does everyone forget that these teams ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY TO PLAY! I know ESPN would love it, but Duke and North Carolina can't play each other 15 times a year.  

[PaintTouches]

I get Brew's point. The Cubs have been terrible and terribly run for 103 years. In a relegation style (aka a market) system, my Cubbies would be in single A ball playing the Lansing Lugnuts. However, pro sports aren't a market at all. The pirates can miss the playoffs for 20 straight years and still make millions of dollars.

It's not to say one is better than another, just the fact that pro sports in America couldn't be further from true makets.