Too Much of a Good Thing

***UPDATE***
When writing this yesterday, I was unaware of the fact that Commissioner Goodall's plans were to increase the regular season games and reduce pre-season. Therefore, the owners can't make more money on tickets, since the same amount of games will be played, but since nobody comes out for pre-season the extras would still give them more cash. For another great look at why expanding the season won't happen visit the National Football Post.

The NFL concluded their winter meetings and announced some small rule changes for the upcoming season, but the major piece of news wasn't a Jay Cutler trade or Anquan Boldin signing - it was the idea that the NFL may choose to expand their schedule to from 16 to 18 games in the coming years. This idea has been greeted with mixed reviews from the both the players and the public.

The players see a longer season, more chance of injury and not any more money for playing extra games. The public is torn since they have turned football into "America's Pastime", but they are very fickle on when they watch games (September to January). With gambling and fantasy sports playing a large role in why the average fan pays attention would two extra games be any more beneficial?

The only winners in this scenario are the owners and the league. The owners make more money from ticket sales, concessions, parking, souvenirs, etc...and the league will get to charge more for TV contracts and ask more money from corporate partners, since the league is taking up more space on the sports calendar.

No matter how big of a fan you are, the 16 game season makes sense. It is the right length. The season begins just after labour day in September and finishes at the end of January/start of February. It takes up the right amount of time for a fan. Any more and the games will start to lose their meaning, like they do in the other major sports.

Basketball and hockey are the prime example of this. Both leagues have expanded their schedules in the past ten years to 82 games. This is probably 10 to 20 games too many. During the season there are two stretches of games where players seem to coast and would rather be at home than at the arena. The first is the week to two weeks before the all-star break. About 40 games in, the players know a break is coming and this is where players also start to feel the strain of all the minutes they have accumulated and get injured. This year alone saw Sidney Crosby, Allen Iverson and Chris Bosh all succumb to injuries and miss the all-star games. The other is the last 10-15 games of the year. Teams have for the most part have secured their fate. Either they are a playoff team or they are a lottery team. If teams want to make a push to the playoffs, they will know they have to do it earlier and play better quality games all season long.

Baseball is a whole other beast. With 162 games, the season is very long and they even have a nick name for the middle of the season "dog days of August". A way to help baseball trim their season would be to start the season in May instead of April, thus allowing for a proper Spring Training and perhaps even a proper World Baseball Classic. Another solution would be to give the players more days off. Instead of having hree and four games series, have two and three. For example, play one series Thursday and Friday, then another Saturday, Sunday, Monday. This would give the players Tuesday and Wednesday off most weeks.

Fans want to see the best players, performing at their peak at all times. The best way to accomplish this is to have fewer games, not more.

Would you mind if your favourite league cut back the number of regular season games?