Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Football News

We didn't get to celebrate it much, actually. Because the political situation in Wisconsin got so nasty in February, there really wasn't much time for otherwise contentious Cheeseheads to celebrate the fact that the Packers somehow won the Super Bowl earlier this year. Which is a shame, because I'd rather see this than this (second link is definitely NSFW).

We've talked about it before, but one of the reasons the National Football League has been so successful is that they can generate attention pretty much at will. Yesterday we learned about the 2011 regular season schedule, which probably will take place once the NFLPA and the league wake up and realize that the are being idiots.

So the interesting thing for the Packers is this:  they will have games on Thanksgiving Day (the traditional visit to Detroit), Christmas Day (at Lambeau against the hated Bears) and New Year's Day (when Detroit comes to Lambeau).

That's a tough holiday stretch. There was a time when the NFL wouldn't have scheduled a game on Christmas Day, but we're long past that now. I suspect that the Bears aren't especially keen about spending Christmas Day in the Fox River Valley, either.

Meanwhile, the Vikings don't get a lot of love or national exposure this year, although they do get a visit to Lambeau for a Monday night game in November.

The larger point -- the NFL is now at the point where it does as it pleases and the rest of the world responds to it. While that's nice work if you can get it, you have to wonder a little bit.

4 comments:

Brad Carlson said...

The interesting thing about that Bears-Packers matchup is it's the only game on Christmas Day.

Mr. D said...

Yes -- the rest of the games were moved to Saturday (Christmas Eve).

Gino said...

you're saying we should pay attention to politics more, and football less?

pshaw~

next, you'll suggest sleeping the sofa and watching NPR as worthier pursuits.

Mr. D said...

you're saying we should pay attention to politics more, and football less?

No, exactly the opposite. But when it comes to politics, I'm a bit of a recidivist.