Nov 15 2007
HDTV: Better than Being There?
How great is the live gridiron experience in America? Well, if this recent Motorola survey is any indication, maybe not so much:
According to an article in Multichannel News more Americans would rather flip on their high-definition TV sets to watch a football game than trek to a stadium to see gridiron action in the flesh.
The survey of 1,009 U.S. adults, commissioned by Motorola, found that 45% said they would rather watch college or professional football on an HDTV, compared with 32% who said they would prefer to see the game in person. …
The survey also found that more men (51%) than women (41%) would rather watch football on HDTV than in person.
You mean guys would rather stay home than pay $20-30 for parking and $8 for a beer, sitting in bleacher seats far less comfortable than their sofas and watching more commercials in the stadium than they would at home? Imagine that. If this isn’t proof that American football is made for TV, nothing is.
I’m curious if people feel the same way about other forms of football. Is soccer more fun to watch live, where you can sing your songs and fly your flags and toss your streamers, or do you prefer to see it on a big screen, where you can catch all sorts of fun things you’d miss at the park?
Grandma Gooner says, “Giggsy is a wanker!”
How about you folks down in Australia? Aussie Rules seems like a football code that might be better enjoyed live than on TV, perhaps because of the size of the field. Do you find that’s the case? Is it more fun to see the games in person, or is it just fine for you at home?
(Spotted on 850 the Buzz)
8 Responses to “HDTV: Better than Being There?”
Gridiron: I live in Seattle, so for the next few years the only ticket im able to afford to see the Seahawks play live is in the nosebleed section. true, theres not a bad seat in the house at Qwest Field, but still not very fun. Advantage: HDTV
Soccer: At the same Qwest Field I was able to score 100 level seats for the Real Madrid vs. D.C. United game in 2006. The tension was palpable, and the energy when goals were scored was awesome. The fan noise alone rivaled any Seahawks playoff game ive ever been to. Advantage: Live Game
Aussie Rules: I had the opportunity to see the Roo’s play the Swans in LA in 2006. Though the crowd was rowdy and fun, I sat in the beer garden near one end of the oval. No bleachers there, so sometimes the action was difficult to follow … or maybe it was the beers & women. Advantage: MINE! (HA HA)
By the way Dave, youre doing a fine job here (despite being a Steeler fan). Keep up the good work.
Aussie Rules is better watched live, especially if you are new to the game. This being due to the size of the field and the need to see what is developing up the field as well as around the ball. It is easier to understand the game when you can see the full picture.
For those well seasoned in the game TV is good – but something is still lost from the live game. It is often said here that rugby codes are much better for TV due to the smaller field size, and that basketball is made for TV due to the court size.
I look forward to seeing the HDTV version of an Aussie rules game sometime in the not too distant future!
The NFL has spent the past 40 years turning itself into extended TV programming! I love American football, but the league realized quickly that it can make its money off TV contracts instead of the live experience.
Live NFL is a sad joke. The TV timeouts and ridiculous canned music make it almost as bad the NBA… which I consider the standard bearer of artificial, soulless corporate sports leagues.
Due to RTE’s inability to bring a camera that tilts fully to a game played largely in the air and the atmosphere i’d watch Gaelic live any day .
Same with Rugby although TV gives you more information its just not the same .
Dave would their be a rugby,gaa atmosphere in the American game , do people sing ? shout at the teams?
The games i catch on TV often seem like there isn’t much.
It almost seems like the one and only time when i was in the corporate boxes for Croke Park , no atmosphere as most of the people didn’t care. I find this is happening more and more in soccer , see Roy Keane his prawn sandwich brigade out bust http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prawn_sandwich_brigade
You find more chants in college football than in the NFL, but you rarely hear songs beyond fight songs that fans and drunken alumni sing with the band.
Most NFL fans only make noise when their team scores or when their opponents have the ball. They yell to try and disrupt the play calling at the line of scrimmage. Indianapolis in particular has been accused of amplifying crowd noise through the speaker system in the RCA Dome. I don’t think that would ever happen in the Premier League.
Soccer in person is a million miles better than on TV. I don’t even mean the crowd noise or atmosphere, as you might expect, but just to appreciate the game. TV just doesn’t convey all the off the ball patterns and the entire scope of the game; despite being the world’s most popular televisual sport, I don’t think it’s one very suited to television, compared to the main American team sports and rugby, tennis, golf etc.
I’m with the average American about watching gridiron on TV, though.
Every sport I’ve ever come across is better live. There are things developing on the field that the camera can’t show you. Even in NFL – watching defenses develop coverages, seeing blocking patterns develop on special teams plays, etc. – you might not expect it but the result of each play makes so much more sense live.
But NFL, in my experience, just doesn’t do such a good job in creating fan atmospheres. Soccer is excellent at this – the continuous play helps with the excitement level, and this is probably the case with any other form of football. College gridiron, though, is truly awesome, especially if you’re in the student section (and especially if you and nine of your friends decide to paint your chests, you decide on the phrase “VANDY RULES”, and then a bunch of other people want in, and you have to make them all exclamation points because now if you tried to spell out “Vanderbilt” you’d have a completely useless Y, and then you realize in the middle of the third quarter that you forgot to put sunscreen on and so you go around for the next two weeks with a reverse R sunburned onto your chest… ok, now I’m rambling).
Aussie Rules is best seen live. You need to see where ALL the players are on the field to see how plays will develop or not and TV can’t show this – only where the ball is and the immediate vicinity. As a West Coast member I get to see the Eagles live fortnightly in a perpetually full stadium skewed 95/5 towards us so the atmosphere is great when we’re winning (luckily for us that is roughly 73% of the time) not so great when we’re losing. I know this would be situation normal for most gridiron fans but in Victorian AFL games the spectators are more evenly spread. Victorian visitors comment on the quietness when the Eagles opponents score versus back home. I have been lucky enough to see Ohio State play twice in the Horseshoe, one of them was the biggest ever crowd, and it was awe-inspiring seeing 108,000 fans all dressed in scarlet & grey. The atmosphere was electric and the noise when the opposition had the ball deafening. Sport on TV is fine but being there in person (with the proviso of a decent crowd) is great! If there isn’t a crowd you might as well stay home. I saw the Indians play one night at a quarter full (at best) Jacobs Field and it was dead as, not to mention cold with the wind coming off the lake.