Recreational Holidays

NFL is Most Popular Year Round

The single most important sport with American fans, the NFL is alone among sports in being able to not only command the attention of the vast majority of US fans, but to hold their attention year-round, even during the off season. From the Super Bowl to the first of the preseason games, the NFL keeps fans interested.

All professional sports have drafts every year, but only the NFL draft manages to draw a huge audience; the drafts are televised and fans spend the months leading up to the draft excitedly guessing about the outcome. Which players will go to which teams, which teams will come out of the draft with the strongest players and much more are eagerly debated. Following the draft, the success or failure of each franchise becomes the topic of much discussion.

Once the Super Bowl is over, the NFL (and its fans) begin getting ready for the draft; this is when players announce free agency and this keeps the NFL in the news during its off season. Even when there are months before any more games will be played, fans are glued to the latest news about the league.

Even as the NBA and NHL are about to enter their playoffs, sports fans are more focused on the NFL draft. Even the opening of the baseball season is smaller news than the draft. Among American sports, only the NFL can manage to remain the center of attention without even having any games on the schedule.

Once summer arrives, the training camps open and fans excitedly discuss how the teams are shaping up for the year and how the players seem to feel about their teams. This is also a time of year when fans argue over which players will be the starters for their teams.

Even the preseason games get broadcast on national television. Preseason games with second and third string players getting time actually get high ratings. Can you imagine a primetime spot for any other preseason game? A preseason hockey scrimmage? An NBA Developmental League game? Anything else? Only the NFL could pull it off, and it’s a testament to its immense popularity.

Once the season proper begins, the excitement builds week after week. With only 16 weeks in the regular season, each game takes on great importance. The NFL is popular enough that the league is discussing the possibility of lengthening the season, something which fans are eager to see - but regardless, the closer the arrival of the postseason, the greater the excitement of fans and the higher the viewership.

Being an NFL fan is truly a year round job. If all you do is watch a few games during the season, you’ll be at a loss for who is who on your own team and what the expectations around the league are. This is all discussed endlessly during the off season, during the draft and training camps, as the NFL manages to find a way to stay popular no matter when it is.