NFL Lockout: Life as a Sports Fan Without Football

Football has become a way of life in the United States. Between the months of September and February, most sports fans have made it a ritual to sit in front of their televisions every Sunday and watch their favorite teams play.

Sports stations like ESPN, Fox and CBS thrive during football season, and a majority of their coverage in the winter months relies heavily on NFL action. However, with the lockout now on Day 128 and another CBA agreement shot down by the players, many fans are beginning to wonder if there will be a season at all.

Fans rejoiced on Thursday when the owners voted 31-0 in favor of the new collective bargaining agreement, but had their spirits shot down when the players refused to agree on the deal. Labor talks are continuing throughout the weekend, but the constant disagreements between players and owners may cause fans to turn their backs on the game.

Bills safety George Wilson was quoted on Thursday saying, "This [new CBA] is nothing more than an attempt to get the fans to turn on the players." It may seem ridiculous to think that fans will turn their back on the game if they lose the 2011 season, but what would happen if it did?

Major League Baseball would certainly see a ratings boost in September and October with the playoff race in full gear, but the MLB would be leaving a gap between November and April while it is in its own offseason. With the NBA also dealing with lockout troubles, the only other major sport in the United States to fill the void would be the National Hockey League (NHL).

Back in 1982, the first time the NFLPA went on strike, CBS and ABC filled voids in their programming by playing more baseball games and Division II football games. Back then, the NHL had just begun telecasting games on ESPN and only covered a small amount of teams on the East Coast.

However, 2011 has a chance to be different. The NHL saw an increase in television ratings for all their events last season, ranging from the Winter Classic to the All-Star Game to the Stanley Cup. The All-Star Game, which drew in 1.5 million fans to Versus, had the highest ratings for the event since 2004. The 2011 Winter Classic, despite being moved to prime time due to weather, helped NBC win the ratings battle that night between CBS and Fox. Even the Stanley Cup, which has been nationally televised for decades, set NBC and TV rating records for a sporting event; records set by both the NBA and NFL.

If a deal can be reached by the owners and players this weekend, the NFL will be able to save a season that has been surrounded by uncertainty for more then four months. But if the two sides can't come together before September, it seems as though the sports world will be getting an unexpected face-lift in the winter months.

Whether it's the NHL taking the reigns as the bigger of the four major sports or sports stations changing their broadcast schedules, the NFL is digging themselves a hole that they may not be able to get out of. Football fans demand an agreement, and the longer the league waits the fewer fans it may have.