I used to watch a lot of football. It would consume so much of my time. I’m not sure if it’s getting older, having kids, manufactured drama, folks tying their identity to something they have no control over, or the ‘kneeling’ bullshit but it was kind of eye opening when a buddy of mine called me today to ask who I was rooting for and I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. I don’t think he believed me when I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. I haven’t seen a single game all year and I don’t think I’ve missed anything. Happy that folks find enjoyment in it but I just don’t think it’s my bag anymore.
I was slightly interested in getting into it. Youtube had some 15 minute sample of Sunday Ticket. So I figured I’d catch the end of the Bears game. Why not.
13 of the 15 minutes were ads and the demo ran out. Iirc it was exorbitantly priced to continue, and you wouldn’t get everything.
So instead I watch pro League of Legends. Not as relatable, but a hell of a lot cheaper to watch, and I enjoy it.
There’s a site I use where you can download sports videos. Often you can find the “compressed” version of a gridiron football game. An NFL game on TV typically lasts 3 hours from the kickoff to the final whistle. The game clock runs for 4 15-minute quarters, but they stop that clock all the time. Any time there’s a point scored, the ball is turned over, or the clock hits a special value (end of quarter, 2 minute warning to the end of a half, etc.) they stop the clock and while things happen there’s a commercial break. They also have commercial breaks every time either team calls a timeout. But, what’s extra ridiculous is that there are “TV Timeouts” when the network itself calls a timeout so they can show some commercials. Anyhow, that’s how a 1 hour game expands to fill a 3 hour slot.
So, these compressed games, you’d think they could shorten it to just 1 hour, right? What’s amazing is that they actually manage to compress it to about 30 minutes. Not only do they cut out everything happening while the clock is stopped, they even cut out stuff when the clock is running but nothing much is happening – the players are getting up to the line, the quarterback is calling out before the snap, etc.
So, gridiron football is about 83% filler, and 17% actual action.
I used to watch a lot of football. It would consume so much of my time. I’m not sure if it’s getting older, having kids, manufactured drama, folks tying their identity to something they have no control over, or the ‘kneeling’ bullshit but it was kind of eye opening when a buddy of mine called me today to ask who I was rooting for and I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. I don’t think he believed me when I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. I haven’t seen a single game all year and I don’t think I’ve missed anything. Happy that folks find enjoyment in it but I just don’t think it’s my bag anymore.
I was slightly interested in getting into it. Youtube had some 15 minute sample of Sunday Ticket. So I figured I’d catch the end of the Bears game. Why not.
13 of the 15 minutes were ads and the demo ran out. Iirc it was exorbitantly priced to continue, and you wouldn’t get everything.
So instead I watch pro League of Legends. Not as relatable, but a hell of a lot cheaper to watch, and I enjoy it.
There’s a site I use where you can download sports videos. Often you can find the “compressed” version of a gridiron football game. An NFL game on TV typically lasts 3 hours from the kickoff to the final whistle. The game clock runs for 4 15-minute quarters, but they stop that clock all the time. Any time there’s a point scored, the ball is turned over, or the clock hits a special value (end of quarter, 2 minute warning to the end of a half, etc.) they stop the clock and while things happen there’s a commercial break. They also have commercial breaks every time either team calls a timeout. But, what’s extra ridiculous is that there are “TV Timeouts” when the network itself calls a timeout so they can show some commercials. Anyhow, that’s how a 1 hour game expands to fill a 3 hour slot.
So, these compressed games, you’d think they could shorten it to just 1 hour, right? What’s amazing is that they actually manage to compress it to about 30 minutes. Not only do they cut out everything happening while the clock is stopped, they even cut out stuff when the clock is running but nothing much is happening – the players are getting up to the line, the quarterback is calling out before the snap, etc.
So, gridiron football is about 83% filler, and 17% actual action.