Ticket prices are part of it, but for me, it is burnout. I am a recovering football addict that lived and died by how the Browns, Buckeyes and local teams did. But I grew up in the age of four teams per region and four divisions. As a kid, the biggest games I attended were Avon Lake vs Bay and Elyria Catholic vs Lorain Catholic. Those games were always intense...well, as time went on some of the games became lopsided, but the events themselves were intense. The games were intense because everyone at the game watched every play and then immediately reacted to it with the people around them. It was important to win, because we knew the opponents and we knew that bragging rights were important. It was great to make the playoffs, but if we did and lost to a team from four counties away, it didn't really matter!
I no longer watch the NFL, college and I'm drifting away from high school as well. There's just too much meaningless football being played and I realized that the more football I consumed, the less I actually cared about the game. My daughter is in her final season in marching band. I'll be at the games until her team is out, but the overall lack of enthusiasm from the crowds and communities is noticeable. I don't know if anyone else is feeling this way, but there were a number of us (parents) who rolled our eyes just a little when we realized there was going to be another week of football.
