That broadcast and bowl were a joke

[307bball]

And isn't entertainment what we're all looking for? I'm as invested in Wyoming football as anyone (both emotionally and financially), but the bottom line is sports are entertainment. No more, no less. It's like going to the movies or a concert, but with less predictability. Entertainment products should be first and foremost entertaining, which coincidentally is why we're so fed up with the boring and ineffective offense we've been running for roughly a decade now.

I liked the broadcast, as did most people I've spoken with. There have been a few that hated it, but for the most part people saw it for what it was: a company trying something new to be more entertaining.

Sports is not entertainment. It's a competition. The player's focus is on winning, not making sure that you're entertained. I go to a cross country race to watch runners run. Some may find it boring as hell. They don't care what you think. They focus on how to run fast enough to cross the line before their fellow competitors. The fact is: had the score of the game been 50-0, no one would be watching because the game was not competitive. And if we were winning conference championships with a "boring and ineffective" offense, I wouldn't care. The outcome of the game is what I'm concerned with.

Just because its a competition does not mean it's not an entertainment product. You are straining at the definitions of the terms here. College football is absolutely an entertainment product. For me...I was fine with the Barstool model...as others have mentioned, it's different so it won't be for everybody. I tend to roll my eyes at the faux seriousness of guys like Herbstreet and Paul Finebaum for taking it too seriously. I mean...it's college football, you aren't reporting on the conflict in Ukraine. To me, the gatekeeping that the football factory schools engage in is not a lot different than what the networks do.

 

[Bryoming]

And isn't entertainment what we're all looking for? I'm as invested in Wyoming football as anyone (both emotionally and financially), but the bottom line is sports are entertainment. No more, no less. It's like going to the movies or a concert, but with less predictability. Entertainment products should be first and foremost entertaining, which coincidentally is why we're so fed up with the boring and ineffective offense we've been running for roughly a decade now.

I liked the broadcast, as did most people I've spoken with. There have been a few that hated it, but for the most part people saw it for what it was: a company trying something new to be more entertaining.

Sports is not entertainment. It's a competition. The player's focus is on winning, not making sure that you're entertained. I go to a cross country race to watch runners run. Some may find it boring as hell. They don't care what you think. They focus on how to run fast enough to cross the line before their fellow competitors. The fact is: had the score of the game been 50-0, no one would be watching because the game was not competitive. And if we were winning conference championships with a "boring and ineffective" offense, I wouldn't care. The outcome of the game is what I'm concerned with.

If it was all about the competition TV would be a moot point. People would be able to watch the competition free of charge if they wanted. NIL wouldn't be an issue. There wouldn't be radio broadcasts. Uniforms wouldn't matter. There would be no need for networks solely dedicated to sports.

Sports are competition, yes, but they are also entertainment. The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[LanderPoke]

You guys didn't find them obnoxious by the end? They were talking over each other constantly and didn't really understand some of the rules, like clock stoppage. I would have been fine if they didn't talk over each other so much. It was hectic!

 

[307bball]

You guys didn't find them obnoxious by the end? They were talking over each other constantly and didn't really understand some of the rules, like clock stoppage. I would have been fine if they didn't talk over each other so much. It was hectic!

Oh it definitely got tedious....but so does the typical announcer speaking in hushed tones about "eye discipline" and "rush lane integrity"...

 

[Wyovanian]

And isn't entertainment what we're all looking for? I'm as invested in Wyoming football as anyone (both emotionally and financially), but the bottom line is sports are entertainment. No more, no less. It's like going to the movies or a concert, but with less predictability. Entertainment products should be first and foremost entertaining, which coincidentally is why we're so fed up with the boring and ineffective offense we've been running for roughly a decade now.

I liked the broadcast, as did most people I've spoken with. There have been a few that hated it, but for the most part people saw it for what it was: a company trying something new to be more entertaining.

Sports is not entertainment. It's a competition. The player's focus is on winning, not making sure that you're entertained. I go to a cross country race to watch runners run. Some may find it boring as hell. They don't care what you think. They focus on how to run fast enough to cross the line before their fellow competitors. The fact is: had the score of the game been 50-0, no one would be watching because the game was not competitive. And if we were winning conference championships with a "boring and ineffective" offense, I wouldn't care. The outcome of the game is what I'm concerned with.

Let me get a little Marcus Aurelius on you- if you're WATCHING a competion, WHY are you watching it?

 

[bladerunnr]

Sports is not entertainment. It's a competition. The player's focus is on winning, not making sure that you're entertained. I go to a cross country race to watch runners run. Some may find it boring as hell. They don't care what you think. They focus on how to run fast enough to cross the line before their fellow competitors. The fact is: had the score of the game been 50-0, no one would be watching because the game was not competitive. And if we were winning conference championships with a "boring and ineffective" offense, I wouldn't care. The outcome of the game is what I'm concerned with.

Let me get a little Marcus Aurelius on you- if you're WATCHING a competion, WHY are you watching it?

I watch for multiple reasons. I probably have a rooting interest in who wins. I want to see great athletes do great things in the heat of competition. For example, watching a golfer make a clutch putt on the back nine of a major.
I'm not going to argue that I find it entertaining. I obviously do. But the athlete is not doing it to entertain me. They are doing it for themself, or their team or school. An athlete hones a talent to improve his/her odds in winning. This is just the opposite of going to a concert or a movie - where the sole purpose is to entertain. It's a small point, I concede. But to me, there is huge difference between sports and entertainment. And if sports are so entertaining, why are so many of us frustrated constantly by our team? Because of the outcome, not whether you were entertained or not.

 

[307bball]

Let me get a little Marcus Aurelius on you- if you're WATCHING a competion, WHY are you watching it?

I watch for multiple reasons. I probably have a rooting interest in who wins. I want to see great athletes do great things in the heat of competition. For example, watching a golfer make a clutch putt on the back nine of a major.
I'm not going to argue that I find it entertaining. I obviously do. But the athlete is not doing it to entertain me. They are doing it for themself, or their team or school. An athlete hones a talent to improve his/her odds in winning. This is just the opposite of going to a concert or a movie - where the sole purpose is to entertain. It's a small point, I concede. But to me, there is huge difference between sports and entertainment. And if sports are so entertaining, why are so many of us frustrated constantly by our team? Because of the outcome, not whether you were entertained or not.

Getting very specific now...Yes the motivations of an individual athlete are not as simple as "entertain the spectators" but that motivation is not absent. There are obviously athletes that would play their sport or game even if nobody watched at all, or cared, but that is rare. Also...just because something is frustrating does not mean it can't be entertaining. I think a definition of terms here would be useful. If your definition of entertainment is just being hedonistically captured, then I think I can see where you are coming from. I favor a broader definition that would include things like going fishing, or learning to play the guitar....both things that have a fair amount of frustration involved.

As far as sports go...that activity is a participatory game that has rules that players must agree to in order to even start. That participatory agreement extends to the fans as well...there are "rules" about how to be a good fan. For me that entire endeavor is a version of "entertainment"...you could do away with the entire thing and survival is not affected....we get some enjoyment in participating and watching the participants...and something about watching the game actually heightens the enjoyment of the participants. Thus, calling sports "entertainment", while not totally capturing what it is....is not inaccurate.

Anyways...veering into territory that anti-college athletic types use to complain about the money spent.