2022-2023 NFL Season (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Will anybody be upset when they move the conference championship games to a neutral site?

 

[Jeffrey D]

Will anybody be upset when they move the conference championship games to a neutral site?

Aside from extreme circumstances, this would be an appalling move.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Aside from extreme circumstances, this would be an appalling move.

Why?

 

[Jeffrey D]

Why?

Screws the fan base of a team that rarely/never makes the Super Bowl. Words cannot express enough how much I hate this idea.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Will anybody be upset when they move the conference championship games to a neutral site?

Yes, I do not like that idea at all. That is the primary reason to fight for the highest seed. You host that game, plus your fans get that game at home and do not have to travel to another state to see it.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, the latest Brady rumor is there is a team he would prefer to play for and it, of course, is not any of the teams mentioned that have seemed open to pursuing him. Apparently, if he played for an AFC team, he would like it to be the Dolphins. I would think that the Dolphins would be set, if Tua is healthy and wants to play football, but the owner in Miami is said to be a giant Brady fan and tried to bring him there from Tampa...which got him in trouble. So, while it seems a long shot, I guess you can't rule it out.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I heard about the deal with the AFC Championship game being moved to Atlanta, I really despise the idea. I also love seeing football played outdoors, and I really do not like domes or any kind of indoor football. As a purist, the elements are part of the game. So, I love when teams that play outdoors get to host playoff games. I love that. I can't stand the Atlanta idea.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I guess if they picked Green Bay as a neutral sight I would be less opposed to it. I've always wanted the Vikings to get rid of the dome and play their games outdoors. Minnesota is a place were football should be played outside. I was pretty happy when their stadium collapsed and they had to play their games at an outdoor stadium while the situation was taken care of. It's the NFL North! The tundra is meant to be frozen.

 

[Robert Crawford]

With so many here against the idea of a neutral site for the conference championship games then it's probably a done deal.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

With so many here against the idea of a neutral site for the conference championship games then it's probably a done deal.

Well, I thought playoff tickets were made available for the season ticket holders. So, moving the game is screwing the fans of the playoff teams. I mean, the NFL seems not to care much about the fans in most cases, so they probably don't care, but you could maybe convince me if the "neutral sites" were places like Green Bay, Buffalo, Denver, New England. If you are going to go to Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans, and Los Angeles...no thanks.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm trying to figure out who the neutral site would benefit aside from the city hosting the game? The game will be sold out no matter what, so I don't see any advantage to the NFL. Both teams end up having to travel as if to an away game, so there's no benefit to the higher seed team. The fans would have to pay extra to travel so there's no benefit to the fans. I don't see why it would matter to TV.

The only difference I can see is if they can legitimately split the tix between the two teams, then there may be a more balanced mix of fans to root for each team. But that would seem to degrade the season ticket experience if the highest level playoff game is taken away or you are forced to spend more to travel to see the game in a different city.

But it would seem to make playing for the #1 seed kind of irrelevant if the only advantage becomes a single home playoff game in the divisional round. It would also seem to screw the home team's stadium, vendors, and surrounding businesses who likely gain a lot of extra income from hosting the extra playoff game. I wouldn't think the owners would want to give up a home conference championship game to play it elsewhere.

 

[Walter Kittel]

This season, due to the incomplete Monday Night game, if the Bills make it to the AFC Championship game, I'd be fine with a neutral site for that one game, since the Bills did not have an opportunity to match the Chiefs' 14-3 record. (Plus they did defeat the Chiefs during the regular season.)

Otherwise, I don't think it is a good idea for some of the reasons cited.

- Walter.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Will anybody be upset when they move the conference championship games to a neutral site?

Is this a rumor, or possibly even up for discussion in the offseason? I hope not.

 

[JohnRice]

My impression is this idea of a neutral site for all conference championships is just baseless speculation. The one possibility of it happening this one time this year with the AFC is due to an unusual circumstance.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Will anybody be upset when they move the conference championship games to a neutral site?

The NFL has already taken the championship game (Super Bowl) away from home fans. Taking the conference title game away, also, would be too much, IMO. MLB, the NBA and NHL all play their championships in the arenas / stadiums of the participating teams. I realize that football is a single game versus a 7 game series, but home fans should still have an opportunity to see their team play without traveling halfway across the country (and having to incur a lot more expenses).

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if it happened eventually, though. Professional sports is becoming more and more removed from its core fans, all in pursuit of a bigger payday. The cost to attend a game, even in your hometown, is becoming ridiculous. I haven't been to a regular season professional sporting event in quite a few years now, and my close friend who had Michigan football season tickets gave them up last season, so I am probably done attending those games, too.

I attended one preseason NHL game at the Red Wings new Little Caesars Pizza Arena (free tickets with a friend), and left knowing I would never pay to go to another game at the new place -- I used to go when my favorite team (Montreal) would come to town. Prices for everything (tickets, parking, concessions) had doubled from the old Joe Louis Arena, and the cheaper upper bowl was the most uncomfortable seating I had every experienced at a pro sporting event -- there was absolutely zero room to move my legs, and I am not a tall person. A friend who is a diehard Red Wings fan and had season tickets at JLA for over 20 years gave them up after one season at the new place -- he said he wasn't going to pay that much money to be that uncomfortable. I don't blame him -- if my wife and I bought the equivalent tickets and bought the same concessions as our USA Hockey major junior games, a single NHL game would cost me almost as much as our entire 36 game season ticket package for USA Hockey!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Is this a rumor, or possibly even up for discussion in the offseason? I hope not.

I don't know if it is a topic for discussion in the offseason. I believe if the Bills get into the AFC Championship game this season, the NFL had come up with a plan to play the game in Atlanta. This being the factor they feel would even the playing field in terms of the Bills/Bengals game not getting completed. Personally, I do not want to see this. If the Chiefs and Bills get to the Championship game, just play it in Kansas City. If the Bills make it and the Chiefs do not, play it in Buffalo.

If they play neutral site games it will be in a dome or warm weather stadium. Most likely they would just pick domes that are somewhat close to both teams that are playing to make the travel somewhat equal for them.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Sleet/snow in KC, which is going to stick around throughout the game. I think the Jags get spanked, but I will watch a little bit of it- have never watched Lawrence play.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

If they play neutral site games it will be in a dome or warm weather stadium. Most likely they would just pick domes that are somewhat close to both teams that are playing to make the travel somewhat equal for them.

Actually, if the NFL went to neutral sites for the conference championship games, I would expect the site would be determined before the season began, just like the Super Bowl. They would probably be awarded years in advance, and attempt to make the games a bigger event in order to make more money. There is no other reason to play the games at a neutral site.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Actually, if the NFL went to neutral sites for the conference championship games, I would expect the site would be determined before the season began, just like the Super Bowl. They would probably be awarded years in advance, and attempt to make the games a bigger event in order to make more money. There is no other reason to play the games at a neutral site.

I agree if they were to make it an every year thing, they would want to book the stadiums well in advance to prevent scheduling conflicts. I mean with a Super Bowl, everybody pays attention and even casual fans have an interest, because it is the big game. Not sure the Conference Championship games have the same allure.

 

[Jeffrey D]

As I posted earlier, neutral site championship games just screws the fans that rarely/never see their team even host this game (the Lions have never hosted one, both Browns franchises I think have maybe 1 game between them, the Chargers haven’t hosted yet, etc etc etc).
And as Reggie said- this would make the 1 seed meaningless.