Gameday attendance has been a problem for many NFL teams for years. Before he retired, John Madden used to talk about how distressing it was for him to announce games where many of the seats were empty. Two things are driving this:
1. NFL tickets have gotten ridiculously expensive, and most of the league's fan base is priced out of these tickets. This trend has been magnified in recent years with the introduction of seat licenses for new stadiums.
2. For all of its reputation as an action-filled game, there are few things in life more dull than watching an NFL game in person these days. You hear constant complaints about the endless commercials and other breaks in the action that have dragged the typical NFL game out to a 3.5-hour affair. Those are bad enough for someone watching a game on TV at home, but just ask yourself what someone can possibly be doing in the stands while all of these time-wasting interruptions are going on. I'll tell you what a lot of these fans have been doing over the years: They've been swearing they'll never sit through that sh!t again.
Couldn’t agree more. Between the expense and the fact that it eats up an entire day I simply have no interest in going. Plus there isn’t an NFL team less than 2 hours from where I live, so add in the drive time to the game time. And that doesn’t consider finding parking, paying for parking and walking to the stadium.
I'd say Kaepernick's greatest crime was that he reminded the fans they were already tired of the NFL. Surprised the owners haven't hired a hit man, yet. :)
It’s money. You’re correct. I’ll give you my example: I live and grew up outside of Boston. I played HS and college football and love the Patriots. We’ve been lucky to watch the Brady era, 7 super bowl appearances in 18 seasons. Ridiculous. But do I go to the games? No. I’ve been to one, and only because I received a free ticket.
I have 3 sons who all love football. If I want to take my family to Foxboro, here’s what I’m facing:
5 ok seats: $375+
Parking: $50
Concessions: lets say a beer for me and the wife, 3 sodas and a hot dog for each of us: $50
So just the basics, at least $475.
Now add in the terrible drive to Foxboro, traffic, gas, etc. Forget it. But the Pats sell out every game, so I guess I’m an outlier. I’ll sit my ass in front of the 50 inch screen, nice fire going, cheap beer in hand, home-made nachos, clean bathroom, non-belligerent company, etc. Or not. I have plenty of other fun things to occupy that 4 hours.