Why a city should not build a stadium for an NFL team

Post by derekp7 » Wed, Feb 03, 2016, 11:15 PM UTC

jowiar wrote: post #79

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's strategy, and in a broadcast (as opposed to attending a live event), there are commentators to explain it to the average viewer. There are also amazingly spectacular plays, which you can appreciate whether or not you understand the strategy. That doesn't explain why it's more popular than, say, basketball, though...

The problem with basketball as a spectator sport is that the marginal importance of any particular small piece of the game is small, and predictable. There may be awesome feats of athleticism and skill, but they really don't count for a lot, and by the end of the game, you could remove any one (or more) of them and the result of the game would have been the same. When you think about what makes, say, movies exciting,…

Post by Thirdegree » Wed, Feb 03, 2016, 11:16 PM UTC

moheeb wrote: post #56

epoch1970 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The social aspect can't be ignored. Football is typically held up as the quintessential American sport in many regions of the country. Those who don't proclaim their interest or love for it do so at the risk of being seen as outsiders and potentially treated as outcasts. This starts at a very early age for many Americans due to the close ties between the education systems and football programs. Starting while they're…

I think you nailed it. " They can be seen as a form of religion, in some sense. " In my family it was Sunday School with mom and then football with Grandpa and Dad. Football is kind of like drinking...even if you don't like it at some point it is easier to just pretend and fit in.

Post by jimbokun » Wed, Feb 03, 2016, 11:18 PM UTC

sampo wrote: post #60

Touche wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why it exists as a popular sport anyways, it's 5 seconds of action followed by 30 seconds of two guys talking about it. The average football game has 11 minutes of action[1]. Everything but the last ~8 minutes of the 4th quarter is boring. Yet Americans love it. I don't get it. [1] http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527487042812045750028...

As someone who recently moved to the US, should I first try to learn about American football, or about baseball?

Post by tamana » Wed, Feb 03, 2016, 11:19 PM UTC

FussyZeus wrote: post #73

onetwotree wrote: post #42

The Green Bay packers have an interesting approach to this problem, although it requires a fanatical fan base and special ownership provisions, and the fact that the team can't leave Green Bay (without a vote by the shareholders, who are all fans, which will never, ever, happen). When they want to improve their stadium, they issue stock and sell more season tickets. This works because Packers stock cannot be sold or…

I'm glad there are other Wisconsinites who don't give a shit about football. HELLO FRIEND That said, those of us in Brown County still got stuck with a 0.5% tax hike to pay for the stadium on sales tax, which I wouldn't mind so much except it stuck around about 4 years longer than it was supposed to. Being a resident close by I can attest to what the evidence says: The argument that stadiums augment the local economy…

Post by patmcguire » Wed, Feb 03, 2016, 11:19 PM UTC

beastman82 wrote: post #22

I'm from St. Louis. The Cardinals also bilked > $500M towards their new stadium despite being the most profitable MLB team. The mayor went around telling everyone it was a good idea. Of course the touted economic benefits are usually an order of magnitude above reality. IMO basically capitalized on a huge inferiority complex.