The RAIDERRRS and the CHA-JERS both blacked out Sunday in California

[givemebackmycountry]

Silver and Blackout!
Go Cha-jers GO!

Way to go NFL.
Your going to kill the golden goose with 25K psl's and the insane idea of 18 games.
There were LOTS of empty seats for the Giants home opener.
Tom Brady whining about fans leaving early from Gillette, and I understand THAT place is a nightmare to get out of.

Arrowhead on Monday was a anomaly.

The rise of HD TV's and digital surround sound and Direct TV and REDZONE TV (crack on TV) and no 40 dollar parking and 10 dollar beers, is going to shift the landscape.

Is the NFL headed for retraction?

[KamaAina]

1. The Chargers blacked out?!

We're used to the Raiders thing. In fact, after last week, it's kind of a relief. :P

But the Chargers? I mean, there's this vast, football-deprived metropolis about two hours to their north, for Pete's sake (or, by their standards, slightly longer than the average commute :P) . I hope this isn't part of some nefarious scheme to entice them to move up the 5 (when they really should be enticing Jacksonville :-) )!

[madinmaryland]

2. Yeah it is. Eliminating the West Coast teams is the goal. nt

[TZ]

3. Ummm how bad is Californias economy?

Do you think everyone has oodles of money to go to these games? Its actually surprising there aren't MORE blackouts. Hell even the years long "waitlist" in DC is kinda not real because the Skins are having trouble selling their club seats.
But yeah, its only because the NFL is conspiring agaisnt those teams. Everybody knows that every one can afford to pay 1,000 bucks to go see ONE football game. :sarcasm:
How do people not fucking get that the economy is affecting EVERYTHING. And no the NFl isn't going to contract any team. The NFL is in much better shape than MLB, NBA, NHL and I don't hear talks of contracting for those leagues.

[trotsky]

4. As TMQ always says...

there is no universal law that says the NFL has to remain the most popular sport in America. Blackouts are dumb anyway, let alone in a time when the economy is still tough. There are people who love to see a game in person, and there are people who like sitting on the recliner with a $1 beer versus an $8 one, paying nothing for parking, and having unlimited bathroom breaks while being able to pause the game on their TiVo and not miss a moment. The NFL has to continue to appeal to both of these fans, or their popularity will wane.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. Yup. High def TV is having an effect on attendance.

It's especially noticeable in areas that are hard hit by the bad economy and for teams that are less than competitive.

I went to a Rays game last year and took a friend of mine that is disabled, his kid and his kid's best friend. It cost me $150 bucks to sit way out in left field where we couldn't even read the numbers on the jerseys. That plus gas, food and souvenirs ran the total up to over $250. And since I live 90 miles one way from the park it involved a 3 hour round trip.

Once we're there (It was Carl Crawford bobble head day) we sit down next to some riff raff and when the people in front of us leave to go the the bathroom this scumbag steals their kid's bobble head.

To top it all off MLB won't allow the game to be shown on the jumbo-trons so the whole day was pretty much a bust.

I'd rather stay home and watch it from the comfort of my recliner where the beer is cold and the hot dogs are hot and it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. Plus I can see the damn game.