In reply to Shannon Severson on the football myth (Public Forum Oct. 22), the Vikings have a tough time selling out for one game a week. The Twins can play seven games in a row and draw over 200,000 for the seven games, including good crowds during the week. If football was played on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night they would never have a sellout. Monday night wrestling outdraws Monday night football.
If football had their playoffs like baseball, they would have very few people watching. Surveys have shown that the Super Bowl has become a bigger party night than New Year's Eve, and that two-thirds of the people that watch the Super Bowl only watch the replays on a score. They are too busy partying to watch the actual game, while more people watch the commercials than the game; it is estimated that less than 50 percent actually watch them, and it's more media hype than anything,
It is big business trying to protect their money that football is hyped as the most watched sport. If the season could be doubled, they figure that the last half of the season would have hardly anybody watching, and that when you have a nice fall day viewers drop by almost 50 percent. Baseball is the most listened to sport on the radio whereas football is hardly listened to. That's why the Twins games on radio are so fought over by radio stations.
Finally, football has pulled out of Europe as Europeans called it the most boring sport on earth and did not watch it. Also everybody over there knows that soccer is a lot more exciting sport than football and that big business has too much to lose if they allow it over here.
Harlan Broers
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Clara City
