Itgets worse - Conference championships at neutral sites

[awalt]

In Sporting News Today - an unnamed NFL source familiar with the discussions on expanding the league schedule to 17 or 18 games stated that the league could move the NFC and AFC Championship games to neutral sites, given they will be played in early February under these plans.

I wonder what they will do, give the higher seed team more tickets for its fans to buy?

Goodell says they are weighing the impact of the longer schedule on the off-season activities.

Maybe this idea will collapse under its own weight...

[Beerracuda]

Well that idea totally sucks. What's the point of being a higher seed if you can't host the Championship game?

For the sake of argument, say the Ravens finish the season 14-2, with the top seed. We get to the Championship game and play San Diego, who has an 8-8 record for the season. Say the game is played in Arizona. Which team has an advantage? Of course it would be the Chargers, since it's only about a 5 hour drive.

I like the idea of an expanded schedule, but only if they eliminate 1 or more pre-season games, and don't fuck with the Championship game's site. Otherwise, leave things the way they are now.

[Jeremiah W]

On the flip side, it would be nice to be able to go south in the winter to watch the Ravens play a huge game instead of having to go the Burgh or NE, and maybe get a ticket and freez your nutz.

[CoverD]

Yea, that's pretty much bullshit if they decide to take it to a neutral site. But then again, they're basically destroying the fundamental game of football anyways with all these rules that are giving QBs breaks. Next thing you know they'll be getting spa treatments in the huddle.

[Greg]

There is no need to move these games, late January and early February have the same weather conditions. Early February around here might have a slightly higher average temperature.

[RAVENOUS52]

Fuck it. Let's play the next SuperBowl in North Korea and get this experiment over with.:grbac:

[PurplePill]

Let's just take all the actual competition out of it and arrange the entire league around television... :rolleyes:

i swear, the NFL is turning into NASCAR more and more every year

[Losac]

i swear, the NFL is turning into NASCAR more and more every year

You're not far off. Our own Steve Bisciotti was quoted saying the owners could be pushing for players to wear advertising logos on their practice jerseys.

Let's have a 30 game season, half the games played in Europe, and a rule banning tackling the QB at all. :grbac:

[Jeremiah W]

You're not far off. Our own Steve Bisciotti was quoted saying the owners could be pushing for players to wear advertising logos on their practice jerseys.

Let's have a 30 game season, half the games played in Europe, and a rule banning tackling the QB at all. :grbac:

If they still have the best players in the world, it still looks like football, and they put it on TV, I will watch it. Cant be worse than a random car care bowl with a mac and wac middle of the pack matchup.

[bmoreravengirl]

You're not far off. Our own Steve Bisciotti was quoted saying the owners could be pushing for players to wear advertising logos on their practice jerseys.

Let's have a 30 game season, half the games played in Europe, and a rule banning tackling the QB at all. :grbac:

"Personal foul, unnecessary roughness, touching the QB with your pinkie finger, 30 yd. penalty, automatic 1st down."

[italianjoker]

when did Bud Selig take over the NFL? i thought only he could screw shit up this bad.

moving the Championship games is absolutely idiotic. just like moving the date and location of the ProBowl.

[Dave Lap]

If anything they should consider moving the Superbowl to the home teams stadium. Not gonna happen I know but ....The thing I hate most about the SB is the laid back crowd.

A really vocal crowd adds immeasurably to a game. Moving the conference championships would be another stupid move that further dilutes one of the great championships in sports.

[camdenyard]

They can float the idea.

The Hindenburg floated too, for a while.

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/flying/assets/hindenburg.jpg

[psuasskicker]

I think there's pretty much no chance we go to 17 or 18 games. The players are adamant they don't want it, and it will likely be used as a major stopping point for CBA negotiations. The owners will have to pay out the ass to get them to increase the number of meaningful games they have to play, and I don't see the owners doing that.

- C -

[Ravenswarrior19]

There is no need to move these games, late January and early February have the same weather conditions. Early February around here might have a slightly higher average temperature.

While that is true, I don't think this idea has anything to do with weather differences from Jan - Feb, because its all cold. And the NFL ultimately wants to move championship weekend to warm weather cities.

Regardless of what the NFL says publically, neutral sites are all about corporate advertising of the event. They want to be able to schedule championship weekend in advance to maximize all the corporate dollars that come with big parties, tv deals, pre/post game junk - everything other than the actual game. To do that, they need warm weather and months to plan.

In the end, the NFL gets 3 Superbowls instead of 1, with all the sterile, monolithic, high dollar atmosphere that comes with it.


I think there's pretty much no chance we go to 17 or 18 games. The players are adamant they don't want it, and it will likely be used as a major stopping point for CBA negotiations. The owners will have to pay out the ass to get them to increase the number of meaningful games they have to play, and I don't see the owners doing that.

- C -

A longer schedule is probably coming eventually, but I don't see it happening now. Maybe the owners are just putting bargaining chips on the table at this point. That way they can give up the the 18-game schedule to get a rookie wage scale (or something) in return.

[Mista T]

I believe that we will see the 17 game schedule (Europe, Mexico, Canada 17th game) and 3 exhibitions, with no stretch out of the season. The neutral site to conference championships is just some NFL disinformation.

[awalt]

I think there's pretty much no chance we go to 17 or 18 games. The players are adamant they don't want it, and it will likely be used as a major stopping point for CBA negotiations. The owners will have to pay out the ass to get them to increase the number of meaningful games they have to play, and I don't see the owners doing that.

- C -

Ahh! That's the answer! This is a scheme to push the players in negotiations! It makes sense now. If the players don't give in on some of the owners' points, than the league will go to 18 games. It's a negotiating ploy....not the first time something stupid has been suggested and it then becomes a point for the other side to win a concession on, to not have it. I really think this is a possibility...

[The Fanatic]

I don't see how the owners approve of something like that.

The ultimate goal at the beginning of each year is to win a championship.

Every team is looking for any and every competitive advantage it can find.

Having your home crowd behind you in big games is an advantage that most teams tend to use to their advantage.

The second goal as an owner is to make money in the process of trying to achieve goal #1.

Losing the ticket sales, concessions, parking, etc. from an extra home game doesn't exactly strike me as something any owner wants to do.

I'll be shocked if this passes!

The mere fact that this idea is even being considered to begin with tells me the NFL is now being run by an idiot.:grbac: :grbac:

If they try and come out with weather being an issue then they need to relocate the majority of Green Bays second half home games as well.

[52decleetzu]

Will never happen.

[HoustonRaven]

Come off the ledges ....

It aint gonna happen. Period. They float a lot of ideas in the off season to get public reaction.

[Greg]

Adding an extra game would require the players to be paid for an extra game, so I don't see them being completely against it. They couldn't be asked to play another game or two without pay. They could also expand the roster by a place or two to account for more lost bodies, which the union would also like.

I don't see them changing the championship games any time soon.

[3RDRowRaven]

Well that idea totally sucks. What's the point of being a higher seed if you can't host the Championship game?


Agreed! This shit better not happen. They want to send out playoff ticket invoices in mid December and yet the NFL wants to play the AFC Championship games at a neutral site? Makes me wanna think long and hard if it's really worth laying down big money for season tickets or playoff tickets in the future if the NFL wants to come up with stupid bullshit like this. I hope some day that the Baltimore Ravens can host a AFC Championship game in Baltimore and that I get to see it in person like everyone else here on this forum. I'm gonna have a talk with my Uncle about this issue.
Maybe I'll send a email to the Ravens to see if my airfare, hotel and meal expense is included in the playoff ticket invoice. LOL!

Fucking blows!

[psuasskicker]

Adding an extra game would require the players to be paid for an extra game, so I don't see them being completely against it. They couldn't be asked to play another game or two without pay. They could also expand the roster by a place or two to account for more lost bodies, which the union would also like.

The players wouldn't be hugely against it if paid for the extra game (though I doubt they still want it), but that extra game would cost owners around $7MM per year each. In a 70k seat stadium you're talking about an across the board ticket price increase of $10 per seat per game. Both the owners and fans won't want to pay extra and the players won't want to play extra.

There are serious impediments to actually making this happen. This is one of those ideas that seems terrific on the surface but completely crumbles once you actually start talking logistics.

Fans complain now about getting shafted by having to pay full price for two preseason games. Who the eff cares? Say owners charge $100 per seat per game for ten games. If you drop the preseason prices to $25 per seat per game, do people actually think they wouldn't spread that $150 in lost revenue out among the other 8 games? Are fans really going to be that much happier paying $25 per preseason game, and $119 per regular season game?

- C -

[YRKPARAVEN]

If the league expands to 18 games, how will the league decide who plays the extra games? I'd say first it would be a rivalry type game between conferences, Baltimore V Washington, NYJ Vs. NYG, but what about the years when they play due to the normal scheduling? What about the other game? Based on performance standing from the prior year as the two floating games are now and just make it 3?