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[DJ_Tet]

Here is another piece of my THESIS PAPER on what's wrong with sports. Some of you may have read some nuggets of mine in the Ricky Williams retirement thread. They were undercooked, malformed nuggets, but they are there.

Here is another one. Why can't I see MY DAMN HOMETOWN TEAM on TV if I dump down $200 a year??

Here is a direct quote from the latest Sportsguy column that perfectly illustrates my concerns.

We get exclusivity on Saturday afternoons, and every Boston diehard who doesn't live in the lucky regions which get the Red Sox game are screwed, and this makes perfect sense because it's always a good idea to antagonize your core audience.

....

Why create a situation where fans can't watch their favorite team? Why would this be desirable under any circumstances? I've been asking myself that one ever since I moved to Los Angeles, where I plunk down $179 a year for DirecTV's Extra Innings package, yet I miss two or three Saturday Sox games every month ... and that's the ONLY REASON I GOT THE PACKAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SportsGuy brings up an EXCELLENT point in the greed of owners (which is fed by the greed of players in part). I live in Fuquay Varina NC. We're about a half hour from Raleigh NC (which you know from your state capitals). When the Charlotte Hornets played, we couldn't get Charlotte Hornet games up here (three hours away), instead we got Washington Bullets/Wizards games. This was BEFORE Michael Jordan decided to throw away his legacy on that sad franchise btw. Washington DC is at least two hours further away than Charlotte is, but yet the local TV market chose to carry them. Great, I'll just get NBA Ticket.

Luckily, Carolina Panthers games are carried up here rather than Washington Redskins games. However, in Fuquay, I'm four HOURS away from Charlotte. But we are luckily in "the local area."

This means, had I cared enough to drop $250 on NBA Ticket, I'd be subject to local blackout. I'm four freaking hours away, but if I want to see a non-sellout game, I better drive my ass to the arena. I paid freaking $250 to watch my team play on tv when others in a more advantageous geographical location can watch them for free, I'm subject to the same blackout rules as they are when they are 3 1/2 hours closer to the arena than I am.

There have been several Panther games that have been blacked out up here, even though we don't find out until one day before the game. The NFL decides that a dedicated fan who has a ton of merchandise and has been to more than 20 games since the Panthers inception does not deserve to see the game since it didn't sell out. I could buy NFL Ticket, for $300, but it doesn't matter, 'local' blackout rules apply. So the NFL tells me on Saturday that to see the Sunday game, I've got to drive four hours, find a place to stay, and scalp some tickets.


Way to look out for the fans, sports leagues. Yeah, I'm sure you will be able to continue paying people 10 million a year without the support of diehard fans like myself.

Me and Bill, we're sick of it.

Go ahead and slam me GA, I'm all that's wrong with sports.

 

[Miguel]

I agree.

 

[Joe]

i lived 20 miles from yankee stadium and got blacked out the entire 2002 season. just felt like sharing.

 

[Triumph]

i lived 20 miles from yankee stadium and got blacked out the entire 2002 season. just felt like sharing.

Yeah, but you're a Yankees fan. Feeling sorry for you is like feeling sorry for a pit bull that wasn't allowed to maul a young child for a day.

 

[DJ_Tet]

Thank God. Look I can see the reason behind such rules, hell if I lived in Charlotte, I'd be the first to buy season tix to the Bobcats and the Panthers if I could afford it (which I can't). Still, I can understand the rationale behind blacking out telecasts that aren't sold out. When the Hornets started, we were lucky to get 30 games on TV. The Panthers have only had a couple of games that weren't sellouts, so luckily I've been able to see almost every game they've played on TV. To expect their fans to drive four hours because the game isn't a sellout is a little over the top however. If I was a Falcons fan (God Forbid), I would have had to go to every game in the 90s just to see my team play (when I was living in ATL).

It's just sad, and it's just greed. Blame the owners, blame the players, I don't care. It's not the fan's fault however, and it's damn time to get something back.

When fans are paying $250 a year to watch their team play, and it gets blacked out nationwide because the home team didn't sell out, something's VERY wrong.

 

[DJ_Tet]

i lived 20 miles from yankee stadium and got blacked out the entire 2002 season. just felt like sharing.

How's that? The YES power struggle? Elaborate please, I can sympathize even though my home city has about as good attendence as is possible.

If you don't live FAR enough away from the home team, you can't buy your 'favorite/home' teams games on TV. That's messed up.

 

[Joe]

YES wanted cablevision to put the YES network on as part of their basic cable plan, cablevision wanted to charge a subscription fee of about $3 a month (if i remember right). it took a year, countless meetings, courts, and many political figures but YES got on cablevisions basic plan.

 

[DJ_Tet]

I remember hearing about that. Good news for fans I'm sure. The Yankees probably had a lot of empty seats too :rolleyes


Fans need to know that sports teams make their money from TV Contracts. The NBA had to take a LOWER figure than previously from ABC. But yeah, sports are doing great. They're still on the upswing, everything's healthy when average players make $10 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR and the AVERAGE FAN CAN'T EVEN WATCH HIS TEAM ON TV.

 

[El Papa]

I live maybe 5 miles down the street from Dodger Stadium and I get almost all the Home games on cable.

 

[Shinobi]

Fans need to know that sports teams make their money from TV Contracts. The NBA had to take a LOWER figure than previously from ABC. But yeah, sports are doing great. They're still on the upswing, everything's healthy when average players make $10 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR and the AVERAGE FAN CAN'T EVEN WATCH HIS TEAM ON TV.

When did anyone say sports was on the upswing, when the facts show that salaries have been rolling back the last few years? I mean if all you want to do is make empty rants then that's one thing, but don't make some silly attempt at wit and try to mock something that nobody said.

As for the sports channel/games availability thing, that's life. You know where TV is headed over the next five years? Pay per view. That's been in the wings for ten years now, and back then I vowed I wouldn't pay a nickel for such games. Nothing's changed on that front. If fans decide to pay up and we get more PPV games as a result, then once again the fans will have no one to blame but themselves. That's the cold, harsh reality of business, nevermind sports. Neither the franchises nor the players are charities.

 

[Lucky Forward]

I live in Fuquay Varina NC. We're about a half hour from Raleigh NC (which you know from your state capitals).

There's really a place in North Carolina called Fuquay Varina? That sounds like a made-up country in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

"I am El Presidente de Fuquay Varina!"

 

[DJ_Tet]

When did anyone say sports was on the upswing, when the facts show that salaries have been rolling back the last few years? I mean if all you want to do is make empty rants then that's one thing, but don't make some silly attempt at wit and try to mock something that nobody said.

As for the sports channel/games availability thing, that's life. You know where TV is headed over the next five years? Pay per view. That's been in the wings for ten years now, and back then I vowed I wouldn't pay a nickel for such games. Nothing's changed on that front. If fans decide to pay up and we get more PPV games as a result, then once again the fans will have no one to blame but themselves. That's the cold, harsh reality of business, nevermind sports. Neither the franchises nor the players are charities.

Salaries are still on the upswing, that's the point. Where is the money coming from? I agree with you on the PPV deal, I just hope no one has the balls to do it. I don't see it working too well, as I, like you, will never pay a dime to watch a game on PPV.