Richard Sherman: "The league isn't fun anymore"

[Mikey Ram]

Old guy stuf ('cause I'm an old giy)...I don't see what having fun has to do with playing football for copious amounts of dollars a year...I'm entertained by good football. not some guy stroking his junk in the end zone..

 

[CanRamFan]

I can't stand the guy but totally agree with what he's saying.

Guess I'll have to find a new sport to watch. This one looks fun :yay:

 

[Psycho_X]

Have to agree with him as well, I've watched a fraction of football this year compared to what I used to. I have zero interest in paying money to watch them so was one of the reasons I dumped directv and got a fire stick. The NFL is still a money sponge and highly entertaining but they really need to fix the product they've been slowly damaging the last decade. And frankly, replace Goodell. I don't know anyone who likes the guy or thinks he has done anything good for the league. His decision making is erratic and, at times, completely puzzling. Keep him on as an advisor if they love him that much but they really need a less polarizing figure to essentially be the voice and face of the owners to fans.

 

[Prime Time]

There is zero rhythm to these NFL games anymore.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMxT6qjRgxE

 

[wolfdogg]

I remember the first game I saw where it went score, commercial, kickoff, commercial, and I was like, huh, well, that better not be a thing. By the end of the game I had lost my shit. I agree all the stoppages have hurt the flow of the the game, and God help the people in the stands just watching the players stand around during all the breaks.

 

[LACHAMP46]

So, Sherm wants to know

 

[DaveFan'51]

"Because the league isn't fun anymore," Sherman said. "Every other league, you see the players have a good time. It's a game. This isn't politics. This isn't justice. This is entertainment. And they're no longer allowing the players to entertain. They're no longer allowing the players to show any kind of personality, any kind of uniqueness, any individuality. Because they want to control the product. They want to control the messaging, etc., etc.

I knew I wasn't going to like this thread the second I opened it! And this is pure BS!! ( I couldn't stomach reading past this point^)
Somebody Please tell Little Dicky :
A) Football isn't supposed to be Entertainment, It's a Sport! A sport players play to WIN!
B) It's a TEAM Sport, NOT an individual sport Like Tennis!!
C) I don't care about your "Personality" Just be a professional and your uniqueness will show!
D) BE A TEAM PLAYER AND QUIT TRYING TO PROVE WHAT A GREAT INDIVIDUAL YOU ARE LITTLE DICKY!!

 

[LesBaker]

Let them cater to the needs of the degenerate, typical blue collar NFL fans and maybe the blue collar fans will start showing up more.

They would do that if those guys could afford to go to more games and spend more on hot dogs and beer. That comes first you know.

the days of Chad Johnson

I loved Chad's antics. The Riverdance was hilarious!!!

or me, bad officiating takes more fun out of it than anything.

Same here. The refs union has to make changes. I know people like to bag on Goodell for this but it's not him, it's the union. He wanted changes, and even locked them out remember.

"Did the defender make an effort to defy gravity to avoid the hit?"

Funniest post in ages........kudos sir!

 

[DaveFan'51]

I agree with him completely. The most fun I've ever had watching football(aside from Rams payoff football) are the days of Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens having fun with TD celebrations. Players coming up with new celebrations. Enjoying the game. They've sucked all the fun out of the game. What does a harmless TD celebration do to the watching children, aside from showing them it's ok to have a personality? That you should do what your told, and you can't have fun? Give me a break, NFL. Give me a break.

Personally I would rather see, Deacon Jones using his "Head Slap" or Night-Train Lane passing out " Neck-Ties" or Merlin Olsen just knocking O-Lineman all over the Place, and WR's and RB's, when they score a TD, act like you've been there before or like this game ain't over yet!

 

[Merlin]

Instead of suggesting you stop watching if you don't like it anymore I hope you find more holes in the current system and schedule a meeting with Goodell and all the advertising executives. It's going to be a revolution and I want in :fuelfire:

It's not about finding holes, rather it's simply an observation. I dislike the insistence in sports about getting everything perfect, it is a game and fans will pi$$ and moan about missed calls, bad calls, etc but will keep coming back. Reviewing things is fine, but it needs to be fast because the pace of the on-field product is the most important thing, but that has been lost and the league isn't worried about that because it means more commercials and more income. And on top of that they also make refs look for more and more BS every year too, complicating their jobs even as they cut their balls off by electronically second guessing and refusing to pay them.

If you slow the pace of the game to the point where it's over-nuked and over-commercialized, you as a league risk fans voting with their feet. And that, IMO, is what is happening. The owners are sitting on a gold mine, but their greed is going to cause them problems and I think already are causing them problems.

This is why I mentioned watching older games. To view the pace of the game and note the difference. That old product siezed the imagination of the fans and made the game the most loved in this country for a reason. And they are messing with the product to the point where the end result is going to be something they don't like: apathy.

 

[yrba1]

Can't blame him, I've lost a lot of interest in the NFL too in recent months, and it goes beyond Rams mediocrity.

 

[Mikey Ram]

Can't blame him, I've lost a lot of interest in the NFL too in recent months, and it goes beyond Rams mediocrity.

The only motivation or fun I would need is about $1,000,000+ a week...I get really pissed about it's gotta be fun...As a fan, I want to see good football, not some ridiculous celebration for a nothing special play that they're expected to make for their copious paycheck...I'm old and not really in step with the younger guys...That's my FUN...

 

[FrantikRam]

They should be allowed to celebrate. Scoring a TD is hard, as we all know too well as Rams fans...

Penalties are bad too.

If not for fantasy football, the NFL would be in a lot deeper water right now.

Adopt targeting and DPI rules from College football, and make a catch rule easier to understand (such as possession and 2 feet, anywhere on the field)

 

[DaveFan'51]

I can't stand the guy but totally agree with what he's saying.

Guess I'll have to find a new sport to watch. This one looks fun :yay:

View attachment 17433

Ummm ... What where we talking about!?! I lost my train of thought!!

 

[JackStraw]

Just like lots of things in my life, the NFL has changed. It's out of my control. Adapting is a bitch but ya gotta learn how to do it or move on. The NFL is still king of national sports in my world and i'm just some Ram's fan who doesn't watch outsiders, only keep tabs on them.

Everything wasn't actually better back in the day, I think lots of us just took the power of youth for granted

 

[Ellard80]

Sherman is correct in a way...

But the TV ratings being down has very little to nothing to do with celebrations and such... do you guys really believe that?

Personally I'd say the biggest reason the ratings are down are that there are mostly Shitty teams in the NFL right now... a few solid teams and maybe 1 or 2 teams above solid.

The level of play in a lot of ways is ass right now..

The other big reasons are way too many penalties and an over saturation of the product.

 

[JackStraw]

Ratings are down because of NFL redzone, fantasy football, Buffalo Wild Wings/etc, streaming, and social reasons
Rule changes have only chased away fans who were looking for a reason to stop watching - maybe because they're sick of watching the team they grew up with struggle for 5-15 years? Maybe they're having a mid-life crisis? I dunno. My father is a Bronco fan. You think he cares about the rules? No. Broncos have been winners. It's fun.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I don't know if it's bad officiating... or players not being able to celebrate as they want... but something's missing in the league lately.

I thought it was me and the fact my favorite team isn't very exciting... but it seems this is bigger than me and the Rams...

I hear it more and more... people are just losing interest in professional football. Many who used to scoff at college now watch that in lieu of the pros.