4 ms·

The Superbowl has sort of grown to become a traition where big companies fight to pay exorbitant amounts to play ads that are generally mildly more entertainin

by aeleos 9y ago

The Superbowl has sort of grown to become a traition where big companies fight to pay exorbitant amounts to play ads that are generally mildly more entertaining than the usual garbage. Its pretty specific to only the Superbowl, as its the most televised event in total viewership (at over 100 million). It is a lot of ads, but since football has a lot of ads anyway (more than normal TV) it isnt too abnormal. Football has a lot of ads because there is a lot of stopping during the game for time outs and such.

lovemenot 9y ago
>> Football has a lot of ads because there is a lot of stopping during the game for time outs and such. I'd always assumed the causation arrow was in the opposite direction. Or at least a big reason a sport is popular in the US is its ad-friendliness. The other kind of football is flowing and therefore less attractive to ad supported TV networks.
- cafard 9y ago
  TV has certainly increased the number of timeouts in college and professional football. However, the whole business of spotting the ball, lining the teams up, maybe huddling, means that American football has never been flowing to the degree that the other football is.
- falcolas 9y ago
  There are a few other reasons that American football is popular: The action is short and violent, which makes it both exciting and yet easy to watch while chatting with your friends. You can't miss a critical shift in the play because you had to look away for a few moments. Most men (and many women) played it as children and teenagers, and so have a strong sense of nostalgia for it. Many small towns pretty much only had football as entertainment for many years prior to the internet - it has momentum among the older audiences. Football represents the epitome of the American dream. Everyone "knows" someone who has "made it" to the NFL, no matter how tenuous the connection may be. It reinforces the idea that anyone can make it if they just work hard enough.

by aeleos 9y ago

lovemenot 9y ago

>> Football has a lot of ads because there is a lot of stopping during the game for time outs and such. I'd always assumed the causation arrow was in the opposite direction. Or at least a big reason a sport is popular in the US is its ad-friendliness. The other kind of football is flowing and therefore less attractive to ad supported TV networks.

cafard 9y ago
TV has certainly increased the number of timeouts in college and professional football. However, the whole business of spotting the ball, lining the teams up, maybe huddling, means that American football has never been flowing to the degree that the other football is.
falcolas 9y ago
There are a few other reasons that American football is popular: The action is short and violent, which makes it both exciting and yet easy to watch while chatting with your friends. You can't miss a critical shift in the play because you had to look away for a few moments. Most men (and many women) played it as children and teenagers, and so have a strong sense of nostalgia for it. Many small towns pretty much only had football as entertainment for many years prior to the internet - it has momentum among the older audiences. Football represents the epitome of the American dream. Everyone "knows" someone who has "made it" to the NFL, no matter how tenuous the connection may be. It reinforces the idea that anyone can make it if they just work hard enough.