I used to be a hardcore NFL watcher. Every window, even spending some late December Saturday afternoons slogging through some awful games because I didn’t want to miss anything.
A big driver in that was Fantasy Football and my Football Picks Pool.
I think Thursday Night Football has killed my enthusiasm. Here’s why.
Sunday morning used to be the time when I would collect information. I’d watch pregame shows to learn if it were snowing in Green Bay, or maybe my running back wouldn’t start. That affected both my fantasy team (and I have been playing since the days when that hobby was called rotiserrie football and we did the scores by hand.)
Thursday Night Football ruined the flow, but the TNF games were only in the latter part of the year, so it was a little easier to ignore.
Now, I find myself cursing TNF every Thursday around 6pm when I remember that I haven’t made my picks or set my lineup yet. So I do them in a hurry, and don’t have any attachment. I personally have no room in my life to watch football on Thursday, so if my players play that makes me even less attached to my fantasy team.
Add in a few years of that pattern cycling, and I find i just don’t care. If I am home I will stare at the crack of Red Zone, but the 4pm window gets harder for me to slog through (with less crack) and I have zero interest in staying up until midnight on Sunday (a great TV night for non-sports) or Monday. I can just check my phone on Monday morning and shrug.
So that’s my theory. Thursday broke my ecosystem. It’s too much and it’s too early in the week. What’s your theory?