The mere mention of NFL conjures up images and notions of Sundays on the couch all day on the couch. From September till February every person knows that Sunday is pre-booked for the NFL. All teams play one game every week except for one bye week during the season. The other historical game has been on Thanksgiving day which has always involved the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys playing on that Thursday. The other main game is Monday Night Football. Both television networks and the NFL know that a football games generates the largest viewership on television compared to any other programming that they might put out.
However, over the last number of years, we have had more and more games being played on non-traditional days. In 2002, the NFL started the kickoff to the regular season with a Thursday night matchup between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. This first game was initially done in New York to help celebrate the resiliency of New York City after 9/11. The tremendous amount of ratings and success with that encouraged the NFL gave this idea its inception. The NFL continued this trend and has held the opening day kickoff to the regular season on a Thursday and this game is nationally televised to all markets.
In 2004 the NFL announced that the kickoff game will be hosted by the defending super bowl champions. This move was a very smart move because it helps build on the success that the team had winning the super bowl and will likely entice more people to watch the game. In 2010 the NFL season kicked off with the New Orleans Saints taking on the Minnesota Vikings. This game drew the highest opening night rating ever drawing a 17. 7 rating on NBC. In the 2010 NFL season, the NFL has scheduled for eight Thursday night games beginning in Week 10 through the end of the season.
As a fan I am very much a proponent and enthusiast for this idea to be able to watch a football game on a day other than Sunday or Monday. I know as both a viewer and a fan that if a game was on I would be more than likely to watch that game opposed to any other material being broadcasted on television. In the shoes of the NFL this is also a win-win situation for them. They are able to generate more money by taking one of regular games that would be played that week and having it occur on a Thursday night instead of a Sunday. That game is guaranteed to have a national broadcasting.
What can be wrong with watching football on a Thursday? Well one of the main proponents of playing games on Thursdays are players themselves. NFL players take a pounding through the grueling game they play every Sunday. Majority of the players need treatment and time to heal before they can play the next game because of soreness and injuries that are a natural part of the game. Typically most players feel ‘ normal’ by the Friday that week. The players argument is that they are more susceptible to injuries because of the insufficient time to heal in between games.
Ray Lewis, one of the greatest all time linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens, when asked about playing on Thursdays said “ 99% of us would vote against it”. He also commented that “ You have to ask yourself a real question when you schedule games like this: Who does it help? Because it doesn’t help the players. That turnaround is just too quick. You go from playing a physical game on Sunday and you have less than four days before you have to physically get back up again. It takes a week for guys to really heal”. I think that as a fan I find it a tremendous asset to be able to watch a game on Thursday.
I can also feel sympathetic to the sides of the players who need that time in between games to recuperate. Since this was never put in the last collective bargaining agreement between the players and the owners, this can be a chip for players to request more money if they are too be playing with such short turnarounds. As far as the present is considered, I think the NFL has just found another method to rake in millions of more dollars to its league by simply taking one game that would be played on a Sunday and moving it to a Thursday.
