OT? - How excited are you?

Half Empty

Member
Member
Messages
1,176
Reaction score
382
Saw, on another forum, one which takes great delight in personal attacks, someone post that they are no longer all that pumped about football in general, or even the Pack in particular. I've noticed the same in myself for some time now and have come to the conclusion that a large part of my interest is there just by force of habit - I've been following GB since pre-Lombardi and it seems like the thing to do. However, if they're on TV, I DVR it so I can check out the interesting points discussed on the forums, and if they're not, I don't bother looking for a stream or alternative; I just check nfl.com once in a while to see how they're doing. At the end, if they win, great; if they lose, so be it. So many things have changed so dramatically over the years that I'm no longer emotionally invested; it's just that they have happened so slowly that I really didn't notice the overall effect.

Since this is a forum unlike most of the others, I thought I'd see how the rest of you feel - if anyone can get me really pumped up again, thanks. :)
 
Loaded question..... I'll answer it from 2 perspectives:

First as a fan, The NFL lost some of it's luster for me a few years back. I still get excited for Packer Sunday and all that leads up to it but not like I used to. Same thing for college football it's become a big $ show. Now my big pump up is HS Football Friday nights as I follow 3/4 teams in 3 states. So yes and No Half.

Second as a forum owner that's had a site or been involved in one for believe it or not 15 plus years online, the interest isn't there as it used to be. Some of it is Twitter and facebook and even the blog crowd(They are mostly dead). But mostly you see 2 distinct groups now. The 100% die hard packer backers and the take it or leave it group.

There is no wrong way to be a fan mind you, really truly there isn't. But to answer your question from my perspective there isn't as many people vested in any fanbase as there was 10-15 years ago. I think we are seeing a new generation of fan where they love gameday but outside the 4-5 hours on Sunday they just aren't as interested. tc(
 
Good topic, Half Empty. This one cuts a lot of ways for me. I'd say my interest in the Packers is still pretty high, but my excitement for the team and the sport has waned in recent years. More than that, my engagement with forms of NFL and Packer media is less than ever and continues downward.

For many years my family and I had a game day routine, where me, my dad, sister and uncle would get together and watch games, either at a local bar or my uncle's house (when we got Sunday Ticket). Back in 2015 my uncle passed at a young age - he was only 55 - and that's left something of a hole in the game day routine. Not that I don't enjoy games but something like that just changes things. Still, I enjoy the sport and try now more than ever to think about and learn about the X's and O's.

Now as for the NFL big picture, that's a different story. You can start with the Packers: how they've become a glorified real estate developer, tinkering with the character of Green Bay in order to keep up with the NFL Joneses. Or the politicization of sports media. Or how the players and league seem to be bent on eating themselves in a race for idealogical purity. It's insufferable to me, and I tune it all out.

So I guess to conclude, yes, give me the game on Sundays. Teach me about what's happening with those 22 players on the field. Let me in on the coaches chess match. But don't ask me to get personally involved in any of it when the league, teams and players are all living in their own bubbles.
 
give me the game on Sundays. Teach me about what's happening with those 22 players on the field. Let me in on the coaches chess match. But don't ask me to get personally involved in any of it when the league, teams and players are all living in their own bubbles.

seems about right. if i let myself get too invested, i mostly get angry. billionaire owners who show more interest in making more money than anything else, multimillionaire players who show no loyalty to any specific team (or more importantly that team's fanbase) and who still make horrible personal decisions including criminal acts. it's very difficult to get emotionally involved, feel empathy or sympathy for any of them.

you're getting paid more money in a year than most people make in a lifetime to play a game, the least you could do is to not break the law, not beat your kids, not raise dogs to watch them kill each other, not commit murder or rape or sexual assault or whatever. be grateful for what you've been given. try to be a good role model for others. try to project an image of maturity and not bring shame on your teammates or your employer.

okay that was my soapbox rant for today. carry on.
 
As we get older, we see the game of the past, and compare it to today, and it's not a happy comparison. The cost of tickets, accessibility of players for autographs, the ease of getting in and out of stadiums, the cost of everything has skyrocketed, but guess what? The average incomes of the average football fan, has not gone up in the same ratio.

Then there's the attitude emulating from the game, owners, and players. It's not the same. The old concept may have been a little unfair, but to a lot of us, the idea of free agency signaled the death knell for a lot of franchises having a realistic shot at a Lombardi Trophy. In all honesty, what player would rather go to Minnesota for $5 mill a year in a last contract, or would take $3.5 mill to play with the Pats, knowing it might be their last shot at that ring?

As a Packer fan, I remember Ted Hendricks very well. The Packers traded for him, and he said in advance he was "outta there" at the end of the year because he did not want to play for the Packers, and wanted to play for the Raiders. He wouldn't even discuss a contract with the Packers. Free agency was the beginning of the end of the game as we knew it. It's continued to get worse.

Being 76 years myself, I understand exactly what half empty is saying. It's difficult at times to get too invested in it, because after all, it is a game. The side shows associated with it are what's killing it.
 
I am not nearly as vested as I used to be. I check the weekly game thread and post game here. I don't post a lot in shout but really enjoy following shout on game day. Beyond that I just can't get really into the NFL anymore.
 
I am not nearly as vested as I used to be. I check the weekly game thread and post game here. I don't post a lot in shout but really enjoy following shout on game day. Beyond that I just can't get really into the NFL anymore.

I understand how that happens. It started with me as well. But, moving away from Wisconsin, and it being more difficult to watch games, I began to realize I wanted to watch them so much that I'd invest in DirecTV and Sunday Ticket. Then I added Big 10 Network, because I want to see all Badger games - Football and mens basketball.

It's funny how it happens. You want most what you totally ignored, or took for granted, earlier.
 
I can't really add anything else to what's already been said. Great thread and I'm glad I'm not alone. Weird how things change as you age.
 
Back
Top