It's definitely the cost for some. But I live in a market with consecutive decades of sell outs regardless of team record. TV technology has unbelievable camera angles, info, replays in the comfort of your own home. Better than a 8 hour day to go in person for a lot of fans.
My team is no longer completely sold out either.

The average nfl game is actually just 9 minutes of total time the football is "in play"
Yep true fact

The ball is actually in play for a whopping 11 minutes, not 9.

Aside from my personal issues with being in massive crowds, which I suspect is not as unusual as one might think, going to an NFL game is just not that much fun. Spend an hour (or more) getting everyone ready. Spend another hour getting to the stadium (and for many, make that two hours). Then it’s a half hour of standing in line to get inside, and another half hour to get food and find your seats. (For those counting at home, we’re up to 3-4 hours and the game hasn’t started yet.)

Now, the game. This is three and a half hours, of which about ten minutes (fifteen if you’re lucky) are actual football plays. All the while, you have people screaming right behind you, and many of the people there are getting more and more intoxicated. I’ve seen more fights in the stands than I care to think about, and at least one person ejected for throwing a bottle onto the field.

Finally, the game is over, and there’s the crush of 60-70,000 people leaving at the same time. Between the crowd, walking back to the car or waiting for the shuttle, and the drive home, it’s yet another 90 minutes. All told, it’s an 8-9 hour experience, and it only costs $100 per person for lousy seats and bad food. And have fun if it’s cold or raining!

OR….

You can sit at home, watch the game on tv, eating whatever good food you want. And if (when, because in a 3 1/2 hour game, you will) you have the need, the bathroom is nice and clean, without long lines. And when it’s over, you’re not exhausted like you were out there playing the game.

That's it??? Spot on dude. I couldn't have said any best

Last edited Mon Oct 7, 2024, 09:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Home and cold beer look mighty good. This is the first time I've seen the summer bay temp exceed the Sierra Foothills in forever. A chilly 94 here.

Edit to add: I gather that a lot were hiding from the sun in the concourse.

In 2023, the lowest percent of available tickets by team sold was 93%.
So, 31 teams are >93%.
If you saw a lot of empty seats, there's a good chance those were no-shows of paid for seats.
That would seem to negate the "too expensive" theory.