Playoffs?

For much on my life, I didn't care too terribly much about football, and the NFL in particular. I only sparingly remember watching football growing up, and of what I remember, almost all of it was NCAA competition. The first NFL game I really remember was the Superbowl between the Packers and the Steelers, and I remember thinking that Neil O'Donnell must have been throwing the game by the way he was throwing interceptions all over the field. My mom agreed. That's how she is about sports. Whatever my father or I say when watching a game, she'll simply agree wholeheartedly, sincerely, if a bit condescendingly.

Dad: "Oh, come on! He's hitting everybody on the field except the guys on his own team!"

Mom: "That's right, honey... You tell 'em."

Meghan's a bit different. If I'm watching sports, she'll generously feign interest in what I have to say, and often times she'll genuinely try to understand it and respond. She loves me. She knows that I don't really have anyone else to share this excitement with when I'm experiencing it in the moment. But really? There are other, more interesting things to her than the fact that the Patriots and the Eagles are both out of the playoffs in the first round. Still, she's there for me, and I love her for that.

It wasn't until the last couple years of high school that I really started following NFL football. Our household was decidedly pro-Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I tuned in just as they were shifting away from the white and creamsicle-orange uniforms. Back when Warren Sapp, Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, and all the other players with consecutive "r's" in their names still played for the team. I really got into the NFL when I went off to college and realized what a large part football played in the college experience, even when Toccoa Falls College didn't have a team. This was especially convenient since it was the same year, 2002-2003, that the Bucs won Superbowl XLVII. I'll never forget being the lone celebratory fan in Forrest Hall that night.

While you can watch most all college games on TV these days due to the various conferences having television broadcasting contracts with various TV outlets, the NFL still remains a largely regional endeavor. I live in Tampa, Florida, but I can still watch Southern California, Boise State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Ohio State, Mississippi, South Carolina, Boston College, Hawaii, and my personal favorite, Florida State most any Saturday if I look hard enough. But if I didn't live in Tampa? I'd have to purchase some NFL season package in order to make sure I could watch the Buccaneers every week. Unless they're on Monday or Sunday night football, there's no guarantee that you'll get to see the game at all apart from the local broadcast. My Dad was able to see two Bucs games this year: the two times they played his local Falcons.

In addition, the majority of NCAA games broadcast on Saturdays, but they'll have Thursday night games, Friday night games, Sunday night games, and occasionally games on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. The point is, there's plenty of them. Between August and December, odds are, you'll be able to find an NCAA game somewhere on more than half the days in the week. The NFL features two slates of games on Sunday: 1PM and 4PM, and a single, national broadcast Sunday night at 8PM. There's another national broadcast on Monday night at 8:30PM, which occasionally will shift to Thursday night at the same time, but is only seen on the NFL Network, which you need a special cable package to be able to see. It's limited visibility, and unless your team is among the elite, odds are you're only going to see them on your local broadcast.

My point is this: the NFL is king for a reason. It's basic supply and demand: the NFL is one of the most demanded quantities in sports because football is one of the most intriguing and versatile sports in the world, but the league itself limits the supply significantly. Not only can you only get your team on the local broadcast or cross your fingers that they manage to secure a Sunday or Monday night appearance, but if your hometown stadium doesn't sell out by the day before the game? Then you won't even get to see them on TV: it'll be blacked out. It's one more way that the league can mitigate supply. You don't want to pay the price of a ticket? Then you're not going to see it on TV either. It's a business. This is how they keep it on top. It's the golden rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules. The NFL keeps people sucked in throughout all 17 weeks of the regular season, and when the dust has settled and the playoffs finally roll around? You want to see how it all plays out even if you're team isn't in it. (which, when your team ends up with a 3-13 record, you learn to find other parts of the league to draw your interest)

All that being said, the playoffs are here. Wild Card weekend has just wrapped up with the two teams that I can't stand the most being bounced right out of the gate in decidedly embarrassing fashion. I don't care that the Bucs were one of the worst teams all year any more. Now it's all about just sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the rest of the show...