"Come On Franco" Wrong, The NFL Is Great TV

Below is a response I had for the author of the blog Come on Franco (I feel there should be a laugh track triggered after I say that, introducing the star of a '70s talk show) after he decided to attack the 'watchability' of the NFL.

I don't know if he will post it, since he has rejected some of my comments in the past, so I will post it for everyone to read.

Joe, of all the ignorant things you have written on your post, this is by far the most ignorant.

I won't go into explaining why the NFL by far the most successful professional sports league. It should be apparent. Don’t let the poor example of your local Detroit Lions mislead you into thinking that this league suffers from ineffective management.

On the subject of your post, the NFL is not my favorite sport, but when you step back, you must realize that it is the most watchable sport for several reasons. Obviously, baseball used to be the primary sport in the US. Now football reigns supreme. Why is this?

Besides their ability to promote and limit themselves with free agency and parity, their sport naturally complements what television has to offer. First, football perfectly lends itself to the modern telecast. It consists of short bursts 4-10 seconds in length with breaks in between.

Here, we have a built in break for commentary and commercials to be included. The mode of an NFL game also lends itself to completely different field position, down and distance situations which require different camera angles in order to portray the story.

Compare this to your favorite sport, tennis. Tennis is primarily shown from one point of view. The shot from about 30 feet above and behind the server. Also, tennis is repetitive in that the initial situation of the action always remains the same.

Football also contains a great number of miniature goals (first downs) along the way to the end zone, keeping viewers interested in the small successes, making every play important (as opposed to soccer).

Finally, the cheerleaders, the uniforms, recognizable and likable stars/easily identifiable enemies, the sound of pads impacting against one another, tradition, the great backdrop of grass, and most importantly, the constant promise that the next play is going to be the one that is broken for a long touchdown.

These things make the NFL the most watchable professional sports league. It's not that other sports leagues don't have some of these same benefits, but the NFL is the only one that combines them all.