Yup. I'm a big supporter of divisional realignment to reflect regional rivalries. It's the only viable long term solution to the NFL's attendance problem. It's no coincidence that the "best" division in terms of the rivalries -- the NFC North -- is also the one where the relative cities are closest together.
No one here should argue this point -
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Yup. I'm a big supporter of divisional realignment to reflect regional rivalries. It's the only viable long term solution to the NFL's attendance problem. It's no coincidence that the "best" division in terms of the rivalries -- the NFC North -- is also the one where the relative cities are closest together.
I wouldn't mind getting that college team's QB in next year's draft.
KTOWNFINFAN
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I also doubt anyone could argue that the state of FL has the worst average of football teams in the league. As a state FL is 1-6.
AphexPhin
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TX-FinFan
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Yeah he couldn't place teams in the right conference much less their division and it freaked Matt Moore out.
Argh, not you too. Really?! I think that's an awful idea. How 'bout just not pricing out the average fan from being able to attend? What makes anyone think that if someone flat out can't afford ticket prices that in-state "rivals" will entice them to travel as well.
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The farther you have to go, the bigger the hassle and the bigger the total cost. Rivalries are also naturally geographic. It's a big part of the reason why collegiate rivalries are better than pro rivalries. The NCAA is a corrupt organization but they were smart enough to divide the country into regions rather than having a Miami team playing away games in New Jersey, upstate New York and Boston every year while only playing Tampa every four years. It's monumentally stupid.
I certainly see the point of your argument. It would just be a shame to relinquish so much rival history for the sake of the dollar. Business wise, understood. Fan side, disappointment.
New rivalries would be established quickly. My brother is a Jags fan. A good buddy of mine lives in Tampa. It would not take long to transition. Look how quickly we forgot to think of the Colts as rivals, and how quickly the Jags and Texans and Titans grew to hate them.
True rivalries are built in neighborhoods. With bumper stickers and flags and taunts at the bar. I remember something TedSlimm said about the Iron Bowl. If you've got a Bama fan and an Auburn fan who live on the same block and they're both mowing the lawn... the Iron Bowl of lawn mowing is about to break out right there. That kind of thing only happens with a regional rivalry. I lived in Chicago for a year and experienced this first hand. Green Bay is only a few hours away. Detroit is not much farther. And Minneapolis is just a short hop further out from Green Bay. The opposing fans storm the city on Friday night like a fat, drunken blizzard and you can still see some of them bleary eyed on Monday morning, trying to work up the strength to leave town.
I went to UF right at the end of the Spurrier years. Part of the fun of those times was to see LSU fans roll into campus with their inbred crossed eyes and their furry suspenders making a big dumb scene of themselves. Or watching FSU fans scratching their genital warts while they're leading that dumb**** repetitive chant of theirs as they walk along University Dr. It was part of the flavor. It's not a coincidence that FSU is just a bit more than a two hour drive from Gainesville, while LSU is only 12 hours away, give or take.
That kind of excitement is worth more than history. And it wouldn't be long before we had that, too.
---------- Post added at 02:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:33 AM ----------
Good point.
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shamegame13
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New divisions so fans could attend more games nearby would be smart for NFL to do and the changes aren't that difficult. But, I don't think that's on the list of things for the league office to do. Here is my thought:
AFC EAST: BAL, BUF, NE, NYJ
AFC NORTH: CIN, CLE, IND, PIT
AFC SOUTH: HOU, JAX, MIA, TEN
AFC WEST: Stays the same
NFC HAS A PROBLEM TOO SO:
NFC EAST: CAR, NYG, PHI, WAS
NFC SOUTH: ATL, DAL, NO, TB
NFC WEST & NORTH: Stays the same
Either way, it's all good.
In a perfect world, here is the divisions that would be do-able(AFC & NFC teams mixed up for best geographical divisons):
OAK, SD, SEA, SF
CHI, DET, GB, MIN ( the only division that didn't change )
BUF, NE, NYG, NYJ
ARI, DAL, HOU, NO
ATL, JAX, MIA, TB
BAL, CAR, PHI, WAS
DEN, KC, STL, TEN
CIN, CLE, IND, PIT
AFC EAST: BAL, BUF, NE, NYJ
AFC NORTH: CIN, CLE, IND, PIT
AFC SOUTH: HOU, JAX, MIA, TEN
AFC WEST: Stays the same
NFC HAS A PROBLEM TOO SO:
NFC EAST: CAR, NYG, PHI, WAS
NFC SOUTH: ATL, DAL, NO, TB
NFC WEST & NORTH: Stays the same
Either way, it's all good.
In a perfect world, here is the divisions that would be do-able(AFC & NFC teams mixed up for best geographical divisons):
OAK, SD, SEA, SF
CHI, DET, GB, MIN ( the only division that didn't change )
BUF, NE, NYG, NYJ
ARI, DAL, HOU, NO
ATL, JAX, MIA, TB
BAL, CAR, PHI, WAS
DEN, KC, STL, TEN
CIN, CLE, IND, PIT
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I was waiting to see how long it would take before any one brought this up for our consideration.