necfbfan
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 78
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Post by necfbfan on Jun 17, 2023 22:54:28 GMT -5
I don't have many places to post my sentiments, but this is truly one of the most intelligent boards I've come across, so I'll post them here. I'm interested to see what the board members think.
To me, pro sports seasons have really started to feel meaningless. With the new NBA play-in tournament, 20/30 teams qualify for the postseason. 67%. In the NHL, it's 50%. In the NFL, 7/16 per conference reach the playoffs. All you really have to do is go 9-8 and you're in. MLB sees 6/15 teams per league make the postseason - which may not seem like a lot - but after 162 games, is the 6th best team really a legitimate title contender?
Obviously, postseason games are profitable, and that's why these leagues have expanded their playoffs. But it's really taken away from the joy of the regular season for me. If half the league makes the postseason and the standard is .500, then none of these games have real stakes.
College sports have a different feel to me. Most games mean something. The regular seasons are shorter, so each game is worth more. The national postseasons aren't as large, percentage-wise. Moreover, it's not all about winning a national title like it is in pro sports. In pro sports, one teams hits in out of the park, and everyone else strikes out. In college sports, if Oklahoma State (for example) wins 10 games, wins Bedlam, and knocks off a couple top 25 opponents, they've had an excellent and memorable season. Wheres in the NFL, a regular season win over a great team will be forgotten by the postseason.
Am I the only one harboring this sentiment? These pro sports seasons feel over-inflated, but I guess that's the nature of an entertainment product.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jun 17, 2023 23:05:54 GMT -5
My favorite sport has always been baseball. I remember the great days when only one of 8 teams, and after expansion one of ten teams won the pennant and went to the World Series. That separated baseball in yet another way from the sports where so many teams made the playoffs. Now it is totally out of control. I don’t really follow the NBA but did the playoffs just take maybe two months?
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Post by mm67 on Jun 18, 2023 0:45:46 GMT -5
Admittedly, my opinion may be atypical & simplistic.. I watch games for the enjoyment of the game. The game itself has meaning. Obviously, playing to qualify for a post season berth & playing in the post season adds meaning & possibly some excitement. No doubt winning is better than losing. But, sometimes I will watch a game without any particular rooting interest. Not to see my team win but to enjoy the game. The game for me is purely a spectator sport with meaning & enjoyment derived from watching the play by play. For instance basketball can be a beautiful game to watch irrespective of the importance of a particular game. I love watching baseball. Football is great. Ditto for hockey, golf, tennis, soccer. Obviously, I do have my preferences. The game itself is bigger than anything else. Some folks have to place a bet on a team for the game to have meaning. For others the race for the post season and winning the championship is paramount. To each his own. I hope I'm making some sense.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 18, 2023 5:58:14 GMT -5
My favorite sport has always been baseball. I remember the great days when only one of 8 teams, and after expansion one of ten teams won the pennant and went to the World Series. That separated baseball in yet another way from the sports where so many teams made the playoffs. Now it is totally out of control. I don’t really follow the NBA but did the playoffs just take maybe two months? Yes NBA and NHL playoffs are both more or less 2 months long. |
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 18, 2023 9:54:06 GMT -5
Yes, follow the money.
As for college sports, almost everyone gets into a D-1A football bowl game with 6 wins including 1 against the little guys D-1AA.
Basketball? Why the play in game? Aren’t 64 enough teams?
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Post by HC92 on Jun 18, 2023 10:03:28 GMT -5
Agree with pretty much everything necb wrote. Baseball regular season probably means the most but I’m not an an age where I can be all in for 162 games. Football regular season games still feel like they mean something given the advantages of better seeding. Other regular seasons mean very little. I will occasionally check the standings for the Knicks and Rangers to see if they’re going to make the playoffs but don’t watch a ton of games in the regular season. Starting to watch more hockey regular season because my kids are into it.
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 18, 2023 20:10:19 GMT -5
Yes, follow the money.
As for college sports, almost everyone gets into a D-1A football bowl game with 6 wins including 1 against the little guys D-1AA.
Basketball? Why the play in game? Aren’t 64 enough teams?
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Post by Tom on Jun 18, 2023 21:57:40 GMT -5
Baseball has gotten worse with it's ratio. Before my time one out of 8 made the post season. One out of 6 when I started watching. Now at 40 percent.
On the other hand, I remember 16 out of 21 NHL teams making the post season and 16 out of 23 NBA teams
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 19, 2023 5:17:19 GMT -5
Baseball has gotten worse with it's ratio. Before my time one out of 8 made the post season. One out of 6 when I started watching. Now at 40 percent. On the other hand, I remember 16 out of 21 NHL teams making the post season and 16 out of 23 NBA teams Baseball may have been behind the times. Adding the Wild Card Game in each league about 8 years ago was a tremendous success. Too early to judge the newest format. For a sport that's struggled attendance and ratings wise compared to the NFL and NBA the past 20+ years, my general opinion is that having more teams in the race into August and September probably is a good thing. Case in point, there was about a 15 year stretch where the Toronto Blue Jays were year over year an above average team but just had no shot at postseason baseball because they were in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. |
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 19, 2023 5:20:30 GMT -5
Yes, follow the money. As for college sports, almost everyone gets into a D-1A football bowl game with 6 wins including 1 against the little guys D-1AA. Basketball? Why the play in game? Aren’t 64 enough teams?There is an NCAA rule that state that the # of at-large bids must be equal or greater to the # of automatic bids for each respective sport's national tournament. Right now there are 32 Division I conferences, meaning that the field could absolutely be an even 64 teams today. Currently we're at 68 teams with the First Four. If two new DI conferences were to be created, then 68 teams would become the baseline. |
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Post by sader1970 on Jun 19, 2023 6:04:55 GMT -5
OK. Change the rule. Obviously, it's been changed over the years when there were a lot fewer teams in the tournament. Really, isn't this all about letting more power conference teams in? It sure isn't to help the little guys. That said, I answered my own question. Isn't going to change . . . . . . . unless they decide to let even more power conference teams in.
Point being, college sports ain't significantly different than the pro sports. It's all about the money.
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Post by timholycross on Jun 19, 2023 8:21:41 GMT -5
Baseball has gotten worse with it's ratio. Before my time one out of 8 made the post season. One out of 6 when I started watching. Now at 40 percent. On the other hand, I remember 16 out of 21 NHL teams making the post season and 16 out of 23 NBA teams Baseball may have been behind the times. Adding the Wild Card Game in each league about 8 years ago was a tremendous success. Too early to judge the newest format. For a sport that's struggled attendance and ratings wise compared to the NFL and NBA the past 20+ years, my general opinion is that having more teams in the race into August and September probably is a good thing. Case in point, there was about a 15 year stretch where the Toronto Blue Jays were year over year an above average team but just had no shot at postseason baseball because they were in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. The balanced schedule should result in more seasons where the six teams in a league that make the post season are actually the best 6 (or, 5 out of the best 6 allowing for a weak division). 19 games between teams in a division versus the current 13 had a big effect. |
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jun 19, 2023 10:10:04 GMT -5
OK. Change the rule. Obviously, it's been changed over the years when there were a lot fewer teams in the tournament. Really, isn't this all about letting more power conference teams in? It sure isn't to help the little guys. That said, I answered my own question. Isn't going to change . . . . . . . unless they decide to let even more power conference teams in. Point being, college sports ain't significantly different than the pro sports. It's all about the money. FWIW, that rule exists for all NCAA sports, not just the golden goose that is the basketball tournament. There are also some weird rules that are ioslated to individual sports, though. For example, I believe theres a funky rule in NCAA Men's Lax where you have to be .500 or better to make the NCAA tournement, even as an AUTOMATIC bid. So if you win your conference tourney and are still below .500, you don't go. And I believe the 2nd place team doesn't take your spot, the league just loses the bid. I'd never heard of this until my cousin who played goalie (2017 CAA tourney MVP) at Towson told me about it. |
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necfbfan
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 78
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Post by necfbfan on Jun 19, 2023 14:09:31 GMT -5
Admittedly, my opinion may be atypical & simplistic.. I watch games for the enjoyment of the game itself. The game itself has meaning. Obviously, playing to qualify for a post season berth & playing in the post season adds meaning & possibly some excitement. No doubt winning is better than losing. But, sometimes I will watch a game without any particular rooting interest. Not to see my team win but to enjoy the game. The game for me is purely a spectator sport with meaning & enjoyment derived from watching the play by play. For instance basketball can be a beautiful game to watch irrespective of the importance of a particular game. I love watching baseball. Football is great. Ditto for hockey, golf, tennis, soccer. Obviously, I do have my preferences. The game itself is bigger than anything else. Some folks have to place a bet on a team for the game to have meaning. For others the race for the post season and winning the championship is paramount. To each his own. I hope I'm making some sense. I agree with your sentiments and it's part of the reason I've drifted towards college sports and away from pro sports. Oftentimes, a college game doesn't have to be "meaningful" on a national scale to be important. For example, Iowa State may be playing a game that isn't "meaningful" within the context of the CFP, but that game can still feel very "important,", especially if it's against a conference rival. The outcome of the Apple Cup up in Washington might not affect the playoff, but the game is still played with a lot of passion. Pro sports just don't feel that way to me. Between load management, tanking, and the entire emphasis being on the postseason, the season just feels like an overly drawn-out process. I do get what you're saying in that a sport can be aesthetic in and of itself, even a "meaningless" pro game, but if I had to choose between two mediocre NBA teams and two mediocre college teams, I'm taking the college game all day. |
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Post by longsuffering on Jun 19, 2023 15:49:45 GMT -5
I agree. A few exceptions would be Celtics championship eras, Patriots with Brady and the Sox with Big Papi, especially in the "Reverse the Curse" season and for a while afterwards.
Part of the appeal of attending pro sports live these days is to be seen, with many selfies to document the trip. Those fans are referred to as "pink hats" on sports radio.
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