News Article: Meaningless Bowls Eclipse Very Meaningful Basketball Games NYTimes Article

bama2112

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/s...-games-at-least-in-viewership.html?ref=sports

I am not a basketball fan. I am not anti basketball either. To me its over saturation
of the market. Or is it people prefer the Weedeater Bowl over Costal Carolina vs Slipper Rock in the BB tourney .



Consider this:

■ Iowa played two prime-time N.C.A.A. tournament games last week; each averaged a little more than two million viewers. But Iowa’s afternoon loss to Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl — a game with nothing at stake — attracted 4.1 million.
■ Wisconsin’s two victories last week generated between 2.7 million and 3.5 million viewers, but the Badgers’ overtime win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl was seen by 6.4 million.
■ The viewership for each of Louisville’s tournament games did not come close to the 6.4 million who watched the Cardinals lose to Georgia in, yes, the Belk Bowl.
Notre Dame’s win over Butler on Saturday night was seen by a more-than-respectable viewership of 3.9 million. But far more, 5.3 million, saw the Irish beat Louisiana State in the Music City Bowl in December.
 

jthomas666

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They kind of miss two rather obvious points:

1. College football is much more popular than college basketball.
2. The bowl season occurs during the holidays, making it easier to watch games not played on the weekend.
 

Bama Czar

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They kind of miss two rather obvious points:

1. College football is much more popular than college basketball.
2. The bowl season occurs during the holidays, making it easier to watch games not played on the weekend.

Those two, as well as, all of the football games listed above involved an SEC team.....of course, SEC fans are going to watch a bowl game. Are we really surprised that an Iowa - TN football game would out-draw a Iowa basketball tournament game? I would wager that of the 4.1 million total viewers for the football bowl game, 3 million were TN fans.....
 

B1GTide

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I would rather watch any bowl game than the finals of the NCAA or NBA playoffs.

As for these bowl games being "meaningless" - try telling that to the players participating in them or the fans of their respective schools.
 

mittman

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I would rather watch any bowl game than the finals of the NCAA or NBA playoffs.

As for these bowl games being "meaningless" - try telling that to the players participating in them or the fans of their respective schools.
*like* My sentiments exactly.

Yes some bowl games are disappointments from some players/teams, but to consider any game meaningless in college football is not understanding the dynamics of the sport. Every game is meaningful even if it is just for program building and attracting the next group of players, or having your seniors go out on a high note. By default every game is twice as meaningful simply because there are less than half the opportunities to play a game.

There may come a time that football is not as popular a sport, but it isn't going to be soon.
 

uafan4life

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Perhaps the writer is ascribing too much meaning to these basketball games. After all, if they really are - in the eyes of the populace - so much more meaningful than those "meaningless" bowl games then wouldn't more people already be watching those basketball games?
 

selmaborntidefan

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This is called 'an article that got submitted merely because the writer HAD to submit SOMETHING and his writer's block was terminal.'


1) Tennessee-Iowa was a football matchup played on a Friday when people were off work and hungover to say nothing of the fact it was a Big Ten vs SEC showdown played mere hours after Ohio St, Michigan St, and Wisconsin had restored some oomph to the Big Ten brand by winning bowl games, two of those against the SEC. Make no mistake - if all those teams had lost then the ratings for the Gator Bowl would have been lower.

2) Iowa's low-drawing opponents were Davidson and Gonzaga......uh, not exactly the interest nationally of Tennessee, which has won a couple of national titles, in football

3) Is he seriously comparing Butler University with LSU FOOTBALL? That was an afternoon game played on a Tuesday during the holidays, lots of college age kids out of school

4) Weren't there other games on at the exact same time basketball-wise? I know that used to be the case. It used to be so with bowl games, too, but they do a pretty good job now of only pitting games against each other on the big showdown on New Year's Day.

5) And setting aside the SEC, is he seriously comparing an Oregon team playing probably the most hated college football player in America with their basketball team in an early round game?

One does not need a brain to see all that's wrong with this.
 

Roll Tide 57

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I think the point he was trying to make is quit complaining about the number of bowl games in that I agree. The BB comparison is not good for me, I am a college football fan, I like to watch the other divisions championship games especially when Alabama is not playing.

I think if you don't like the tax slayer bowl then don't watch it, if enough people do that it will go away. The Old Time coaches love the bowls as it is a real treat for the kids, some it will be the only time in their career the will ever play on tv.

Watch what you enjoy & let others do the same.
 

gtgilbert

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Perhaps the writer is ascribing too much meaning to these basketball games. After all, if they really are - in the eyes of the populace - so much more meaningful than those "meaningless" bowl games then wouldn't more people already be watching those basketball games?
I think the "meaningful" aspect he's talking about is in relation to post season standings, where each game in the tournament is "meaningful" because it's your way to advance to the next round, where the 'meaningless" bowl games there's not a next step that you're playing for a championship.

That said, all the basketball games are meaningless to me. I'll take it further than some of the others. I'd rather watch a mid-level HS football game, than the finals of the NCAA or NBA playoffs.
 

selmaborntidefan

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I think the point he was trying to make is quit complaining about the number of bowl games in that I agree. The BB comparison is not good for me, I am a college football fan, I like to watch the other divisions championship games especially when Alabama is not playing.

I think if you don't like the tax slayer bowl then don't watch it, if enough people do that it will go away. The Old Time coaches love the bowls as it is a real treat for the kids, some it will be the only time in their career the will ever play on tv.

Watch what you enjoy & let others do the same.
The problem with the NUMBER of bowl games has to do with the fact we are now "rewarding" teams with losing records.

Nobody is talking about putting any of the bowls out of business, but 38 bowls means you have to have SEVENTY-SIX teams with at least 6-6 records, which is darn near impossible in a division of 120. It's only possible if you have a bunch of 0-12 or 2-10 teams to offset the records.
 

Bamaro

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A 72 team playoff is totally ridiculous. It would be totally ignored except for the "bracket" wagering. Its not a sporting event, its a gambling event.
 

RTR91

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COMPARING MARCH MADNESS VIEWERSHIP TO BOWL SEASON MISSES THE POINT


On Thursday, Richard Sandomir of the New York Times wrote an interesting article, comparing the viewership totals from this year’s bowl season to the viewership totals from the first two rounds of March Madness. Based on the data, he concluded that the “meaningless” bowl games were a bigger draw than the NCAA Tournament games. While that’s all well and good, he’s really comparing apples and oranges here.

You simply can’t compare Oregon’s loss to Wisconsin on Sunday to their victory over Florida State in the Rose Bowl and draw any substantial conclusions. You’re looking at a truly pivotal game on the college football schedule, the first-ever College Football Playoff game, which took place on New Year’s Day on ESPN with no other football games on at the same time. The hoops game took place on a Sunday night on truTV, and was on at the same time as two other games. Of course the football game would draw better numbers – it’s basic arithmetic.
 

Redwood Forrest

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So, what was the point of the article? We all know College football is more popular than College basketball. I am not a big basketball fan and so I am not objective, but I had rather watch a good Sun Belt game of football than the Sweet Sixteen.
 

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