SENTINELCELTS

To me it encapsulates everything good and bad about the State’s . Not La . The NFL .
The season is upon us and the little sign’s are everywhere. Dont worry this isnt going to be a sale on watching it , its more to give those that dont know an idea of just what is involved and how it goes down . What I see as an outsider looking in.

So the main day is a Sunday for a start which Im not a fan of really . Im sure a lot of employers would prefer a Saturday for obvious reason’s but that day is reserved for College Football ,, the equivalent of the championship I guess.
On “ any given Sunday “ from my time zone on the West Coast , a game will be starting at around 9 am ( 12 noon local time East Coast say ) , and thus the entire day begins with the last game ending at 8 pm or so. Thats a hell of a long stretch but of course some football nuts love it. For the casual it basically means you can find a game all day long though the reality I have found is most fans will begin watching the game immediately before their team is playing to get into the mood ,,,or at least have it on the background. And then leave the next game on also.

The Deals,,,you might not know but there are a lot of shopping deals revolving around the team and game . One of them which I dont like is the beer signage . When I go to the store if I buy mainstream beers , say Budweiser , because we are in a teams catchment area every can is branded with their logo as is the box. There’s no other option, it’s that or move on. I prefer a different team to the main team of choice around here so it sucks looking at this other teams logo , always .
Then the food. So Papa Johns is the NFL’s official pizza and its their ad’s that bombard you all day due to this arrangement. However they take things a bit further.
Within your teams catchment area , when the team is playing,,,the price of the pizzas change ! ?
So when your team score a touchdown its a dollar cheaper,,4 touchdowns and viola 4 dollars cheaper ! Yes folk’s on a Sunday if “ the “ team is playing you dont know how much the pizza costs.
This also interrupts the traditional family meal on a Sunday by encouraging take out thus leading to obesity and possible bad habits as far as Im concerned , but anyway.

The Bars,,,going out to a bar to watch the locally supported team has many of the above issues. A lot of chain restaurants in particular will make it their main day for specials. Prices will drop in many places during the game or again per touchdown . The round of drinks the day before may well be cheaper the next day ! Or you get a hotdog or something !
But the worst , for me anyway , is the endless high fiving going on and oh how I cringe when I hear some idiot yell ” SHOTS ! ”

The ad’s,,,.Holy Crap the Ad’s !!! So in the Uk the law permits 14 minutes of ad’s per hour on a regular tv channel. Here in the State’s the law allow’s 19 minutes per hour. In effect watch 3 hours of televison and youve just watched 2 hours of tv and one of ad’s . Now thats bad enough but what happens when within the “ regular “ TV time that show themselves have ad’s on top of that. Yes that’s how it goes down,,they are allowed to because its a private broadcast . During a game when the ball touches the ground you have 45 seconds to make the play or call timeout. Thats two 15 second ad’s squeezed into that small gap ,, that cost millions of course. However thats 2 ad’s a minute for a long stretch . An unexpected break ( ref getting advice ) brings another one or two. It’s too much and at the end of the game youve just watched hundred’s of ad’s . And Ive felt it work also when Ive said to myself I “ need “ to try that new burger or pizza or whatever.
Halftime shows are prime time advert space where the heavyweight companies will be no doubt.
The wife’s family had a rule since their first remote control Tv that ad’s get muted , no chance of that during a game,,they are soo often it wouldnt work.
And then Christmas shopping,,,you can see where this is going cant you. The damn game bombards you with the holiday shopping ad’s . You probably dont need to look anywhere else. The latest trends will be thrown at you for 4 hours dont worry. The kids will see the ad and say daddy can I and viola its worked.

The stadium changes,,,Recently there has been some upheaval and some teams have ditched the city they were located in for another. This is legal by vote in the NFL unfortunately. I heard in horror how the Chargers were leaving San Diego where they were honestly loved . But the players had no say and the owner seen dollar signs and that was that . I felt for the natives and watched as they piled then burnt their jerseys. How a team can ask someone to buy into them then just up sticks is beyond me .
The Chargers humped it up to LA and when they played the East Coast based Eagles there were more Eagles fans than “ home “ fans in the stadium , despite the almost 3000 miles between the cities. The owner doesn’t care , Tv money is enough and the fans are welcome if they want . If not bye.
The biggest move is the Raiders to Las Vegas although they won’t actually start playing there until the following season . Yes Las Vegas will soon have its own NFL team. The stadium is one block back from the strip and was well underway a couple months ago when I walked past. I have no doubt it will be quite the venue and I admit I will probably attend some time. Its another reason for some to go to Vegas though I’m not soo sure it is such a bright idea. Put young rich men in Sin City and ahem,,,what happens in Vegas etc

So here we go again. 16 weeks of pain for most players . 20 weeks for a chosen few. Mega bucks for the already rich. Calories and adrenaline for the masses. Fly Eagle’s Fly !