Why Are We Still Watching?

There was a time when I was younger when Sundays were sacred. At 1 o’clock, I'd rush to the T.V., and not move until almost midnight. If a friend wanted to hang out, that was really too bad because I was busy. Football was on and man, did I love football. Dinner was a family affair most nights at my house. It’s the time where you sit around, enjoy each other’s company, tell everyone about your day. So when my mother called us into the kitchen to eat on Sundays at around 6 o'clock, I would always oblige but I always left the TV on so that I could still hear it from the kitchen. After all, 6 o’clock was the tail end of the late football games and I loved football.

Flash-forward to today. This weekend is the final week of the 2017 NFL regular season. I can say, without a doubt, this year has been the least I have ever watched professional football. Of course, I watched my beloved Buffalo Bills pretty much every week. I don’t know why I do that. Maybe I hate myself? But the Sunday afternoon games, or the Monday games, or even the wretched Thursday games that I use to shun the rest of the world for… they no longer grace my screen. I no longer love football.

This has been kind of a growing trend for me over the past few years. Football coverage is hard to escape when you consider how much people love fantasy and how much social media bombards us with highlights, stats, and promotions. So despite my disillusion, I’m still well-versed in the sport. Every year, however, I watch fewer games. At the beginning every new season, I make a vow to start watching more again, trying desperately to recapture the magic of my old Sundays. It never works.

I’ve been trying to figure out why this is happening. Is it because I root for perennial losers who have never really given me a chance to enjoy winning? That is probably a very big part of it and I am willing to admit that. But there are a ton of other options that media pundits have offered up and they all make sense to me.

For example, we know far too much about head injuries to enjoy the rough, hard-hitting excitement that the league was thriving on in the last few decades. It’s hard to enjoy a game like the violent Steelers and Ravens week 14 debacle when we know CTE is a very real concern for these guys down the road. What used to make us jump out of our seats, call our friends, and watch Sportscenter on loop now makes us cringe.

Another reason for dwindling viewership is the politics and protests that have seeped into the game. This personally hasn't kept me away but TV ratings have proven that it has for others. Athletes have a stage that they know you are going to watch and who am I to say they should be allowed to use it? But I get why people are tired of it. It has taken up a lot of media coverage, inexplicably become an issue at the White House, and forced people to think about the world on a day that used to be reserved for chicken wings and beer. I know that I am not of fan of thinking too much about anything while a chicken wing is in front of me.

And then, of course, there are the rules. What is a catch? Why do replays take 10 minutes? Do all the players finally know that games can end in ties? Why, in overtime, can the game end without one team having possession? Are we allowed to hit Tom Brady? It slows down the game, confuses potential new viewers, and creates a rift between players, officials, and the league.

You’ve heard these arguments before. The NFL has never faced more scrutiny than in the social media age of the sport. Ratings are dropping, people are boycotting, and the negative news stories of injuries and domestic violence are not as quickly forgotten as they once were.

So I want to ask you the question that I ask myself on the rare days I end up in front of an out-of-market football game. Why are we still watching? If the things we hate about the game far outweigh the things we love about it, what is bringing us back?  Is it the pace? Is it the potential of a 70 yard punt return touchdown? Or do you watch it simply for the nostalgia?

I don't think football will ever be the same as it was on those Sundays in my youth. Some of its changes are important while others only serve to further distance viewers like me. I hope I rekindle my obsession with football, but for now, my Sundays will be more devoted to sleeping in and catching up on my Netflix list.