By Reagan Riddick, Staff Writer
Millions of people love football, but have fans loved it enough to still watch it during the pandemic?
The National Football League decided to play despite the global pandemic. League officials and teams took safety measures seriously so that they could play football, and an entire regular season was successfully finished last Sunday night. Limited numbers of fans have been allowed into some stadiums, and some stadiums are empty, depending on different social distancing rules in different states.
According to the hollywoodreporter.com, in 2018, an average of 15.8 million people watched the games on television in the regular season. That increased in 2019 to over 16.5 million. Now, the reports show an estimated 16.2 million people are still watching games on TV.
Some studies show that NFL viewership is down because of the craziness going on in the world. Telephone questionnaires have shown that almost one-third of people who are no longer watching the NFL claim that it is because of the athletes who are willing to take a stand for social justice issues and kneel during the national anthem.
Still, there are a great number of fans keeping up with the NFL and their favorite teams on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. And as the Super Bowl comes closer and closer – it’s scheduled for Feb. 7 – more people likely will become interested in the league and tune in on television.
Plenty of FFHS students still enjoy spending their Sundays cheering on their favorite teams.
“I like watching football because it is very interesting and my family and I watch it together,” said sophomore Blake Austin, who cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It’s like a family event for us to watch football every Sunday.”
Despite Covid restrictions, Austin’s family still feels football is a fun family activity– after all, you’re just watching on TV, and the action on the field is just as exciting.
“The games are kind of the same,” Austin said. “I don’t think there is much of a difference except everybody just wears their mask after the game is over. It’s still regular old football. It is nice being able to watch football every Sunday and I look forward to it.”
Sophomore Trevor Schweitzer said he’ll only watch games when his favorite team – the San Francisco 49ers – is playing, but he still keeps up with the league on social media.
“I look up the game results, scores and highlights,” Schweitzer said.
For many people, the return of sports – starting with the NBA and Major League Baseball in the spring and summer and continuing this winter – has provided a light in people’s lives in this dark time. With the playoffs beginning this week, it’s easy to guess that more people will be passing the time in front of the TV, seeing who can make it to the Super Bowl this year.
Who are you rooting for in the playoffs? Share in the comments below!
Playoff Schedule
- Indianapolis at Buffalo, 1:05, Saturday
- LA Rams at Seattle, 4:40, Saturday
- Tampa Bay at Washington, 8:15, Saturday
- Baltimore at Tennessee, 1:05, Sunday
- Chicago at New Orleans, 4:40, Sunday
- Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 8:15, Sunday
- *Green Bay and Kansas City have first-round byes
Sophomore Reagan Riddick can be contacted at 23RIDDICKRE47@daretolearn.org.
