How much football did you watch?

[fantom]

The comment in the rule thread about kids today not watching much football made me curious how much WE watched.

I don't remember watching much. I don't remember a single game that I sat and watched start to finish. Before HS I was always outside playing. In HS I had a job so I worked weekends. 

How about you guys?

[bluboy]

Also keep in mind that when many of us were kids (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), Saturday was college football and Sunday was pro football. There were no ESPN/ SEC/BIG 10/etc. networks. No Monday night games, no Thursday night college games.

I didn't really start watching football until I started playing in 8th grade. And even then, I might not have watched an entire game.

[brophy]

Aug 1, 2024 13:51:32 GMT -6 fantom said:

The comment in the rule thread about kids today not watching much football made me curious how much WE watched.

i didn't know what a fullback was until I was a Sophomore playing in college. 
Football on TV was never that interesting as a kid because of all the old dudes talking 

[dblwngr]

I'm almost 49 now, started watching around 4/5th grade. I still have the Bengals/Raiders game where Bo Jackson had the career ending injury on a VHS tape. Recorded it while I was out shooting BB guns and ridding bikes with my buddy's that weren't into football yet.

I had an uncle that was the local high school football stud, then went on to play D1 ball. Dude was my hero so football was pretty cool to me at a young age. 

[silkyice]

I watched all the time.

[CS]

I watched the hogs and Monday night football. I wouldn’t say I watched a ton though

[44special]

started watching the cowboys in 1964 or 65. always watched them, and watched our hs fb team when they had home games.
that was it at that time.

but we only got 2 channels, and sometimes had to climb on top of the house and turn the antenna to get reception.

if we weren't watching, we were playing.
no youth fb then, just kids playing in the yard.

[44special]

started playing in jh.
that was the first available opportunity to actually play.

[mc140]

A lot. But granted it was the 90s before internet and cell phones.

[mariner42]

Once I got started really watching CFB in like 8th grade, I watched kind of a lot!

Basically I'd play Friday nights and then spend most of Saturday mornings watching CFB and then the Niners on Sunday.

[blb]

Started going to home games of local college and watching College Game of the Week if they were on the road when I was eight.

Most of the bowl and All-Star games.

Also NFL on CBS and AFL on ABC around the same time.

And of course MNF in 1970.

So my answer is "a lot" I guess.

[chi5hi]

Televised football, back in the day, wasn't as professionally filmed as it is now.

Neither was it as on-screen analysed, with several cameras and many different angles...slow motion etc.

Even the penalties are picked apart to the "nth" degree.

It's a lot more fun to watch a game now. You get the details and the analysis unlike you saw in pre 1980.

Still, kids don't watch and IDK why. But...as long as they want to play and participate, I'm OK with that. It's the best we're gonna get...

[senatorblutarsky]

I watched a lot as a kid.

The first game I really remember was Dallas beating Denver 22-10 in 1973.  I was 5.  I remember the Superbowl that year Dolphins-Vikings.  I was at some kid's house for a party and everyone was out playing and I was in watching the game.  I went home at half-time to watch it there.

I also remember in junior high I watched a lot of college football.  I was fascinated with Houston (Bill Yeoman Veer... didn't know what it was at the time, just thought it was "cool"). Growing up in Big 8 country, I really liked Oklahoma and Nebraska.  I don't think I ever missed a Sooners - Huskers game.

I watched a lot of football, but in high school and college I tapered off quite a bit.  In college, I didn't have a TV for two years so I didn't watch much then.

Once I was done playing and in to coaching, I wouldn't say I watch a lot- I have it on in the background a lot, but I'm usually working on our stuff (film mostly)

In the off season I watch a lot- mostly high school games from all over on Youtube.  That's been a great thing to have access to in the last several years.

I'll admit I'm a football junkie...

[larrymoe]

I never watched a single football game until I was 9 and the 85 Bears were big. And then, I only watched Bears games. I didn't watch any college until my Sr year of HS when our coach said our offense came from Nebraska's playbook. So, I started watching them and really no one else.

I watched a ton in college (as much as I could while playing) and probably up until we had my daughter in 2005. I had season tickets to Illinois during the Juice Williams/Aerilious Benn era. The more I coached and the more my family grew, the less and less I watched.

Now, I don't really watch any with any passion.

[lws55]

I watched every Chiefs game that was on TV from about 1985 on. I would watch whatever college game featured the most hyped team, So first few years it was Miami, then Florida State, Michigan etc... Kansas State, where I graduated from had not hired Bill Snyder at that point so they were never on TV.

[44special]

Aug 2, 2024 7:08:43 GMT -6 chi5hi said:

Televised football, back in the day, wasn't as professionally filmed as it is now.

Neither was it as on-screen analysed, with several cameras and many different angles...slow motion etc.

Even the penalties are picked apart to the "nth" degree.

It's a lot more fun to watch a game now. You get the details and the analysis unlike you saw in pre 1980.

Still, kids don't watch and IDK why. But...as long as they want to play and participate, I'm OK with that. It's the best we're gonna get...

it can be more fun now, with all the angles, tools, etc... available.
not to mention bigger tv screens. and color.   we didn't get color tv til late 70's (don't remember exact year).

nfl has really screwed up the rules though.
back then, you couldn't hold a receiver but you could beat the hell out of him until the ball was in the air, then you couldn't touch him. was a lot easier to see and call interference.   now, there's interference every play, and you never know when/if they're gonna call it.    kinda like holding on the o-line.

don't even wanna get started on what a catch is.   used to be if they thought you had control of the ball, for even an instant, it was a catch.   now nobody really knows what a catch is.
the old rule was simpler, and actually easier to see.

i did watch college fb after i got out of college.   watched bowl games, and big games before then.   i remember watching big games in the 60's.

when everybody went spread and games became 40-50 something to 30-40 something, i lost all interest.   if i wanna watch basketball, i'll watch basketball.
which i never will by the way, cuz i hate bb.
sorry for the ramble.

i guess this makes me old.

get off my lawn.

[blb]

I remember watching the first televised game that used "Instant Replay."

Army-Navy game in December 1963 - the week after President Kennedy was assassinated.

Roger Staubach, who won Heisman that year, was Middie QB.

Game ended 21-15 Navy with Army on the 2-yard line going in when time ran out.

Ironically several weeks later the Offensive Backfield Coach at Army became HC at university where I played for him.

After he retired and I was in coaching he gave me some of his coaching materials.

One of them was program from that '63 game.

And yes I know none of you care about my life story.

I'm old, I reminisce - it's what you do.

[CoachK]

Watched a ton. Always been utterly fascinated by the game, even before I knew what was happening. One of my earliest memories is being confused in DKR when Texas played Rice, because I though Rice was the Eagles. But I loved it anyway.

Got up early on Saturdays for the pre-game shows and stayed up late for the west coast games. Usually just watched Dallas and whomever played on Monday night in the NFL. Now I watch as much NFL as I can, less CFB until they fix it.

But yeah I recruit high schoolers now and it's way, way more common than not that they follow a team because of a particular player they saw on social media. Almost none of them sit down and watching anything, much less a full game. It's all clips and highlights. So many of them get to college now and don't understand that the game is actually a lot more than one-handed catches and running around cones.

[larrymoe]

Aug 2, 2024 9:39:09 GMT -6 44special said:

when everybody went spread and games became 40-50 something to 30-40 something, i lost all interest.   if i wanna watch basketball, i'll watch basketball.

When everyone in the NFL started running a variation of Walsh's offense I lost some interest. With every rule change to penalize defense and encourage scoring I lost more and more interest.

And spread football is so god damned boring to me. It's like everything else in our society. It's falsely pumped up to be "exciting and new and modern!!" and in reality it's just intellectually bankrupt and vanilla.

[dubber]

A lot more then than I do now.

If I get a gap to chill on a Saturday, I’m more likely to pop in LOTR and disassociate for a few hours.

I’m so wrapped up in the team I coach, I really can’t care about a top ten SEC matchup.

[IronmanFootball]

I learned how to program a VCR so I wouldn't miss the Miami Hurricanes or the WWF. That started when I was in 3rd grade. Went to a lot of 'Canes games in the OB for free after Pop Warner games. Sometimes still in my game pants if I forgot to bring shorts

[coachwoodall]

Dad was a fan; he wasn't home much b/c of work, but those Sundays watching the Falcons on the couch with him were gold for me.

Being a farm boy, those Monday Night Football games were hard to finish.

I bought every Scholastic book from the monthly catalog we got in school on football; the All Pro, All Rookie, Greatest, etc... and wore them out reading them over and over.

Jefferson Pilot ACC game of the week at 12 noon was something I never missed unless I had chores and usually I got up early to make sure I got those done.  Also the ABC college game of the week and getting to listen Keith Jackson was always a thrill.

After watching games, I would go out in the yard and try to emulate plays/actions I had seen on TV.

Of course back then it wasn't 24/7 so you kind of knew the day/time slot that a game would be on, but I was a bit of a junky for football at an early age.

[coachwoodall]

Aug 2, 2024 7:08:43 GMT -6 chi5hi said:

Televised football, back in the day, wasn't as professionally filmed as it is now.

Neither was it as on-screen analysed, with several cameras and many different angles...slow motion etc.

Even the penalties are picked apart to the "nth" degree.

It's a lot more fun to watch a game now. You get the details and the analysis unlike you saw in pre 1980.

Still, kids don't watch and IDK why. But...as long as they want to play and participate, I'm OK with that. It's the best we're gonna get...

I'm the opposite; I don't want your opinion and I don't want instant analysis.  I want to watch the game.

[bignose]

Grew up watching the Colts. The BALTIMORE COLTS.
Unitas, Moore, Berry, Ameche, Parker, Donovan......et al
Late 1950's and on.

1958 World Champs "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

Then watched as much football as I could find on black and white network TV.
I started drawing up plays by my junior year of high school.

[patts12]

Started watching AFL and NFL games in 1960. Watched Missouri football in 1960 also. Wanted to play starting back then. Knew I wanted to coach football back when I was a freshman in junior high. My high school head coach became my mentor and coached high school ball for 42 years before I retired. Still watch and usually go to high school games every Friday and catch a juco or D2 game every Saturday. It is in my blood still and I am 68

[agap]

I remember going to my high school's games ever since I was a little kid. Then we'd watch the Gophers and Vikings every weekend. I started watching other college games when I got into junior high and high school. Football was always on TV when I was growing up.

[fantom]

Aug 2, 2024 14:46:29 GMT -6 coachwoodall said:

Dad was a fan; he wasn't home much b/c of work, but those Sundays watching the Falcons on the couch with him were gold for me.

Being a farm boy, those Monday Night Football games were hard to finish.

I bought every Scholastic book from the monthly catalog we got in school on football; the All Pro, All Rookie, Greatest, etc... and wore them out reading them over and over.

Jefferson Pilot ACC game of the week at 12 noon was something I never missed unless I had chores and usually I got up early to make sure I got those done.  Also the ABC college game of the week and getting to listen Keith Jackson was always a thrill.

After watching games, I would go out in the yard and try to emulate plays/actions I had seen on TV.

Of course back then it wasn't 24/7 so you kind of knew the day/time slot that a game would be on, but I was a bit of a junky for football at an early age.

I did a lot of those things, too. I read everything about football that I could get my hands on. Drew up plays all the time (And a lot of screwball chit it was) I just didn't sit and watch a lot of football on TV. 

That's about me, though. Most of the guys here seem to have watched a lot. I wonder if we were typical of the other guys on the team. Not many of my former teammates went into coaching. Everybody here is a football fanatic, a junkie. We're on a coaching message board.  Did our teammates feel the same way? 

I'm wondering if our players are different from the typical kid in our day or if we were different from that typical kid. 

[silkyice]

Aug 2, 2024 20:53:39 GMT -6 fantom said:

Aug 2, 2024 14:46:29 GMT -6 coachwoodall said:

Dad was a fan; he wasn't home much b/c of work, but those Sundays watching the Falcons on the couch with him were gold for me.

Being a farm boy, those Monday Night Football games were hard to finish.

I bought every Scholastic book from the monthly catalog we got in school on football; the All Pro, All Rookie, Greatest, etc... and wore them out reading them over and over.

Jefferson Pilot ACC game of the week at 12 noon was something I never missed unless I had chores and usually I got up early to make sure I got those done.  Also the ABC college game of the week and getting to listen Keith Jackson was always a thrill.

After watching games, I would go out in the yard and try to emulate plays/actions I had seen on TV.

Of course back then it wasn't 24/7 so you kind of knew the day/time slot that a game would be on, but I was a bit of a junky for football at an early age.

I did a lot of those things, too. I read everything about football that I could get my hands on. Drew up plays all the time (And a lot of screwball chit it was) I just didn't sit and watch a lot of football on TV. 

That's about me, though. Most of the guys here seem to have watched a lot. I wonder if we were typical of the other guys on the team. Not many of my former teammates went into coaching. Everybody here is a football fanatic, a junkie. We're on a coaching message board.  Did our teammates feel the same way? 

I'm wondering if our players are different from the typical kid in our day or if we were different from that typical kid. 

We are different than the typical kid.

[coachwoodall]

Aug 2, 2024 20:53:39 GMT -6 fantom said:

Aug 2, 2024 14:46:29 GMT -6 coachwoodall said:

Dad was a fan; he wasn't home much b/c of work, but those Sundays watching the Falcons on the couch with him were gold for me.

Being a farm boy, those Monday Night Football games were hard to finish.

I bought every Scholastic book from the monthly catalog we got in school on football; the All Pro, All Rookie, Greatest, etc... and wore them out reading them over and over.

Jefferson Pilot ACC game of the week at 12 noon was something I never missed unless I had chores and usually I got up early to make sure I got those done.  Also the ABC college game of the week and getting to listen Keith Jackson was always a thrill.

After watching games, I would go out in the yard and try to emulate plays/actions I had seen on TV.

Of course back then it wasn't 24/7 so you kind of knew the day/time slot that a game would be on, but I was a bit of a junky for football at an early age.

I did a lot of those things, too. I read everything about football that I could get my hands on. Drew up plays all the time (And a lot of screwball chit it was) I just didn't sit and watch a lot of football on TV. 

That's about me, though. Most of the guys here seem to have watched a lot. I wonder if we were typical of the other guys on the team. Not many of my former teammates went into coaching. Everybody here is a football fanatic, a junkie. We're on a coaching message board.  Did our teammates feel the same way? 

I'm wondering if our players are different from the typical kid in our day or if we were different from that typical kid. 

typical kid in the 70s probably had a 'team' but loosely followed that team.

It wans't until the ESPN era that you really your team/college/Pro unless you digged in.

[coachwoodall]

You have to remember until the era of cable TV you were tied to the 2/3 channels that were local to you.