Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Super Bowl fever is here [in Philly] because NFL shares [revenues]
Wilmington (DE) Snooze Journal ^ | 1/11/02 | Snooze Journal editorial board

Posted on 01/11/2003 9:08:57 AM PST by foreverfree

Edited on 05/07/2004 6:01:26 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

The Eagles' hometown is Philadelphia but loyalties in the National Football League are a patchwork. There are Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys fans in these parts too. Some cheer for the Baltimore Ravens while Cheeseheads remain loyal to the Green Bay Packers even in defeat.


(Excerpt) Read more at delawareonline.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: roadtosuperbowl
The Eagles' hometown is Philadelphia but loyalties in the National Football League are a patchwork. There are Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys fans in these parts too.

I used to have one of each for neighbors. He was for America's Team, she for the Beltways. But they've moved across the state.

Last weekend, the NFL cliche "on any given day, any team can beat any other team in this league" came true. On Saturday, two underdogs won by big margins. The Atlanta Falcons sent the Packers packing and the New York Jets held the classy Colts scoreless. On Sunday, two teams came from way behind in the fourth quarter to win. The San Francisco 49ers overcame a 24-point deficit to beat the New York Giants, a team on a roll, in the final minutes. The same thing happened in Pittsburgh where the Steelers scored three times in the last quarter to beat the Cleveland Browns.

The sheer joy of the game was evident in all those games. They were as good as they were because of how NFL teams share their revenues. A team like Green Bay can survive in a miniscule television market. And Pittsburgh can be as strong economically as the rival Eagles despite the fact that Philadelphia is the fourth-largest television market in the country. With shared revenues, star players can be found in Kansas City as well as New York.

If major league baseball bought into this approach, its games might be more interesting to more people. Dynasties such as the Yankees make the sport uninteresting to millions who want to cheer for their own teams.

The Eagles are at the top of their game this year. Last year they were almost there. But the winner of last year's Super Bowl, the New England Patriots, didn't make the playoffs. Neither did the team they upset, the St. Louis Rams. The see-saw is exciting.

In the last III Super Bowls, neither team had a winning record the year before.

foreverfree

1 posted on 01/11/2003 9:08:57 AM PST by foreverfree
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

DONATE TODAY!!!.
SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC

Donate Here By Secure Server

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

or you can use

PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com
STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD


2 posted on 01/11/2003 9:13:17 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: All
I want to apologize if there are two threads. FR was giving me technical difficulties and when I went to new posts, there were two threads with this title.

foreverfree

4 posted on 01/11/2003 9:20:29 AM PST by foreverfree
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson