By: Cameron Miller
Friday, December 11 2009
Attending an NFL game can be one of the most exhilirating experiences for a sports fan. Few other events can match the enthusiasm an NFL crowd has. Even the lowly Detroit Lions have a contingent of fans that scream their brains out in support of their team. Unfortunately as the economy trends downwards and fewer people can afford to attend games like they had in the past owners are looking for ways to spice up their game.
The trend of NFL games nowadays is not just to push the product of their football team, but to create an experience for even non football fans to enjoy. According to the Detroit Lions website there are 132 suites in Ford Field, all of which can be rented for corporate parties and have multiple diversions including television and full service from Ford Field Staff, and 56 permanent concession stands along with 39 portable ones. Also included in Ford Field are the two enormous endzone boards that measure in at 27x96 feet. The boards are often used for displaying information irrelevent to football, such as the much maligned kissing camera. Some venues extort the scoreboard even further; one of the biggest attractions in football this season was the unveiling of the Dallas Cowboys new video screen that stretches from one twenty yard line to the other, ultimately proving size does matter.
In addition to these amenities the Lions are featuring their new "all you can eat seats" this year. The promotion has been pushed so hard that there are ads featured not only in newspapers and on the Lions website, but they have been stuffed inside every pizza I've had over the last month, I've seen this discount coupon so much I've begun to ask for ink as my third topping.
(I hope to comprise this paragraph with quotes from Ruben Luna on how amenities have changed the experience of an NFL game.)
( I have also yet to interview a second non expert source I am hoping to provide his opinions here.)
It is true that the experience is changing, but according to long time Lions fan Josh Rozales it's not necessarily for the worse. "It adds a new dimension to the experience, I think an environment for more people to enjoy. Now that games are more appealing to people who aren't that into sports I might be able to get my wife to go to more games since they have more to offer than beer drinking pigs screaming curse words at players."
Josh may be right, while the procedure of today's game may differ from that of the past, it doesn't necessarily mean it's for the worse. After all, as long as we keep filling the seats we will always have a team, and who knows maybe someday it'll be a good one.
Here are some other links that contain information on this topic.
http://www.epinions.com/sprt-review-17C-13906588-394549A8-prod1
http://sportscareers.about.com/b/2009/08/30/nfl-rules-on-dallas-scoreboard-placement.htm
http://www.detroitlions.com/ford-field/facts-history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Field
and as always more information on Ford Field can be found at
www.detnew.com
www.freep.com
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I can honestly say I have never gone to an NFL game, but I do someday want to go. The reason that keeps me from going is because of price - it costs too much for a few hours at the football field when I can watch the game for free in the comfort of my home. And, I can have whatever snacks I want not worrying about leaving the park with one less arm and leg. I would have to say I agree that attending games seems to be something that only the "rich" people do nowadays.
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