I've been a New York Giants fan since 1980, and in all that time, I've always hated seeing them on at night, whether it was on Sunday or Monday. To me, football is a Sunday afternoon game, and I don't really like wrecking my evening just to see my favorite team play. The fans who go to the games like them even less; by the time they get out of the stadium, through the parking lot mess, and back home, it's often past 1 AM, making for some very tired commuters the next morning.But NBC doesn't care. When they signed their new NFL TV deal, they got the option to take a game that was scheduled for the daytime and make it their Sunday Night Football game, starting in Week 10. The first matchup that will make such a shift is when the Bears visit the Giants on Nov. 12. According to Variety, this game was pre-designated by the NFL, taking it out of the reach of CBS and FOX, who are each allowed to protect four games per week. The two huge TV markets and potential playoff preview was just too much for NBC to ignore. Sigh. At least I'm not going to the game.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-25-2006 @ 10:24PM
al said...
god forbid the majority of the country should be exposed to a game of this caliber..
hey joel, be sure to wash your vagina before you go to sleep tonight
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10-25-2006 @ 10:28PM
Joel Keller said...
Oh, hahaha... I get it... I'm a girl because I don't like staying up until the wee hours to watch football! Wow, that joke was so subtle it almost got past me. Good job, Al!
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10-25-2006 @ 11:00PM
Robert said...
Don't worry, the Bears winning looks the same at night than it does in the evening. So, you don't have to worry about missing anything.
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10-25-2006 @ 11:05PM
John Howard said...
I think al was implying that you had sand in your vagina.
Anyway, his point is a good one. Any real Bears or Giants fans will happily stay up late to watch the game. Some of them will even be happier because they live somewhere where the game would not have been shown before, and now they get to see it. Anyway, if it wasn't the Giants and Bears, it would be two other teams. Sunday Night Football is on every week and has been for YEARS (not to mention Monday Night Football), I don't see any reason to start complaining about it now just because they made the schedule more flexible in order to show better games to more people.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:28AM
sunnysider said...
Wholeheartedly disagree. Reserving the right to pick the Sunday night games is one of the *best* things the NFL has done in recent years.
When you live in a crappy market, you often get stuck with your hometeam games, another regional matchup which may or may not be any good, and then whatever happens to be on Sunday and Monday evenings. If you live near two crappy teams, you know that every week you will pretty much always miss compelling afternoon matches between potentially playoff-bound teams.
I really like the idea that instead of getting a preprogrammed 2-8 vs. 3-7 stinker of a matchup for nationally televised games, the whole country will actually get the chance to see compelling and meaningful games down the stretch.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:31AM
bd said...
So...a game is going to be played on Sunday Night at the same time a game is played on Sunday Night every other week?
No one else is bitching when their team plays the Sunday night, national television, game...why are you?
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10-26-2006 @ 1:14AM
Jeffsmith said...
Oh Joel why dont you and Bob go watch some Rachel Ray together. A true fan stays up to support his/her team. By the way this is why the West Coast is the best coast. Games start at 10 in the morning and you can watch them all day until 10 at night. Dont like staying up I got an idea for you....move!
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10-26-2006 @ 2:20AM
Steve A said...
I love seeing the Bears on Sunday nights...I'm a Chicago fan now living in L.A....the game starts here at 5pm...perfect for Sunday nights....
GO BEARS!!!
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10-26-2006 @ 8:32AM
Michael said...
Wah, wah, wah...my team is getting the spotlight national TV exposure game of the week.
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10-26-2006 @ 9:50AM
Jim said...
Maybe you can get the CW and ABC to "flex" their schedules and show "Gilmore Girls" and "Ugly Betty" on Sunday afternoons.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:40AM
B said...
What I want to know is why does the NFL hate New Orleans so much. Last year they made the saints play a "home" game in Giants Stadium, and this year they take away one of the Saints few chances to play in prime-time so we can watch Eli and Rex have a turnover contest. Seriously, New Orleans leading the NFC South is the best storyline out of the NFL this season, and by week 10, the Bears will have clinched their division and won't have any reason to play their starters.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:19PM
SamMalone said...
Well, think of it this way - you get the best commentating team ever (Michaels/Madden) covering your game. I didn't realize how big a difference that makes, until my team's games were downgraded this season.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:31PM
chief said...
I must admit I really don't understand the arguement here. Like someone else said, Sunday Night Football has been around for a while, it's nothing new. Letting someone handpick the game is a GOOD thing. Would you rather see Arizona vs. Detroit or Green Bay vs. Baltimore? I'm not a Giants fan, but I'll be watching this game because it pits two decent playoff caliber teams against each other.
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10-26-2006 @ 3:33PM
Jen said...
You're so sure that fans at the stadium hate Sunday night games? Being at a live primetime game has an energy that normal afternoon games don't have! It becomes a real event when you know the entire country is watching YOUR game. Getting home at 1 a.m. isn't fun the next morning, but you do it anyway.
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10-26-2006 @ 3:44PM
Joel Keller said...
Heh. I do admit I've somehow developed the viewing habits of a teenage girl. Not sure how that happened.
I've been to night games -- Jets games, oddly enough... every Giants game I've ever been to has been during the day -- and, of course the fans are just as enthusiastic as they would be during the day. On Sunday nights, they're probably drunker, since they've been "warming up" in the parking lot for a longer period of time. I think the drive home and the getting home at 1 AM part sucks.
Personally, since I live in the NYC area and get to see every Giants game, I don't care what network shows the the game or which broadcasters are calling it. I just like watching the game itself. So, for me, 1 PM on FOX is just as good as 8:00 on NBC.
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