Is professional sports turning into the worst commercialism we have ever seen?

[Smooth_Criminal81]

I've been noticing throughout the years that more and more commercials are being called during football, baseball, basketball,and even racing events...But it didn't really piss me off too bad until I read an article on yahoo today about the refs asking Jeff Fisher to call timeouts late in the game because they were two ads shy of meeting their quota....This is just ridiculous....To ask a team to get away from their gameplan and slow up the tempo just so you can meet station demands is retarded...and to hear Fisher talk about it, it sounds like its been going on for years.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Jeff-Fisher-was-asked-to-call-timeouts-for-MNF-c;_ylt=AnHLNvsPJ6FG2gP92M..Yd9DubYF?urn=nfl-278323

[Von_Kaiser]

It's true, there used to be 60 sec commercial breaks, then 2 minutes, and now 3 minutes. Games have run from 2 and a half hours to 3 hours and 15 minutes. College games regularly go even longer with all the time stoppages for first downs. With the NFL receiving over a billion dollars in advertising, this isn't likely to change. Baseball has it's own problems with length of games, namely all the stalling on the mound between pitches, all the visits that catchers and coaches make to discuss strategy, and all the pitching changes themselves. We've been forced to be more patient to enjoy the sports we obsess over.

[Exodus9mm]

I've been noticing throughout the years that more and more commercials are being called during football' date=' baseball, basketball,and even racing events...But it didn't really piss me off too bad until I read an article on yahoo today about the refs asking Jeff Fisher to call timeouts late in the game because they were two ads shy of meeting their quota....This is just ridiculous....To ask a team to get away from their gameplan and slow up the tempo just so you can meet station demands is retarded...and to hear Fisher talk about it, it sounds like its been going on for years.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Jeff-Fisher-was-asked-to-call-timeouts-for-MNF-c;_ylt=AnHLNvsPJ6FG2gP92M..Yd9DubYF?urn=nfl-278323[/quote']

 

It's all part and parcel to why these guys make 10 million a season. It really is sad. But come kickoff time, I forget my hatred for advertising and capitalism and eagerly anticipate Ray Lewis knocking somebody clean out with a monster tackle

[Smooth_Criminal81]

It's true' date=' there used to be 60 sec commercial breaks, then 2 minutes, and now 3 minutes. Games have run from 2 and a half hours to 3 hours and 15 minutes. College games regularly go even longer with all the time stoppages for first downs. With the NFL receiving over a billion dollars in advertising, this isn't likely to change. Baseball has it's own problems with length of games, namely all the stalling on the mound between pitches, all the visits that catchers and coaches make to discuss strategy, and all the pitching changes themselves. We've been forced to be more patient to enjoy the sports we obsess over.[/quote']

 

I understand them doing it for the revenue their making off of it..But what kills me is asking coaches to call timeouts for no reason more than to show an ad or two that they were short on...It's ********

[Smooth_Criminal81]

It's all part and parcel to why these guys make 10 million a season. It really is sad. But come kickoff time' date=' I forget my hatred for advertising and capitalism and eagerly anticipate Ray Lewis knocking somebody clean out with a monster tackle [/quote']

 

Those hits are getting taken away too...There starting to suspend players for hits the deem unsafe...Which basically means any hard tackle, and god forbid if you should hit the QB.

[Exodus9mm]

Those hits are getting taken away too...There starting to suspend players for hits the deem unsafe...Which basically means any hard tackle' date=' and god forbid if you should hit the QB.[/quote']

 

Yeah man, everything is getting nancified........

[Smooth_Criminal81]

Yeah man' date=' everything is getting nancified........[/quote']

 

Agreed...Mean Joe Green, Lawerence Taylor, and Ronnie Lott should suit back up and start laying ****ers out for fun!

[Von_Kaiser]

Ronnie Lott cut off part of his pinky to play in the Super Bowl.:eek: That was one tough SOB as were any number of players from the eras gone by. IMO a lot of things have gotten worse with sports, but it's still my favorite lifelong addiction despite it all.

[Smooth_Criminal81]

Ronnie Lott cut off part of his pinky to play in the Super Bowl.:eek: That was one tough SOB as were any number of players from the eras gone by. IMO a lot of things have gotten worse with sports' date=' but it's still my favorite lifelong addiction despite it all.[/quote']

 

I agree Mr. Kaiser....If they put them out there in big foam sumo outfits just to protect them I'll still watch..Cause like you said, It's an addiction.

[KungFuMaster]

I agree the momentum of the game could change due to un-necessary time out(s), but we also have to bare in mind these companies paid high dollars for the commercials and are prominent sponsors of the sport.

 

It goes both ways....

 

In any sport, there are always stipulations the organization(s) who is running the event has to abide by and it is the competitors job to deal with it and overcome the adversities, if any.

 

I used to play volley tournaments in my home town and every now and then we would have to battle it out in the dark for the championship. There has been a incident during my high school volleyball career where the refs took a 30 minute time out to discuss something which neither refs have seen before. A serve was spiked down by the receiving team. This was in the early 90's and the refs decided to allow a replay. The current rule is you cannot spike a serve with the first hit.

 

The organization running the event has a guideline to meet and it will not hesitate to put competitors in unfavorable situations.

 

Example:

Some teams get a bye

Some teams get an easier route to the finals

Some teams play back to back games

Outside sources causing an interruption

Fights

Fans screaming

 

These are only a few of the many distractions participants have to deal with while competing. A simple time out called to delay the game is nothing new to sports competitors.

 

Especially in professional sports where competitors play for money, they better be grateful there are sponsors.