The NFL Is Everything NASCAR Is Not -- November 20, 2018

They're back to televising the national anthem preceding NFL games. At least in some cases. The NFL figured out how to "orchestrate" that. Well played, NFL.

I quit watching the NFL some time ago, although I would watch parts of games that were particularly interesting for some reason. But gradually, I have been lured back into watching.

Last night the game lived up to all the hype.

From Drudge:

The NFL had planned to pit one of the best of the AFC against one of the best of the NFC mid-season in Mexico City -- sort of foreshadowing the Super Bowl, I suppose. Because the football field in Mexico City was not "safe" for players -- the field, not the stadium -- the NFL, at the last minute, moved the game to Los Angeles, to be played in the Coliseum, a venue that had not seen the NFL in years (decades?). There was a lot of scrambling to fill the seats, including getting entire families of players there and giving away lots of free tickets. Result: it appeared to be a standing room only event. The cheering / yelling / enthusiasm was non-stop.

The game lived up to the hype; in fact, exceeded the hype.

A google search provides this example:

Two stories from hundreds:

• Rams-Chiefs broke the NFL for good, so what happens next?
• Rams outlast Chiefs 54-51 in record Monday night showdown 

The best thing about last night's game: Kaepernick was nowhere to be found. Nowhere. Rumors are floating that he wants to play again. At least one team is in desperate need of a back-up quarterback; if Kaepernick's phone does not ring .... let's only hope. He's making a ton of money off the fields, but one can conservatively say he gave up $71 million for his foolishness. We'll come back to that later.

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Where did that $71 million figure come from? Here.

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The NFL Is Everything NASCAR Is Not

Some random thoughts; some my own; most of them stolen from others:

• NASCAR is dying: the stands for the championship race were half-full at best
• A mid-season NFL game hastily arranged became a standing-room-only event
• NASCAR no longer has any story lines and it's not just because the "great names" have retired
• NASCAR has changed the "game" so much it has become boring even for rabid fans (and, oh, by the way, rabies is fatal)
• NASCAR seldom lives up to the hype
• several weeks ago it looked like the Truex-Logano feud would make the championship race exciting
• Truex faded early and never offered any real competition for Logano
• the championship race was so boring one reader suggested next year they should race tractors or combines (threshing machines for NYC readers)
• NASCAR stage racing: this would be akin to the NFL starting each quarter afresh, 0 - 0, and only the fourth quarter really counting; giving a single point to the "winner" of each quarter towards "points" for a championship game
• I go back and forth on stage racing, but for the championship race, stage racing was ridiculous
• from what I can tell, NASCAR has no ideas on how to change; how to become relevant again
• after last night's NFL game between the AFC Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC Los Angeles Rams, both 9-1 going into the game, everything changed for the NFL
• Jerry Jones must be going nuts; his world is passing him by; he bet on a great horse, but, still, it was the wrong horse -- I'm not talking players, I'm talking style of play
• four teams represent the new NFL -- New Orleans, Patriots, LA Rams, and KC Chiefs
• KC Chiefs? Who would have thought?
• how did the Philadelphia Eagles fall so far so fast; even the Cowboys at a dismal 5-5, are beating the Eagles, 4-6

More on this later but need to move on for now.