So if it doesn't sell out.....

[Cincyfan78]

I have to believe that the NFL will make exceptions for Playoffs...I could see them giving teams longer than Friday, if possible, to secure a sell-out.

The NFL, though, needs to see this as a big problem. With prices and with the black-out rule, in general. There is a bigger issue at hand when you have places like IND, GB, etc...struggling to sell out games.

 

[bengaldoug]

I think GB is only struggling to sell out because of the projected -15 temps. Don't they have like a 40 year waitlist for season tickets?

 

[JDM]

The games will be on TV. The NFL created this problem and they'll fix it. They cannot even sell out Green Bay. So there is no way they black out these games. If they do decide to be dicks about it, then I think Congress gets involved very quickly and hammers the hell of out of them. People are tired of this shit anyways.

Congress gets involved for what? Blacking out games that can't sell the seats isn't new policy. It's not illegal policy. It's not even unfair policy. If the city doesn't support the franchise, then why should their games be televised?

 

[Cincyfan78]

I think GB is only struggling to sell out because of the projected -15 temps. Don't they have like a 40 year waitlist for season tickets?

They have more people on the waiting list than Cincinnati has season ticket holders. No bull.

The issue is, those who have season tix aren't buying the playoff tix, and I assume it can take a while to round those tickets back to the public.

And, as you stated...expected temps and wind-chill....

 

[Cincyfan78]

Congress gets involved for what? Blacking out games that can't sell the seats isn't new policy. It's not illegal policy. It's not even unfair policy. If the city doesn't support the franchise, then why should their games be televised?

if expected temps are to be around 0 degrees and negative wind-chill, why should you risk anything to simpyl sell out a game.

The long term viability of your fans, and their experience, affects more than just selling out one playoff game.

I mean, I'm glad the Bengals made the playoffs, but if expected temps were to be in the negatives, I would not be going. Not worth it, and I don't blame people at all.

 

[bengaldoug]

I apologize for making two threads for this. Not sure how that happened. If a mod wants to merge the two, or even delete one of them that is fine with me.

 

[DanBengalfan]

It was a long time ago, but one time in Cincinnati I yelled to "make some noise" when the other team had possession on 3rd and long someone in Cincinnati asked me to sit down and shut up. you'd think I was at a golf tournament. Rich people who are only mildly interested in football can only fill the stands so much. In our town, the fans are more likely to yell and scream when the Bengals offense has the ball, which again shows you the people at the game are their because they can afford it, not because they love football.

 

[bengaldoug]

They have more people on the waiting list than Cincinnati has season ticket holders. No bull.

The issue is, those who have season tix aren't buying the playoff tix, and I assume it can take a while to round those tickets back to the public.

And, as you stated...expected temps and wind-chill....

I was at the freezer bowl in '82, and I freely admit it's the dumbest thing I have ever done. Our seats were in the first row of the red boxes in old Riverfront Stadium, where the wind was the worst. We sat in our seats for the first play, then got up and walked the aisles the rest of the game following the ball. I truly believe we would have frozen to death if we stayed in those seats. But hey, in my defense I was only 25. Youthful enthusiasm is stronger than common sense at that age.

 

[JDM]

if expected temps are to be around 0 degrees and negative wind-chill, why should you risk anything to simpyl sell out a game.

The long term viability of your fans, and their experience, affects more than just selling out one playoff game.

I mean, I'm glad the Bengals made the playoffs, but if expected temps were to be in the negatives, I would not be going. Not worth it, and I don't blame people at all.

I'm not saying it's an awesome business decision, but it's every bit within their contractual rights to do so.

If you're scared of a little cold, though, you're not a real fan.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I'm not saying it's an awesome business decision, but it's every bit within their contractual rights to do so.

If you're scared of a little cold, though, you're not a real fan.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's about the experience, how much you would enjoy it, and how much you are paying for that experience.

When temps are expected to be at negative degrees, that has nothing to do with being a "real" fan. There are some serious health concerns that go a long with exposure to temperatures like that.

You can be a fan in a multitude of ways without buying a ticket. You can't judge for someone else what their experience is worth, or how much they are willing to tolerate to see a game.

 

[Cincyfan78]

And yes, it is contractually, within their rights. No argument there.

That doesn't make it a smart decision, though. Two different things.

 

[JDM]

The post I responded to said congress would get involved.

 

[NCBengal]

I think Congress will make some noise about it to the league b/c people will call them and bitch. Just cage rattling the NFL offices.

It will be on TV so this argument is moot to me.

 

[bengaldoug]

The post I responded to said congress would get involved.

There has been some attention to this already in Congress. I wouldn't be surprised if this issue came up soon enough. The congress seems more interested in messing with stuff like this than doing their real job.

 

[DanBengalfan]

If you convince them it has something to do with Obamacare maybe they'll get involved.

 

[JBUCK66]

looks like a bizzarro world week. jbuck watches the game while you natives watch gamecast

 

[cincygrad]

Congress gets involved for what? Blacking out games that can't sell the seats isn't new policy. It's not illegal policy. It's not even unfair policy. If the city doesn't support the franchise, then why should their games be televised?

Lawmakers have already been involved.

NFL TV blackout rule flagged by lawmakers - Brooks Boliek - POLITICO.com

The writing is on the wall -- The NFL blackout policy is outdated and will soon be gone. Book it.

 

[cincygrad]

They have more people on the waiting list than Cincinnati has season ticket holders. No bull.

The issue is, those who have season tix aren't buying the playoff tix, and I assume it can take a while to round those tickets back to the public.

And, as you stated...expected temps and wind-chill....

They don't pay 100 bucks a game for their season tickets. I don't blame them for not wanting to pay that for the playoffs.

 

[JDM]

Having three of the four wildcard round games blacked out would definitely stir up some serious shit. I'm sure there will be political pressure brought to the NFL over this. That's the only reason the blackouts could get lifted.

No, there wouldn't. 99% of the country sees those games and don't care. We'll just laugh at the areas that weren't good enough fan bases to fill up their own seats.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The NFL isn't interested in screwing over local markets because of policies they created. It's also bad for NFL marketing for the headlines about blackouts in three of the four games this weekend. My feeling is that there will be a quiet agreement between the club, the local CBS affiliate, and the NFL. The game will be declared a sell out sometime on Friday afternoon, once ticket sales have completely stopped. There will still be tickets available at ticket office on Saturday and Sunday even though the game is 'sold out.' You'll probably see pockets of the stadium (upper corners) without people on Sunday.

See...if you were playing us you wouldn't have such problem...lol.

Just bustin...the game won't be blacked out...the local TV station, some big local business, etc. will take of the remaining tickets...doubling the price for a playoff game would make me think twice too if I were a season ticket holder.