Anyone here losing interest in college football?

[GwinnettNole]

I never thought this would happen but if you ever paid attention to how screwed up the game we all loved is....for example:

1) The money being spent by maybe 10 or so programs around the country, with the majority of the being SEC, is truly an arms race. Coaching, on the college level, matters so much in this game. I'm not only talking about head coaches. I'm talking about all the way down to support staff and who can have it. Only a few schools can afford the money being pumped in for these assistant coaches & support staff. I think we at, FSU, know this very well.

2) Likewise to coaching salaries, facilities is another top 10 schools.... and everyone else. It matters. Who has the best weight rooms, who has the best locker rooms, best stadium experience, etc.

3) I think what I loved about college football was the fact that these guys were students first. Maybe I was young and naïve but today it seems like these guys are minor leaguers. Then you live in my state, and have GA Tech, which is not a football factory yet they try to compete with the football schools of the south and you begin to realize how screwed up this is. How many FSU, UGA, or UT football players can pass real science/math calculus? They ALL have to do this at GA Tech. Likewise, just a general question but are the admission standards the same for football players at Duke, Wake Forest, Vandy as they are for Alabama, Arkansas and LSU?

Part of the problem is me living in suburban Atlanta. Where all things live and die through Georgia football... 365 days a year. The whole concept is weird.... if you have your daily ups and downs on what an 18-21 year old does on a football field (and yes, 21, if they are that good they will go pro at 22). When I lived down in Florida it was FSU on Saturday and the Dolphins on Sunday.... and then bball in the winter, and baseball in the summer. I think living here makes you wonder about the emphasis that is put on college kids for their athletic accomplishment.

Does this bother anyone else? Make you think? Wonder? Or just as a UGA friend puts it--- "nope. I like what it is".

 

[DanC78]

I don’t know if I’m losing interest. But I did not enjoy this season at all, not only FSU season, but the whole college football season in general.

However, if the Noles had won 10 games I might not feel this way. So who really knows.

I don’t see how teams like Wake Forest and Virgina have any fans at all. I couldn’t imagine watching crap seasons like we just had year after year after year.

 

[NoleLizards]

It's been my favorite sport since childhood but has certainly lost its luster. When viewing one's favorite team has become a chore, I guess that happens.

Even though I don't really have a "favorite team", I actually think I prefer the NFL nowadays. One, the talent is more spread out and it's far more unpredictable than college. Two, the level of play is obviously superior. Finally, I'm a fantasy geek, and that goes perfectly with the NFL.

 

[NotGuiltyNole]

I have pretty much given up watching most CFB. Gave up season tickets and rarely tune in. My issues are the following.

- Money over Tradition. When UT and TAMU quit playing. I grew up watching that game every year after Thanksgiving.
- Obvious conference bias by the networks. ESPN controls so much and when you dedicate coverage to your multi-billion dollar investment I get it, but its gets old.
- The Jameis Saga. The smear job they put on that kid was out of control. Journalistic integrity went out of the window and they wanted blood. Had to settle for cussing in the union.
- Football only facilities. Schools spending $50+ million on something that is only going to benefit max 120 people a year is crazy. I fully understand ROI of money spend on football vs money made. Just pay the kids and move on.

 

[LesClaypool]

I am. I haven’t really ever been a fan of the NFL, but even in college, I can’t handle the hits anymore. They’re too brutal and way too dangerous. What used to make me go “Ooooh!” (in an admirable, “that was badass” sort of way) now makes me cringe and worry for the player’s current and future health, especially their mental health. That’s pretty much all I see now are the hits when I watch.

Throw in all of the stoppages of play for timeouts, reviews, measurements, etc. and unless it’s FSU (and increasingly even when it IS FSU) there’s no chance I’m watching for more than a few minutes.

 

[TennNole17]

I no longer spend 9 AM - 10PM watching football. I try and watch the big game of the day, and a local Memphis game.

I chuckle at my buddies (Tennessee and Alabama fans) going back and forth at each other.

I think that's age not product on the field though.

 

[NYCNole]

Didn't watch Gameday or CFP show once this season. Watched big games but skipped ours b/c just too difficult to stomach. Jimbo saga truly showed how coaches have zero loyalty while preaching it non-stop.

CFP will be great and praying ND loses.

 

[mcgrawfsu]

I have lost interest in general in football. Some of it is due to the reasons you mentioned. I guess most programs just need to realize that the slight hope they have of winning will fade away a little more each year.

I think the biggest reason of losing interest is that I'm busy most of the football season with my son's desire to play baseball and basketball. We barely have any time to watch football these days.

 

[PoopandBoogers]

Do you remember when they would actually list the player's majors along with their height and weight? Now granted the majors were general studies and sports management types, but they were still portrayed as students. Now they don't even try and pretend and more often list their future draft grades instead.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I am. I haven’t really ever been a fan of the NFL, but even in college, I can’t handle the hits anymore. They’re too brutal and way too dangerous. What used to make me go “Ooooh!” (in an admirable, “that was badass” sort of way) now makes me cringe and worry for the player’s current and future health, especially their mental health. That’s pretty much all I see now are the hits when I watch.

I wasn't even going to mention my favorite topic
But that problem is all of football.... not just the college game.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I have pretty much given up watching most CFB. Gave up season tickets and rarely tune in. My issues are the following.

- Money over Tradition. When UT and TAMU quit playing. I grew up watching that game every year after Thanksgiving.
- Obvious conference bias by the networks. ESPN controls so much and when you dedicate coverage to your multi-billion dollar investment I get it, but its gets old.
- The Jameis Saga. The smear job they put on that kid was out of control. Journalistic integrity went out of the window and they wanted blood. Had to settle for cussing in the union.
- Football only facilities. Schools spending $50+ million on something that is only going to benefit max 120 people a year is crazy. I fully understand ROI of money spend on football vs money made. Just pay the kids and move on.

All of this is spot on

 

[FSUdawg]

Yep, I pay no where near as much attention as I used to. I posted in another thread asking if I am the only one getting tired of the same teams being in the CFP conversation every year...Bama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma. I realize there are a few others, but as OP pointed out it seems to be only 10 or so.

My interest started to go away during the end of the Bowden years. It wasn't because FSU wasn't elite anymore but rather how they seemed to be treated by officials on the field and the media off the field. On top of that, the SEC love fest started around the same time and it really got under my skin.

IMO there need to be a lot of changes to college football and I doubt they will take place because of the money involved. There are a lot of people in high places that have power, make a lot of money and will do whatever they need to protect it...how the hell is Swofford still Commissioner of the ACC?

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Have significantly lost interest in football in the last 8 years or so.

• CFB is not about the players, it's about the money, corporate dollars, execs, conferences. money. likely the case for decades but now it's out in the open.
• it's a boondoggle. hate the arms race, crazy coaching salaries/buyouts, useless facilities
• manufactured suspense and bogus criteria by espn, the cfp committee, etc... be a real sport and have a real playoff
• conference chest thumping is peculiar cuckhold type behavior. i'm not rooting for a rival over a non-rival just b/c they're in the same conference, that's loser behavior
• went from enjoying brutal hits to them making me want to change the channel
• let the players in on a meaningful slice of the financial pie, give them a seat at the table for rules changes, etc...
• long games, good grief, how many replays, commercials, stoppages of play can there be. games need to get to the sub 3 hour mark, i do not have all day

I only watch FSU games. Aggregate all the non-FSU CFB I've watched this season and it'd be less than a whole game.

All that said, it's not that hard to fix the product, however the powers that be won't do it because they all want to protect their financial fiefdoms. They're going to suffocate the sport.

 

[PoopandBoogers]

All that said, it's not that hard to fix the product, however the powers that be won't do it because they all want to protect their financial fiefdoms. They're going to suffocate the sport

 

[squiffynole]

The sport has become a money grubbing farce.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

The sport has become a money grubbing farce.

You've condensed my super long post into 8 words. On point.

I'll add to my previous post that there are also lots of entertainment options out there competing for my attention.

I've gotten really into hiking. There's a ton of quality TV programming available via streaming. I'd rather day drink with friends, hit a boozy brunch. When the weather is nice I'd rather be outdoors.

All these things beat spending a day watching other people play games. Esp when you can check scores and watch highlights on your phone - or stream the last min or two of a close big game via app.

 

[seminole97]

I don’t watch as much, but that’s spending time with a 2 and 5 year old more so than not finding it as entertaining.
I like the time of year when I can find a game almost any night. I’ll watch Cinci play Toledo, but it’s background noise to whatever I’m actually doing.

 

[Fijimn]

I usually have too much crap to do Saturday to watch much college football. If I'm home, i'll usually have our game on, but it's really background noise. I'll watch NYD bowl games -- but that's because i'm usually a lazy bum.

 

[Nole Lou]

I'm a pretty huge fan, but I'd say my interest is down a couple ticks. It's truly hard to separate it from there terrible FSU seasons, if I'm honest about it. I've always watched football noon - last PAC 12 game every Saturday, but part of watching other games is I always have to give myself a rooting interest, and it's a lot harder when those games don't have any ramifications for FSU because FSU sucks so much.

The other thing is the playoff has taken a big bite out of it given Alabama's dominance. In the old system, no matter how good a team was there was always the chance that one upset kept them out for a lesser but undefeated team. Now, not only is Alabama the overwhelming favorite to win the playoff every year, by the end of October they've basically clinched a playoff. The fact that a team that good has to lose 2 if not 3 games to be excluded takes a lot out of the "anything can happen" scenario.

I don't think any of the other stuff or (mostly false) nostalgia about when the game was pure or these guys were scholars first really has had any affect. The number of commercials maybe a little. I don't have a problem with the length of games, but I do get really sick of how much of it is commercials.

I think my interest would be right back up when FSU gets going again, and if the Alabama machine broke up a little. College football has always had a small number of elite teams that could win it all, I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with feeling like there are no longer about 20 schools with a chance to win a title, there is basically one team.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

About 10 years ago I started following soccer and soon realized how boring football is. The commercials and play stoppages are just out of control. Add in the CTE stuff and I have little interest these days in college football. I dislike pretty much everything about the NFL.

I’ll keep FSU games on if I’m home and I check in throughout the games. If it’s a good game I’ll sit down and watch the second half or fourth quarter. I’ll always love the Noles but it’s school loyalty vs love of football.

 

[funksouljon]

I've said it before, my questioning following college football surrounds me evaluating my hypocrisy re not following NFL for CTE reasons, shouldn't I apply same logic to college ball? But I still do love the college game, so I struggle with that.

This season I haven't been nearly as motivated to devote my whole day for gameday and all the interesting games as FSU hasn't had a dog in the fight all season. I have plenty of parental things that can easily be made a priority for my time based on the way the season went.

Am I less interested in college football? Not sure but I certainly do think that the powers that be will need to change the spin they are putting on "they are still students" as I expect they will be expanding the playoff. There is too much money on the line to NOT expand.

 

[hatsbo]

I lived in Tally for the ascension of FSU during the Bowden years. It took a couple decades, but began to realize it's not a religion, just a game between schools, not a life or death struggle. We left town when Jimbo took over, and even though we won another Natty, there was always something sleazy about that guy. The Jameis fiasco also deadened my interest, I'm prez of the local Seminole Club and it seemed like our local club interest in game watching parties began to wane. This year of course, was an unmitigated disaster, I cancelled the UF event, due to lack of interest. Of course I'm a Boston sports fan, so I'm spoiled rotten, but my love for all other FSU sports is constant, including the women's sports.

 

[runkpanole]

I was not into it near as much this year or really even last year. It used to be I had to be at the tailgate at least 5 hours prior to the game and I couldn't wait for fall to roll around. I still enjoy it, but I don't spend all day like I use to. Part of that is having kids and part of that is our lackluster performances. Also, many of my friends only travel for 1 or 2 games a season these days for similar reasons. We were re-branding this season as making tailgating great again. It didn't happen.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

I have definitely lost some interest.

Having a terrible season at FSU and little hope for the future plays a huge factor, but hands down the biggest factor for me is... TERRIBLE ACC OFFICIATING.

It's either completely incompetent or literally corrupt... either way it totally ruins the experience. It's really hard to enjoy something that feels more scripted than WWE wrestling.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

but began to realize it's not a religion, just a game between schools, not a life or death struggle.

but my love for all other FSU sports is constant, including the women's sports.

I agree with your whole post but the above two lines particularly.

I also am with @funksouljon on being forced to confront my own hypocrisy when it comes to CTE.

My entire sports fandom, it turns out, is rooted in one form of hypocrisy or another. Knowing this has led me to gradually emotionally check out.

 

[Bill From Tampa]

Aspects of the game that concern or bother me.

The record of our team is a factor but not that much of a factor. It is pretty far down the lsit of concerns because if I have the time I will watch the games. Where it has had a affect is that I didn't listen to talk show much at all. Not much point in it. And in years past I would have made time to watch my recordings of the games I was not able to watch live. I did not even bother with the Miami game.

Scheduling. There is no way we can plan to go to a game when we do not know the starting time of the game until two weeks or even one week before kickoff.

Ticket prices have gone through the roof. That is a reflection of the escalation in salaries and keeping up with the Joneses in facilities.

Paying players. The so called full cost of attendance on top of everything else that the vast majority of other students don't get. Only a matter of time until they get a salary. You are a pro at that point IMO. I understand the huge amounts of money others are making off the game. Just has moved it closer to pro like status. With that kind of status the gloves come off IMO as to the criticism dished out. Kind of takes away a certain charm college sports had over pro. If it is going to go that route then pay the band and the cheerleaders put large amounts of time into preparing and being at the games.

For me, most of the bowl games have become pointless. Used to enjoy a lot of the minor bowls i.e the Holiday Bowl. Too many of them now and the playoffs are currently the focus. More making the game like the pros and it will only move closer to that once it becomes more than likely an 8 team playoff.

TV overexposure. No way am I going to watch a Tuesday game with empty seats outnumbering the people in the stands. Not crazy about the Friday games either. The Thursday games I actually like to watch. But Friday games were the exclusive domain of high school games. I hate having to choose between FSU and the local HS team.

None of the above have simple solutions.

 

[GwinnettNole]

The sport has become a money grubbing farce.

If its the NFL, MLB or FIFA I would be fine with that. But the fact that it's tied to our schools of higher learning is a big issue (for me any way).

 

[EconSean]

I lived and died with FSU football while I was a student and for years after. However, as other aspects of life became more important, my interest waned significantly. I don’t mark my calendar based on games on, but I will watch if we’re on and I’m not doing anything else. If we’re traveling on a game day, I don’t manage the trip so that I can catch the game. Just isn’t that important to me any longer. I had season tickets for years but gave them up a couple of years after the Jameis NC.

I went to Ohio State as well and we have season tickets for them and I’ll most likely keep them for the rest of my life. We live in Pittsburgh and it’s a quick trip to Columbus for games, plus with all of the various cable outlets, more of their games are on here than FSU’s, so we’re more likely to catch a Buckeye game than the Noles, and that’s fine with me.

I guess I’ve just become indifferent to CFB (I never cared for the pro game), though not for any reasons other than life has other more interesting things for me to do.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I agree with your whole post but the above two lines particularly.

I also am with @funksouljon on being forced to confront my own hypocrisy when it comes to CTE.

My entire sports fandom, it turns out, is rooted in one form of hypocrisy or another. Knowing this has led me to gradually emotionally check out.

I don't watch football (of any type, college, pro) in the same light anymore. CTE is a big reason why. Plus, for college, the original points as well....

 

[surfnole]

Do you remember when they would actually list the player's majors along with their height and weight? Now granted the majors were general studies and sports management types, but they were still portrayed as students. Now they don't even try and pretend and more often list their future draft grades instead.

When I was a kid and had NFL player cards, and on the back they listed the player's off season job. Bank Teller, Teacher etc.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I guess I’ve just become indifferent to CFB (I never cared for the pro game), though not for any reasons other than life has other more interesting things for me to do.

I like this. Up until 10 years ago I could watch sports all day. Not anymore. I felt like I was wasting my life away watching sports on TV. My nephew is the same way-- he can watch football all weekend long. I hope he changes that. There are things to learn, and things to explore....

 

[ZZ828]

I think one quick fix the NCAA can make is to limit the amount of support staff a school can hire. I know there is a limit on the actual number of coaches, but there is no limit on the number of support staff schools like Bama can hire.

I see this as being no different than when there were no scholarship limits years ago. That was finally stopped. Part of the reason why we have these powerhouses right now like Bama is the amount of staff and extra "coaches" they have dedicated to that program.

Level the playing field for everyone by keeping football staffs at a set number.

 

[surfnole]

******
ong games, good grief, how many replays, commercials, stoppages of play can there be. games need to get to the sub 3 hour mark, i do not have all day
******

Yes. The NFL can do it. Why can't college.

On another note, the SEC was not significant until maybe the mid 2000s? FSU, Miami and UF were always top teams in the 80s, 90s, early 2K, and that make it interesting because it was local.

 

[noleclone2]

I have lost some interest, but some of it has come with age and having other things to do in my life then worry about the outcome of 18-22 year old kids playing well. I am in my 40s now and I have to say the 2013 Natty was so enjoyable because I actually recognized how special it was and I was grateful to get one more. The FSU losses are so easy to get over now, too, perhaps thanks to the lost decade.

But I do agree, the game has also become stale when you see that only 10-20 programs currently are structured to win one. The Central Florida saga is a perfect example of what is hurting. You have an undefeated team two years in a row that gets no shot at playoffs. That hurts the sport, even if you do think they would not beat one of those four teams. The sport needs some Central Florida / Boise State / Northern Illinois Cinderella every year to have a chance that the rest of country can root for. Another aspect is it is becoming too much a southeast sport. Only Ohio State in the last 10 years has won it not from the SE. That regional stranglehold is not good for anybody. So they should increase playoff to 8 to get more country of interested. Heck, I could live with even 12-16 game playoff with no conference championship games and instead winner of each power conference getting automatic bid for five spots. Seeding based on formula rankings.

I know the age old argument is it would make regular season worthless, I disagree. Hurting it right now is feeling like you have great team and dropping one or two games and having no shot at championship.

And Alabama needs to have a few off years. That is hurting sport bigly.

 

[NoleMoreTears]

It's my favorite sport by far. Watching the SECCG only confirmed how great the excitement is for well-played games.

I don't mind an arms race and don't buy into its importance. It's nice and flashy but if a recruit or coach chooses you because you have a water slide, then that's a recruit or coach I don't want to have. See: Fisher, Jimbo.

 

[ATLNole1]

My interest has gone down some mainly because I no longer watch entire FSU games like I did in the past. It's still my favorite sport and I still enjoy the big games between good teams but its just not the same when FSU is irrelevant in the sport.

What I have lost interest in is NFL football. It's just not entertaining to me anymore and I much prefer to do other things on a Sunday afternoon than watch NFL games. I don't think I have watched a full NFL game this year which I could not have said a couple years ago. I catch highlights but that is about it.

 

[FSU_UCLA]

I have definitely lost almost all interest in football, which is still a bit shocking to me given that I grew up an obsessive football fan. The biggest issues for me:
1) CTE and the gladiatorial/racial dynamics of football
2) the unhealthy aspects of fandom for both individuals and communities
3) the general misdirection of resources away from prosocial educational uses in the academic setting

I also noticed that I personally enjoyed my fall Saturdays more when I started paying less attention to football.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

If its the NFL, MLB or FIFA I would be fine with that. But the fact that it's tied to our schools of higher learning is a big issue (for me any way).

This 1000 times.

It makes absolutely no sense to me that public institutions of higher learning are also in the business of managing multibillion dollar sports teams and facilities. Absolutely absurd. How does that fit under a university mandate?!

CFB needs to be spun out and run as a separate business. Some university affiliation is fine but in no way should a university president also be reviewing multimillion dollar TV contracts, blueprints for football-only facilities, or head coaching contracts worth tens of millions of dollars over 5-10 years.

 

[totallynot321Nole]

Do you remember when they would actually list the player's majors along with their height and weight? Now granted the majors were general studies and sports management types, but they were still portrayed as students. Now they don't even try and pretend and more often list their future draft grades instead.

I was just thinking about this the other day.

 

[NoleLizards]

I was just thinking about this the other day.

Remember when they had the "scholar athlete" of the game for each team?