04/19/24
January 15, 2010
NFL Football: 11 Minutes of Action, 60 Minutes of Commercials: "The average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes," the Wall Street Journal reported today. By comparison, a game broadcast contains 60 minutes of commercials and 75 minutes of players standing around, huddling or preparing for a snap. "Football -- at least the American version -- is the rare sport where it's common for the clock to run for long periods of time while nothing is happening."
George Will said it.
He probably never watched games that are liberally laced with cheerleader chest and crotch shots.
If you're going to be the top gal in a Wallenda formation, your Daisy Mae's need to fit you just right or else.
posted by beaverboard at 04:09 PM on January 15, 2010
I'm still pretty psyched about football, but over time, soccer makes me question more and more why to watch three hours of filling around so little actual play. The contrast is especially obvious when you're attending in person, where TV timeouts and other breaks suck the life out of the crowd.
posted by rcade at 04:13 PM on January 15, 2010
Even when I am watching football taped, I skip the commercials, but I don't skip the standing around in the huddle stuff. That seems to be part of the game, substitutions and all of that. I do wish TV commentators would fill that time with valuable information about who was on the field, what defense they were playing, etc.
posted by bperk at 04:31 PM on January 15, 2010
your Daisy Mae's need to fit you just right or else
What's Lil'Abner's girlfriend got to do with it? Thinking you meant Daisy Dukes
You're welcome.
posted by dviking at 05:00 PM on January 15, 2010
And I still love to watch football. I must be a moron or something.
Televised football--So easy a caveman could do it.
posted by THX-1138 at 05:38 PM on January 15, 2010
Yeah, it's weird. I mean, it's called "football" for no good reason to begin with. I just have always accepted its format. It makes sense to me.
But I defy anyone anywhere to suggest that last week's Arizona Green Bay game was anything less than exciting sports. That was just a great contest.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:48 PM on January 15, 2010
What's Lil'Abner's girlfriend got to do with it? Thinking you meant Daisy Dukes
To those of my age, it would have been "Daisy Mae's". Daisy Duke hadn't even been a germ of an idea back then.
To contribute to the discussion at hand, I find ice hockey to be the best sport to watch on TV, even as it is the sport that broadcasters least prefer (at least in my opinion). Long periods of non-stop action, short commercial breaks, although these do tend to have an effect upon the game, and most of the commercials crowded into the intermissions, when you won't miss anything by surfing. My experience has been that when I try to switch between games, they all seem to have gone to commercial breaks simultaneously. Football is the worst offender.
posted by Howard_T at 05:57 PM on January 15, 2010
damn Howard, how old are you? I'm past the old 50 mile post, and don't ever recall the Daisy Mae reference, maybe it was a regional thing.
As to watching football on TV, I think it lends itself well to the party/bar scene. Enough action to keep it interesting, with enough breaks to order beers, tell a few jokes, etc. At home I often TIVO the first 60 minutes, then start to watch the game, skipping through commercials. By the middle of the 4th quarter (or so) I'm caught up to live action. Watched the game in 2/3rds the time, and didn't have to worry about finding out the score.
posted by dviking at 06:25 PM on January 15, 2010
Those of us who are able to tape/record a game when we're away enjoy watching it later. Fast forward the commercials, the changes of the offense/defense, reviews by the officials, the almost certain kicked extra points. I often do this when two games are on at once. Watch one ( for hours) and then the other in about 20 minutes. Works for me....
posted by wildbill1 at 06:26 PM on January 15, 2010
So, essentially, Football is like Cricket, except with hitting?
posted by Joey Michaels at 06:55 PM on January 15, 2010
I often TIVO the first 60 minutes, then start to watch the game, skipping through commercials
Precisely my strategy, as well. There's no danger of hearing the final result, you can still admire the moonlighting poledancers cheerleaders, and that hour of commercials is completely avoidable.
posted by tahoemoj at 07:57 PM on January 15, 2010
damn Howard, how old are you? I'm past the old 50 mile post, and don't ever recall the Daisy Mae reference, maybe it was a regional thing.
I'm 2 months shy of 69 (the age, not the other thing). In the comic strip Lil' Abner, written and drawn for many years by Al Capp, Daisy Mae was Lil' Abner Yokum's love interest. I'm quite sure that the way she was drawn was the template for Daisy Duke's costume. To make a long story short, she pursued Abner until she finally caught him, possibly at a Sadie Hawkin's Day race. The comic strip was quite political on the conservative side of things as well as entertaining.
I don't do the TIVO thing, as I usually watch only the games in which I have a real interest and depend on the highlights for the rest. Since I truly hate commercials, particularly those that have been repeated in the 5-digit numbers of times, I go surfing to see if I can catch a score or two. If nothing else is available, I'll take a quick look at The History Channel to see when the world will end this week, or to find out what the space aliens look like.
posted by Howard_T at 10:43 PM on January 15, 2010
So, essentially, Football is like Cricket, except with hitting?
Only if you play it for five days in a row.
posted by owlhouse at 05:11 AM on January 16, 2010
And then end up with a tied game.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 07:20 AM on January 16, 2010
I'm 2 months shy of 69 (the age, not the other thing).
A little disappointing. I was prepared to see you as an incredibly well-prepared sex maniac.
posted by yerfatma at 09:51 AM on January 16, 2010
I'm quite sure that the way she was drawn was the template for Daisy Duke's costume.
Daisy Duke's middle name is Mae, so the resemblance is more than coincidental. Lil Abner's a great strip. I picked up a few collections at used bookstores, and they're a lot of fun.
posted by rcade at 12:16 PM on January 16, 2010
Howard, I grew up in a very small, politically conservative town, so I'm going to guess that Lil Abner just didn't make the cut for the comics page.
So, Daisy Mae's or Daisy Dukes...I'm a fan.
posted by dviking at 01:38 PM on January 16, 2010
I was prepared to see you as an incredibly well-prepared sex maniac.
Half right, fatty. It's the preparation thing I was never able to get.
dviking, the strip was last published in 1977, according to the ever-accurate Wikipedia. I do know that toward the end a lot of papers dropped it. Now that I've looked, I find that the strips are still available on line. Amazing.
posted by Howard_T at 05:33 PM on January 16, 2010
I summarized this article before it was written, right here on Sportsfilter...about 5-6 years ago.
posted by StarFucker at 04:33 AM on January 17, 2010
I consider five or ten seconds before the snap to be part of the game--with the quarterback frantically calling plays and changes, the defense showing and pulling back blitzes, players in motion, etc. There's a lot going on.
posted by aerotive at 03:21 PM on January 17, 2010
I consider five or ten seconds before the snap to be part of the game
I totally agree with that, a lot of action prior to each play. Given that there are about 100 plays each game (rough estimate), just adding 5 seconds for each play adds another 8 minutes of action.
posted by dviking at 05:09 PM on January 17, 2010
SportsFilter: liberally laced with cheerleader chest and crotch shots.
I'm 2 months shy of 69 (the age, not the other thing).
*Bill and Ted air guitar.*
posted by kirkaracha at 05:36 PM on January 17, 2010
Like with baseball, there are things going on that are not the play on the field. What will the offense do, how will the defense react? There's more going on (OK, not tons more, but more) than meets the eye.
posted by kirkaracha at 05:37 PM on January 17, 2010
This is one reason I can't stand watching broadcasts of US sports. The commercials last longer than the action.
If I could pay to get commentator free commercial free broadcasts of football, baseball etc... I'd pay in a heartbeat.
Can't remember who said it, but I always loved the quote (maybe slightly paraphrased here) that football is the perfect American sport. It's violence punctuated by committee meetings.
I love the compressed games you can get, where they cut all that out and just show you the action.