The Blackout Epidemic

            Sundays are among Football fans favorite day. After a long and strenuous week of work or school, fans of the game can’t wait for their favorite team to play. However, there is a growing epidemic that is starting to deny fans the enjoyment of watching their home team; The Blackout Epidemic.  Locals and fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can attest to that. Every home game in the 2010 season has been blacked out locally. The sad part of it all is that the Bucs are 5-3 and are a team that people want to watch this year. The blackout rule is one that is one of the oldest and longest standing rules that all sports have to deal with.

 A blackout is when a sports program cannot be televised in a certain market. This usually pertains to the local team not selling out their home stadium in a certain amount of time. The rule was created in the hopes that it would then force fans to pay to watch their supposed favorite team play at their home stadiums. According to the NFL, if the game does not sell out within 72 hours of the kickoff, the game will then be blacked out. The area of which the blackout covers is roughly a 75 mile radius of the stadium. Teams have the opportunity to extend that deadline if they are close to selling out their game.

In the economy we live in, this is becoming a growing trend that many teams, not just the Bucs, are dealing with. It is fun to go to a game and to be among the whole atmosphere that football stadiums provide, but with ticket prices marked so high it is becoming increasingly harder to justify a ticket sale when you could enjoy the game in the comfort of your home. With the blackout rule in full effect, many fans cannot even do this. It is starting to affect more and more teams. 

The Buccaneers are not the only team that is dealing with this blackout situation. In the 2010 season 13 games have been blacked out in the first eight weeks. In contrast, there were only 22 games blacked out all of last year. The numbers are showing a 63% increase in blackouts this season. Teams like the Raiders, Lions, Bills, Browns, and Chargers (along with the Bucs) have all had at least one of their home games blacked out this year.

It is a growing concern that even with the economy the way it is, ticket prices continue to rise, and fans are getting punished for not wanting to pay the extra cost. Fans should not be forced into a position where the only way to watch their team play is by purchasing a ticket and driving to the stadium. Where is the appeal in that? Blackouts are a dated rule and the league needs to adjust this before it grows even more aggravating. Hopefully if the NFL truly loves its fans and wants to see them happy they will look into this epidemic that is affecting more teams each week.