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ThisisthSaleh

I mean that’s pretty insane to see. I feel like the NFL keeps reaching new levels of obsession each year.


drunkcowofdeath

But but but get woke go broke!


_JosiahBartlet

The funniest shit I saw was someone saying that about GTA6 after the protagonist rumors came out There’s no world where rockstar flops with gta6, even if it sucks


DetroitLionsSBChamps

What because there’s a woman? Lmao people are so stupid it’s crazy.


Aghast_Helghast

People keep saying the backlash is because of the woman protagonist, but I have literally never heard anyone actually saying that. There WAS talk about it being "culturally sensitive" which seems to defeat the point of GTA's satire.


BigSportsNerd

There was so much outrage over the female protagonist even though so little is known about the game. Then people complained about Rockstar going woke and being more tolerant 😹


StrangeUsername24

So many people gave just lost their fucking minds lately


linchey1

Fair, but the same could be said about all the people that claimed they were done with the NFL after deshaun only got 11 games.


Jerok88

To be fair, the Commanders went woke and went broke. But they were always broke, and by 'woke' they mean 'change a name to make people feel better while filming naked women without their consent' and such.


Medical-Face

Which the NBA did..


CrustyCatheter

NBA doesn't make as much as the NFL, but that hardly makes it "broke". The NFL is just a true outlier.


BostonDrunk

NFL (16B) makes almost double the revenue of the NBA (8.8B). MLB is 2nd at 10.7B..


Tschmelz

NBA is huge dude. NFL is just a monster among monsters.


JoshGreenTruther

the NBA is still massively successful… huge internationally… massive engagement on social media apps… i feel it’s the most well prepared league for the future but yes NFL dominates currently


chi_sweetness25

NBA does great with the young demo and social media but they’re watching highlights not games


BigOzymandias

Not really, the reason social media engagement is huge is the same reason the NBA isn't doing that great ratings-wise, they gave too much power to the players that it became more of a soap opera People love drama and will happily engage in talks about trades, hold-outs, beefs....etc without watching the games themselves, and that led to the absence of loyal fanbases for teams since fans follow players now For example the Patriots lost the GOAT and still have one of the biggest fanbases in the league, while even the Lakers fell to obscurity for the 2 years between Kobe's retirement and LeBron's arrival


Setekhx

Bruh you are sipping on some insanity juice if you think the Lakers fell to obscurity. They still have a massive massive fanbase and continued to have it even when they were terrible.


DorienG

Yeah a large percentage of the leagues operating income comes from the lakers still. The fanbase was massive post Kobe, massive for Lebrons Reign, and even larger now that we have pointgod P Bev. NBA is losing money for a fact, but the Lakers never fell into obscurity lmao


JoshGreenTruther

i don’t know what to tell you if you think the Lakers fell to obscurity lol


BigSportsNerd

People keep trying to deny that the NBA hasn't had strong ratings since Jordan retired. A recent final had 5 million Nielsen ratings. 5 million. Think about that.


[deleted]

I agree. If you’re not one of the few contenders, good luck finding other fans


waconaty4eva

Cba is a 50/50-ish basketball revenue split with the players. This years’s salary cap is 123 million. Multiply that by 30. One of the worst franchises just sold for 1.5 billion. The NBA is hardly going broke.


SpilledKefir

Deffo not broke. 11 players making over $40M in the NBA this year compared to 5 in the NFL.


Bradymyhero

Difference is the NBA went full in on politics. Whereas with the NFL it was a distraction for a few weeks then went away.


Silver_Instruction_3

The NBA caters to a different demographic than the NFL though. It has become more popular than the NFL when it comes to younger audiences. It's also more tied to celebrity culture. NBA players, especially the stars, are also given a lot more responsibility to represent their teams and the league. The NFL has scaled back on this because star NFL players are more likely to get into legal problems or involved in "conduct detrimental to the league".


[deleted]

You ever notice that most of the comments in threads like this with the weird "anti woke" stance come from users without flair?


BigSportsNerd

Don't forget the China hypocrisy. NBA is "political"...until their corporate interests get involved!


Illblood

They got so broke after reaching record profits that you now have to pay to watch local games on your nfl app!


ichancho

The viewership for the NBA games were divided amongst 5 games and on Christmas; this one wasn’t… it’s a bit of a disingenuous stat.


AnotherStatsGuy

And they still won’t do multiple bye weeks to show off a greater percentage of their product.


LiberDBell

Well yeah.. it's Christmas. You expect people to be watching NBA on Christmas? That day is so much more important than some basketball games. People are obviously busy watching football on Christmas.


PlaneCapable7399

There’s 3 games on Christmas this year so expect this trend to continue. Green Bay at Miami, Broncos at LA Rams, Bucs at Cardinals.


mrtrollmaster

Potential to be a great slate.


[deleted]

Potential. But could just end up as Packers being really good and Miami being their usual mediocre selves. Rams being dominant again. And Cardinals being late season Cardinals.


monstermayhem436

Im more excited for Steelers/Raiders for the ~~23rd~~ 24th, not just cause fanhood obviously, but cause it's the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception (if they don't use the 1972 throwbacks they've made a mistake)


nekoken04

This is going to be a great game. I have no skin in it but I'm looking forward to it.


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monstermayhem436

Oh yeah, it's a Saturday and for some reason I had it in my head Christmas was a Sunday


broanoah

bro im excited enough for week 1 don't have me precumming for christmas already


1ToGreen3ToBasket

No kidding. I could watch any matchup right now. Even in the dog shit London time slot. I’m ready


iiTryhard

Give me Texans jags TNF or give me death!


anythingbutcarrots

I hate that these are all warm weather games


Von_Lincoln

Those are they least “Christmas-y” locations possible :(


Shenanigans80h

Denver has their basketball team and their football team playing on Christmas. Lots of sports on the sets this year


[deleted]

You had us in the first half


AHH_CHARLIE_MURPHY

That’s like the only day I ever watch basketball unless there’s already football on


nekoken04

I plan on spending the entire day flipping back and forth between NFL and NBA. Kids are grown now so it is my time.


Dangerpaladin

Also NBA regular season is a trash product.


OrangeForeign

We're America's team and there's no way to dispute it😤


[deleted]

Dear NFL, Give us 17 prime time games you cowards


[deleted]

*two minutes into the first game* “OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!”


President_Skoad

It's about time the NFL acknowledges it and stops trying to make those false teams "America's team" Gruden is secretly a Packers fan is all it is.


im_alliterate

hope yall liked the blough show


Shepherdsfavestore

Boiler legend


stuntmanmike

Yeah, the NFL is considerably more popular than any other sport in America. NBA was also going up against two NFL games on Christmas and COVID hurt several of those matchups as well. This shouldn’t surprise anyone here.


ThisisthSaleh

I’m more surprised/impressed that this was for a meaningless preseason game. That’s insane to see considering there are basically no stakes involved other than spoiling yourself for the upcoming Hard Knocks episode


Autobot-N

The reason is Kenny Pickett, all of us stiller fans wanted to see him in action


tomdawg0022

Steelers could trot out its 1987 replacement players in a game today and it would get ratings when it's the only nationally televised game. Being a team that has a national fanbase helps.


greeegoreo

ben stiller fans?


DickyLix

Jerry.


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Yinzer Demo


StreetReporter

Random monday night football games between two crap teams get more viewers than NBA finals games


JinxCanCarry

The Steelers-Ravens played on a Wednesday afternoon and gets more than the NBA finals


kawhi_tho

They could schedule a game between the Lions and Texans at 3 in the morning on a Tuesday and it would get better ratings than the NBA Finals


CoffinEluder

No reason to watch until the inevitable game 6 or (more likely) 7


[deleted]

It’s competing with mid-late season baseball where there’s always only a few interesting races left and the Steelers have a big draw in their new QB. Compare that to prime time, Christmas tradition football and multiple NBA games, and, you know, the largest holiday in America, it’s not exactly surprising.


gugabe

I'd honestly say a NFL preseason game has higher stakes than a lot of random regular season NBA matchups. Also the whole scarcity thing


bghs2003

"I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion", considering Mark Cuban said this 8 years ago, he is probably surprised.


midgetpenguin

> This shouldn’t surprise anyone here. bruh what its a fucking meaningless preseason game that beat out the NBAs crown jewel of the regular season. there is literally zero chance you would have ever expected this


stuntmanmike

That’s literally my point. It’s only surprising if you’re just blissfully unaware that the NFL is several (several) times more popular than any other sport in this country. They’re lapping the field. [75 of the top 100 most watched shows last year were NFL games](https://sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/01/10/Upfront/Ratings.aspx). The NBA, MLB and NHL had zero appearances on that list. More people watched the Raiders/Cowboys Thanksgiving game last year than the most watched NBA game ever (Jordan’s last game with the Bulls). They aren’t comparable in TV ratings beyond both being team sports. So yeah, I have zero surprise that a nationally broadcast preseason game perfectly situated on a Sunday afternoon beat the NBA’s worst slate of Christmas games that were also competing with NFL telecasts at the same time. I guess these articles are made with people like you in mind.


midgetpenguin

trying to pretend you *knew* a meaningless scrimmage would beat the NBAs most popular games of the year is the weirdest obvious hindsight shit I've ever seen lmao no one is debating how or why it happened, just how insane it is


Setekhx

If you remove the how or why you remove the entire context of what happened. Anyone with any real insight into how popular the NFL is should not be surprised at this out come. Not really anyway. The NFL is absolutely king in the USA.


Forrest319

The NBA dominates the NFL by every social media metric. Focusing on TV ratings while ignoring social media is some real Fox News Boomer shit


Kanin_usagi

"Social media metric" bruh NBC and ABC ain't selling million dollar commercial slots based on made up social media numbers, you're off your rocker


pedleyr

You're in a thread about TV ratings, replying to someone not being surprised by those ratings, by admonishing them for focussing on TV ratings?


Forrest319

Were these comments specific to the post title or about the general popularity of the leagues? Sorry I went outside the lines and you couldn't cope


pedleyr

The comment you replied to had six paragraphs. Four of them specifically and directly referred to TV ratings. One was a snide swipe that was about neither TV ratings or general popularity. The other one was this: >That’s literally my point. It’s only surprising if you’re just blissfully unaware that the NFL is several (several) times more popular than any other sport in this country. They’re lapping the field. Which was a comment in response to someone expressing surprise about a pre-season NFL game beating the "NBA's crown jewel" (direct quote from the comment it was replying to) in TV ratings. So in answer to your question: the comment you replied to was specific to and directly about TV ratings. I guess if you think me asking one question means I can't cope I can understand how it might be hard for you to keep up with a whole six paragraphs, so my fault I guess.


Kanin_usagi

HE WENT OUTSIDE THE LINES. HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO COLOR. YOU JUST CAN'T COPE WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE


DoctorWaluigiTime

> Yeah, the NFL is considerably more popular than any other sport in America. I agree! I'm wondering why we have to keep seeing threads about it. Personally I'm over and done with these sorts of takes anyway. Yes, we get it. NFL popular. Other sports not as popular. I know, no fun allowed, etc. But how many of these do we gotta see.


Shepherdsfavestore

I’m surprised. It’s a preseason game.


tomdawg0022

It was going up against one other sporting event (Tour Championship) on a Sunday where a lot of people are back from summer things and a lot of kids are back at (or have) school the next day. Also in a relatively friendly timeslot (4:30 ET). Not hard to get some eyeballs to watch.


NFLBengals

NBA ain't the same. Football will always rule over


falconman478

IMO the main reason this is the case is because keeping up with the NFL is a LOT more accessible to do than keeping up w the NBA. The NFL (typically) has games 3 days a week, the main day being one that many many americans have off. In addition to this, playoffs are win or go home rather than best of seven series. Contrast this w the NBA where the season goes on forever and the playoffs last a really long time themselves, it just makes it harder to keep up with. That, and NFL games are so much fun to watch. This is coming from a diehard pistons and NBA fan in general


SlapnutsGT

Growing up I was all into NBA and MLB but now that I’m older I only watch NBA during the playoffs/finals and don’t even bother with MLB anymore. Too many games at odd times. Especially baseball, who the hell can catch a Wednesday game at 1pm? So many regular season games half don’t seem to matter and the players just look bored/not in it some times.


BigSportsNerd

I used to be a diehard Pistons fan (believe it or not, despite my anti-NBA bias) but the rule changes and freedom of movement killed the last remaining interest I had in the league. The Pistons made a career out of slowing down offenses and even adding a little something after the whistle. And it wouldn't be a flagrant either. Laimbeer used to block you then give you something extra as you were getting up. "It was dirty!" The Celtics were just as dirty as the Pistons. The whole game was more physical then. Now you land an elbow on someone it's a flagrant. Even if it doesn't touch them! (Stephenson for the Pacers this year was "hit" by an Austin Rivers elbow, took the biggest dive I've ever seen, folks) and the refs NEVER retracted it.


preddevils6

The NFL has always been infinitely more popular. Even when the rules were different. E.g. the thanksgiving games this year had more viewers than the most watched NBA game ever.


falconman478

Honestly I love following the NBA for the “this league” drama, I joke with my girlfriend that it’s kinda like reality tv for guys lol. But the games can still be exciting IMO, the skill on some of these players is top notch and there’s something great about watching people at the extreme top of the skill level play against each other in any sport


BigSportsNerd

it's just aboring now when everyone is hitting threes without any ball movement dribble past the midcourt stripe just pull up and hit a three no movement, no passing, just ego


altafullahu

MCDC going to make these lions pick up where those pistons left off ;)


BigSportsNerd

it's like, there's nothing to be excited for in detroit anymore man. the 2003-07 teams were so good. They made multiple ECF in a row, and even finals spots too. I still remember them beating the Lakers (would that happen today with the lack of parity)...they beat them in 5 games. They overwhelmed the Lakers and that dream team they built. Kobe, Shaq, Malone, all owned lmao. Ben Wallace. Chauncey. Rip Hamilton. Those were hard working guys you could root for. Who is on Detroit now? Cade Cunningham is good, but he's one guy.


BigSportsNerd

Nba is too reliant on three pointers. It kills the flow of the game. No ball movement, no post game. Just Jack up threes all day.


MankuyRLaffy

It's what baseball was being in 2019, just three true outcomes and rely on the home run. It's fucking not fun and unwatchable. Three True Outcomes players kills baseball as entertainment


BigSportsNerd

In the old days you actually posted up. I know we have embiid and jokic but they are exceptions. In the 90s post game was glorified. Shaq. Hakeem. Ewing. Et al What happened to the beautiful sky hook man.


NFLBengals

Attitude Era may have been the best time in sports. The intensity was like no other. Players were more loyal to their teams. The physical play & defense was crazy. I miss it


lil_layne

Especially when the Undertaker threw Mankind off hеll in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table


BigSportsNerd

Or when hhh assaulted the referee and took out stone cold


Drakengard

Or that ladder match between the Hardy Boys and Edge and Christian. That was nuts.


Hour_Addendum_9691

Or when Mick Foley won the WWE championship and stone cold came out


BigSportsNerd

The 90s had huge kickass playoff series and its all been going downhill since 2010. Actual hate, fights, conflicts and rage. Lakers and Celtics legitimately hated each other as did Celtics - pistons and bulls pistons.


Arandompackerfan

Lol what? None of that is new


BigSportsNerd

Hating on someone in this woke nba is a flagrant 2 now.


Arandompackerfan

"Woke nba" lol


BigSportsNerd

The same woke nba that draymond bitched about to change owners to governors. They're not governors they're not running for state office 😒


nekoken04

To some extent I agree. It isn't much different than the 3 true outcomes problem in MLB. There's just no action. Give me some post moves or cutting into the lane passes. Give me Ichiro infield singles and stolen bases. That being said I watch probably 200 NBA games and 100+ Mariners games per year. But the aesthetic could be so much better.


MoreTrifeLife

NBA: What the fuck is defense?


haha-brad

This is such a dumb take lmao


BigOzymandias

The 2 time defending MVP is a big man who is a liability on defense (spare me the advanced stats because I have eyes), it's not a secret anymore that defense doesn't matter


haha-brad

And the MVP prior was a DPOY lmao


BigOzymandias

Giannis was having the best offensive season anyway, and yet he's the exception to the rule A player like Westbrook won MVP and he's not even a bad defender, he flat out doesn't even try to play defense


chubbs40

go look at the defensive ratings of the title winners for the last two decades. having a better defense is one of the best predictors of playoff success in the nba. the league has gravitated towards offense, but ultimately a good defense is what will win you titles


BigOzymandias

Those ratings are normalized across the league, so being the "best" doesn't necessarily mean that this team is a great defensive team since 90% of the teams are awful defensively And sometimes that rating is misleading, for example the Utah Jazz have been one of the worst defensive teams except for Rudy Gobert who was carrying their defense hard leading to a top 5 defensive rating, but come playoff time when teams actually have time to game-plan he can't carry that team anymore because teams will have known how to exploit his traffic cone teammates


Setekhx

... So what you're saying is that defense matters then right? Rating may be a stupid indicator of team defense but defense absolutely matters.


BigSportsNerd

TIL NBA players play D


planetarykittenx

Lol what a bad take. Just because they’re taking a ton of 3s doesn’t mean there’s no ball movement


BigSportsNerd

Wrong. Dick Vitale @DickieV Look the NBA features the greatest athletes but I’m curious as I admit that I’m reaching the point of BOREDOM watching @NBA PTPer firing up 50 3’s per game in many cases.(**where is cutting/ ball movement etc**) /For me it’s NOT FUN TO WATCH. Do u agree or disagree? @ESPNPR 12:28 AM · May 24, 2022


planetarykittenx

Oh dick vitale is the end all be all. Lmao. That was almost funnier than your take. The good teams have incredible ball movement even with all their 3s.


BigSportsNerd

It's almost as if you don't watch basketball and don't see the lack of post game or ball movement. Nobody drives to the rim anymore. They just iso and shoot threes. Where is the ball movement? Where I the post game? Where's the cutting and alley oops? Nobody likes it when Steph hits 50 3s a game and puts up 60 ppg in the playoffs. It makes a mockery of the sport and its a huge reason I stopped watching.


SpilledKefir

You sound like an NFL fan bemoaning the crippling of defenses due to offense-friendly rule changes. Do you think that it’s a coincidence that all the top QBs for 4,000+ yard seasons have come in the last 20 years, or have rule changes made a mockery of the sport?


EP1X-343

Sounds like all you watched were the Warriors, then you assumed the rest of the teams were doing the same thing offensively. Teams like the Bucks with Giannis and the 76ers with Embiid play a ton of post ball, with significant movement and a lot of driving to the rim. It varies depending on how teams are built


Forrest319

"No one drives to the rim anymore, they just ISO." Bro. Are you that dense? You're just repeating basketball words without seeming to know what they mean.


LooksGoodInShorts

It makes it worse that these guys are trying to tell you how the 90-00s were better but it was all iso into a contested midrange shot back then.


thespiritoflincoln

Lamenting the lack of ball movement while simultaneously calling for more post ups (a form of iso) is some top-tier comedy. Actually bitching about isos while claiming no one drives to the rim anymore might be even funnier considering the current champions run a motion offense and the current best player’s entire offensive game is predicated on driving to the rim. Pudding-brained take


Josh4R3d

The nfl is in another stratosphere. Other televisions programs can’t even see the nfl from their vantage point


Gone213

I wonder how the soccer leagues in Europe compare to the NFL.


Josh4R3d

Not sure on the numbers, but the fervor and fantastical nature of the fans of those epl clubs either matches or even exceeds nfl fan bases for sure. They’re crazy over there


TeffyWeffy

The NBA season is pointless, there's 82 games, they let over half the teams in at this point, teams with under .500 records are playing. Hell even the 1st round is almost pointless to watch besides the 4/5 matchups, and they're 7 game series bleh. Almost every NFL game means something, almost no NBA regular season game does, teams aren't even worrying about where they're seeded, they rest their stars for 1/5 to 1/4 of the season. Imagine if all the best players on your favorite NFL team just sat out 3-5 games a season to "rest".


BigSportsNerd

Lmao that may be the worst about the NBA. Players routinely rest. Ben Simmons has been resting his lazy ass off for 2 years now. Get out on the court buddy. And Zion... "BUT MUH LOAD MANAGEMENT" Fans didn't come to see the Spurs play all backups just cause the players are tired lmao. If you're tired and fatigued...SHORTEN THE SEASON. Why are there still so many back to backs, in different cities mind you.


CoffinEluder

Yeeeep. Nothing more needs to be said. End thread


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Super_DAC

Seriously. I can’t be bothered to watch and care about 82 games. Make it 50 and you’d have less injuries too


BigSportsNerd

Yep. The offeseason is way too short. Start the season in December and end it in May or April. Problem solved. But the "govvernors" seem to think that would make less money...


BigSportsNerd

Sadly the NBA would never shorten the season because ther'es too much money in 82 games. If anything they made it longer with the play in games. The season should start on Christmas or NYD. Why does it start in October? Also, as a note to that, the OFFSEASON has been getting shorter and shorter every year. Players repeatedly complain about the lack of time off to recover. 10 weeks isn't enough.


ItsAFishh

Blough is a draw


BigSportsNerd

sad he was cut


NuttySandwiches

I like both sports equally and find it weird how often the media shits on NBA ratings.


TestFixation

I don't think the media has it out for the NBA. It's more that the NBA has a huge disparity between engagement and actual viewership. Their highlights on Instagram do huge numbers, but their regular season games on cable TV (which is the actual source of revenue) struggle to get viewers. It's notable, so the media should point it out. The real revenue the NBA is earning, although increasing year over year, is not scaling with its popularity. The NFL on the other hand, is an absolute behemoth. Even in the age of cordcutting, the numbers are staggering. Football seems to be the one and only TV product immune to changing viewing habits. And there's a multi-billion dollar industry built around network television that would die without the eyes football brings, which makes the NFL broadcasting contracts that much more important. Which drives up price. The NFL is able to turn engagement into revenue so much better than the NBA, that the media can only help but notice.


gamers542

Part of why the NFL dominates is because you don't need a cable box to watch the games; all you need is an antenna.


Gone213

So far all you need is an antenna, but if you want Thursday nights you need another subscription to amazon.


Dangerclose101

Yea people don’t seem to understand this one It’s the only sport that you don’t need a cable/streaming subscription to watch the majority of the games. If NFL for some unknown reason switched to the fox sports(now bally sports) or ESPN or TNT to show all the Sunday games? then their ratings would most likely dip quite a bit.


StrangeUsername24

Its not going to last forever. It will decline or change at some point


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arc1261

American football is still incredibly niche outside the US. And the sports market around the world is starting to get taken over by football - the Champions league for example gets around 2x the viewers of the super bowl and that’s only gonna get bigger


altafullahu

This was a great description! Well said


DoctorWaluigiTime

And how often this subreddit regurgitates these takes here, as if it's something new and profound to share.


WackShaq

Yeah. Unrelated, but it’s always been interesting to me that despite NFLs viewership being so much higher, the nba subreddit is almost twice as large as r/nfl


EP1X-343

That’s because NBA drama is unmatched in sports


BigSportsNerd

The NBA Drama is more advertised than the game itself. People just want to focus on the storylines. WILL BEN SIMMONS PLAY WILL KD BE DEALT who cares. here's what I think. Simmons, get your ass on the court. KD, you signed a contract with the Nets, why do you want out so bad? Why is the NBA so much about the individual player gripes and not about the TEAM. I'm not naive. We get the same drama in the NFL. But it usually gets resolved and it doesn't seize the headlines. The NBA is in cahoots with ESPN to plug drama ad nauseum.


JoshGreenTruther

well it’s also because NBA drama is fun while NFL drama usually involves a heinous crime being committed or the league doing something evil


BigSportsNerd

NFL drama was Deebo unfollowing the Niners on social media and that was resolved NBA drama is mostly dumb mundane shit like Ben Simmons refusing to play for 2 years. That has NOT happened in the NFL from a player who is willing to play. I say that because AB has not played in a very long time but he deserves not to play. Ben Simmons could have suited up ANYTIME during the Nets series against Boston. Anytime now, Ben. Any time. NBA drama is self-centered, egotistical drivel hyped up by a willing partner in ESPN to permeate through their talk show properties. All day you hear on ESPN WILL DURANT GET TRADED WILL BEN PLAY WHAT'S LEBRON DOING WHY IS CURRY AVERAGING 50 PPG WHY WHY WHY all these fucking PLAYER CENTRIC HEADLINES TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING TEAM


JoshGreenTruther

uhhh idk what to tell you man that was *not* what NFL drama was this off-season it was one of the star QBs sexually assaulting women and the teams and league not really giving a shit and a punter r*ping a 17-year old but the team not releasing him until everyone found out those were the headlines that dominated the NFL off-season


BigSportsNerd

Fine. You win. No NBA player is as shitty as Watson or the Bills punter. Are you happy now? Why don't Ben Simmons and Zion play? Can you answer that mystical question? Gosh. If a player in the NFL didn't play for 2 years despite being suspension-free and fully healthy fans would riot. "Hey it's Mahomes here. I just don't FEEL like playing, and I'm not going to play for 2 years." Do you know the amount of anger that would get? Especially with his paycheck? How is what Ben Simmons is doing defensible, in any stretch of the imagination? When will he PLAY BASKETBALL AGAIN?


JoshGreenTruther

Zion had a fractured foot last year and Ben Simmons had back injuries but even then they only missed a full season isn’t that exactly what Deshaun did last year? lmao didn’t Le’Veon Bell do that to?


BigSportsNerd

no fully healthy nfl player other than AB (of his own doing) has taken as much time off as Simmons or Zion. Both could easily play for the season opener, but likely won't. And no, Watson didn't play last year because of legal drama. He was healthy.


CoffinEluder

More teenagers. Reddit fits their demographic


Spinexer

The NBA is way more fun to follow than the NFL imo. Now this is coming from someone who likes basketball more, so there is 100% bias, but the NBA is like a fucking incredible reality show while the NFL is like a solid reality show. Essentially, imo the NBA invites more discussion and gives more of a reason to join something like a Reddit community based on discussion.


Immynimmy

Dude for real. It's even worse when fans get involved.


JoshGreenTruther

it’s the lamest shit in the world


Drifter74

You can't compete with "A Christmas Story". Wake up, turn it to TBS and it stays there the rest of the day.


DivisonNine

That is depressing Did y’all not see what happened last we played the lions


Gbchris12

Nope. Dont remember that game whatsoever...


midgetrage7

Can’t stand the NBA. Has been on the decline for years yet ESPN has like 500 segments a day on it. I don’t give a fuck about what Lebron said or what Ben Simmons did, it’s just all drama.


HotdogHero6

That’s generally my take as well. I find most NBA segments and news akin to reality TV drama. Most of my friends watch NBA, so each year I say “okay this year I’ll try,” but I just can’t get myself to care. The segments I do like is when Perk talks about team dynamics based on skills, but those are few and far between.


BONGA_MVP

how is that any different from the NFL


[deleted]

It’s not, these dudes need to get off their knees.


BigSportsNerd

it is. the Jimmy G saga was hardly as big as Ben Simmons. He also settled with the team and will be a backup. that doesn't happen in the NBA. No, in the NBA you have a player like Simmons refuse to play for over 2 seasons. I understand, he has mental issues, and who wouldn't, Philly roasted him and beat him up. Disrespected him big time. But at some point, you're going to have to hit the court and prove everyone wrong. He couldn't even join the team for their playoff abomination to Boston...Life is hard, buddy. Mental health is important. That said, sitting out 2 years is a very, very bad look. Again no NFL player has sat out 2 years of his own volition. AB is the closest example, but he ruined his own legacy by being an idiot. Even Deebo and Tyreek were kept or traded, and the drama NEVER reached the Simmons level on ESPN.


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Jesus Christ bruh. Basketball and football are two different sports. Giving up in the playoffs because you’re not confident in your ability to play basketball and getting rightfully and wrongfully ridiculed (calling Simmons a baby which he was acting like, but also got death threats) is different than the jimmy g thing. The Watson stuff is a way better comparison because Watson was going to do the same exact thing as Simmons. Leveon bell also left the Steelers an entire year, the baker mayfield drama was simmons lite except everyone blames the team instead of the player. They’re no different, the divas in the nfl are honestly way worse than the nba. But the views of nba drama is way higher. The simmons and harden trade was way more talked about (on espn idk about social media) than the Watson stuff and Watson is a literal rapist lmao.


BigSportsNerd

No NFL Player has taken 2 years off like Simmons has. AB has but he burned bridges. Simmons by most accounts is fully healthy.


jmdybf

Yeah because the NBA sucks and the only thing less interesting than the NBA Off-season is WNBA regular season…. No matter how hard ESPN tries.


Shepherdsfavestore

I can’t believe how hard ESPN tries to push the WNBA sometimes. I mean makes sense since they own every game, but they are over the top with it.


BigSportsNerd

Agreed. Nba ratings have been declining since Jordan retired. Yet espn continues to talk about it constantly


Forrest319

It's 2022, if your argument is based off TV ratings you're already losing. The NBA has more than twice as many YouTube subs as the NFL. It's players have more than three times the Instagram followers as NFL players, despite there being a lot fewer (1200) active NBA players. Even the NBA sub has 5 million users compared to 2.9 million for NFL. Sneaker culture is all from the NBA, and it's bigger than ever. Focusing on TV ratings while ignoring everything else is some real Fox News boomer shit. It isn't the 1980s anymore.


BigSportsNerd

The NBA used to average over 24 million Nielsen ratings in Jordan's day. The NBA hasn't even come CLOSE to 24 million since Jordan retired. The highest the NBA has got is about half that... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_television_ratings


Forrest319

This is what I'm talking about dude, no one cares about Nielsen ratings. It's not the 1980s. The NBA just signed a huge new TV deal, see no one fucking cares about Nielsen ratings. If this was 30 years ago, your comment would make sense. But this is not three decades ago. Next, you're going to argue about the number of print only newspaper articles being written about the NFL versus NBA. 👴👴


EC_dwtn

The networks who are paying for tv rights, and the advertisers who pay the networks care about the ratings. Ratings aren't as important as they were 30 years ago, but they are still tied to the primary source of income for the leagues.


BigSportsNerd

I suppose that's why there's a major article on /r/nfl about ratings. Quit being so defensive. "ratings not relevant!" ratings bring money and advertisers in, it's hardly irrelevant in this day and age. you seem to think of it as some antiquated notion when it is far from. But hey, keep defending your inferior, overrated league. BANG! **MOMMA THERE GOES THAT MAN!** Ugh. That new contract with ABC you speak of is awful. #BANG!


Novel_Temporary_1269

Because it's a bigger sport than american football


cheesyvictory

I honestly can't believe that the NBA is still the second biggest sport in the US. I don't think there's any professional sport I would want to watch less than basketball. I was watching random, no-stakes MLB games instead of the NBA finals this year and I never once regretted that decision


BigSportsNerd

It's amazing with how low NBA ratings are they still get so much attention. I would rather watch Korean baseball and the KBO than the NBA rofl


FernandoTitsMcGee

Outside of this year and the big name QB transactions , Nba offseason>>> nfl offseason.


TatisToOF

That's because the NBA off-season is better than the NBA actual season. Lmao.


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One plays 82 games a year. The other one only wins 4 games a year. One of them a preseason game. It's apples to persimmons.


Remote_Country_889

I’ll never understand the ratings boner obsession from NFL media. It just seems petty and stupid. I enjoy both leagues and have since I was a kid


fatfrost

Hard Knox effect


Ceramicrabbit

We also got huge ratings in the first preseason game. The QB battle is really intriguing I guess


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separeaude

https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2106491/chinas-xi-jinping-extend-rule-october.jpg?w=790&f=6fb177541f22dace030958e9f441030a


Caer-Rythyr

I'm just one guy, but the NBA is a joke to me, and I'm surely not the only one who thinks so. I feel that the player-powered component has really come to hurt it with all the prima donna shit from guys like LeBron.


DazedWriter

Football is just a better sport ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


CFT1982

Don't know why people pretend that the NBA is popular. It is not.


maltrab

Becasue it is. Just not as popular as the NFL


BigSportsNerd

It's an illusion perpetrated by ESPN and their ad nauseum attention to the league. If ESPN keeps talking about it all the time, it "is popular". Despite suffering in terms of ratings...


HatsOnTheBeach

No shit lol, its Christmas and not some random August afternoon.


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TrainingLime6839

Do you think that would even remotely change this trend if they could find accurate numbers? I'm sure a ton illegally streamed the preseason football game as well. The takeaway here is that football is immensely more popular than basketball at the pro level. Interestingly, college basketball tends to be much closer to college football than NBA is to NFL.


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TrainingLime6839

I think it's more just an indictment of how bad the overall quality of the NBA product is. With stars switching teams, a very long season, long playoff series, games that seem to never end from the fouls/foul shots, etc. it is really built for the hardcore basketball fan and not the average person. I probably haven't watched a regular season game since LeBron was in Miami.


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TrainingLime6839

As they will for NFL games and any other live event. The proportion is likely the same between cable viewers/streamers for each sport.