I miss those good games on Thursday night. Thank you NFL for ruining it.
I miss Thursday night football
- Thread starter brgRC90
- Start date
The Big East did own Thursday night. Then when other conferences saw it was successful they jumped on. Then the NFL decided to get in on the action and college football cannot compete in ratings with the NFL.
The NFL smelled money. Case closed. Yet the NFL may blow it by putting a weak schedule on Thursdays like last year.
And the NFL, by diluting their product, made Monday Night Football no longer an "event".
Of course it doesnt help that they also have Sunday night football. You can't showcase too many games per week before it becomes not showcasing.
And at some point in December they start having Saturday games. Plus the Monday night and Thursday night doubleheaders (not sure if they're doing that this year).
Isn't that right after the end of the college season? Saturday games make some sense since they have a built-in audience.
Screw Thursday night NFL, though. Has college abandoned Thurs or is it just this week cause of the start of the NFL?
Unless somethings changed, there are both college and pro games on Thursday nights.
There are Thursday night games scheduled but it tends to be crummy teams because the better teams and conferences don't want to be overshadowed by the NFL.
This is the first time in a very long time that I'm watching DirecTV's Sunday Ticket free preview because it is the first time in about 15 years that I cannot see the Giants' opener without it. They've been either on a national night game or a national 4:00 game on opening day for as long as I can remember.
The Mountain West and ACC were playing on Thursdays at that time as well. The Big East didn't start playing Thursday during the season until about mid-October because there were very few conference games in September. Here is ESPN's Thursday Night schedule from 2006. I watched every game on this schedule.
9/7/06 -- Oregon State at Boise State
9/14/06 -- Maryland at West Virginia
9/21/06 -- Virginia at Georgia Tech
9/28/06 -- Auburn at South Carolina
10/5/06 -- Florida State at NC State
10/12/06 -- Virginia Tech at Boston College
10/17/06 -- North Carolina at Virginia
10/26/06 -- Clemson at Virginia Tech
11/2/06 -- West Virginia at Louisville
11/9/06 -- Louisville at Rutgers
11/16/06 -- West Virginia at Pitt
11/23/06 -- Boston College at Miami
There were some very memorable games.
I don't miss it at all. It was a fun experience/experiment but lets move on. Hope the B1G frowns upon the idea.
Don't forget the NFL was first with the idea, but it didn't last long the first time they did it.
And @sherrane is right, the two back to back Louisville games that year were great. I think those two, the one against WVU and then us helped "sell" the idea of Thursday night to Major CFB and eventually brought back the NFL.
Don't forget the NFL was first with the idea, but it didn't last long the first time they did it.
And @sherrane is right, the two back to back Louisville games that year were great. I think those two, the one against WVU and then us helped "sell" the idea of Thursday night to Major CFB and eventually brought back the NFL.
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More like Rutgers has moved to the B1G and most people here don't watch the American Conference as they did the Big East. This is ESPN's Thursday Night schedule (2006 in parenthesis). For the most part, the schedule is comparable.
9/13 Boston College at Wake Forest (Maryland at West Virginia)
9/20 Tulsa at Temple (Virginia at Georgia Tech)
9/27 North Carolina at Miami (Auburn at South Carolina)
10/4 Tulsa at Houston (Florida State at NC State)
11/11 Texas Tech at TCU (Virginia Tech at Boston College)
11/18 Stanford at Arizona State (North Carolina at Virginia)
11/25 Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (Clemson at Virginia Tech)
11/1 Temple at UCF (West Virginia at Louisville)
11/8 Wake Forest at NC State (Louisville at Rutgers)
11/15 Tulane at Houston (West Virginia at Pitt)
11/22 Mississippi State vs Ole Miss (Boston College at Miami)
If there's a college football game on during the week, I watch it. I even get excited to watch Sun Belt and MAC Tuesday and Wednesday matchups in November.
Needless to say, I was very bummed when I saw no Thursday games this week.
Needless to say, I was very bummed when I saw no Thursday games this week.
Glad I stopped watching NFL love college football.
Kennesaw State at Tennessee Tech is on ESPNU at 7 tonight. These teams are close to Sun Belt quality. Kennesaw State lost to (Sun Belt) Georgia State 24-20 last week and lost in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs last season.
But it's NOT an event anymore.
It used to be a showcase for teams, the only time an NFL game was played outside of Sunday afternoons.
To make the point, during the 90's I would meet folks at a couple different venues just to watch Monday Night Football. We'd go there, order food and drink, and sit at the bar and watch most or all of the game. Even if the game wasn't with teams we gave a rat's patootie about. It was just an Event.
Sunday Night, Monday Night or Thursday Night Football - will only watch nowadays if it's a team that I'm interested in.
People still do that. Bars in Hoboken are crowded for Monday night football. It’s just not that way for you anymore because you are no longer in your 20s, without kids or married like you were in the 90s.
I loved going to Thursday night games and watching them on tv. Always felt like an event at the stadium.
Isn’t there going to be Thursday nite college football anymore? Or is it just this week?
I knew Kennesaw State was worth watching. I grossly overestimated the quality of the Tennessee Tech squad.
Can't blame ESPN for not putting a Thursday night game on the same night as the NFL opener. But after that, the run of weak NFL Thursday night matchups will have viewers reaching for the remote. Just not sure that slate of games is going to attract too many people.
And age has nothing to do with Monday Night Football not being an event. It's just not the same. It was HUGE back in the day. Now the big game is Sunday night. Case closed. They get better matchups, they get to flex the schedules late in the year, and it has the feel of a prime-time event. MNF is only there because, well, it always has been.
I totally agree with the saturation factor, though. Thursday night football might be great for the bank account, but it's not particularly good for the fans and it seems to borderline suck for the players. But we're just wishing here. It's not going anywhere unless no network bids on it next time around.
And age has nothing to do with Monday Night Football not being an event. It's just not the same. It was HUGE back in the day. Now the big game is Sunday night. Case closed. They get better matchups, they get to flex the schedules late in the year, and it has the feel of a prime-time event. MNF is only there because, well, it always has been.
I totally agree with the saturation factor, though. Thursday night football might be great for the bank account, but it's not particularly good for the fans and it seems to borderline suck for the players. But we're just wishing here. It's not going anywhere unless no network bids on it next time around.
I don’t miss them at all. I love playing on Saturday afternoons...the day the game has been played on for 149 years now. I even hate the 8PM start on Saturday night.
Friday nights are for HS football.
Sunday afternoons are for pro football.
Saturday afternoon is for the college game.
The lone exception WAS Monday Night Football which was must-watch TV in the 70’s and 80’s. As a Giant fan, I can remember loving all the big matchups even when my team wasn’t playing. Teams that always seemed to be playing on Monday nights back then:
Dolphins
Cowboys
Raiders
Steelers
Redskins
49ers (especially vs Rams & Giants)
Giants
Bears
That’s the era I remember. It’s so sad the NFL killed that game with over saturation of their product. Also sad that their product in general sucks now. The need to push for parity has lead to more roster turmover
Friday nights are for HS football.
Sunday afternoons are for pro football.
Saturday afternoon is for the college game.
The lone exception WAS Monday Night Football which was must-watch TV in the 70’s and 80’s. As a Giant fan, I can remember loving all the big matchups even when my team wasn’t playing. Teams that always seemed to be playing on Monday nights back then:
Dolphins
Cowboys
Raiders
Steelers
Redskins
49ers (especially vs Rams & Giants)
Giants
Bears
That’s the era I remember. It’s so sad the NFL killed that game with over saturation of their product. Also sad that their product in general sucks now. The need to push for parity has lead to more roster turmover
Agree!!!!
I will watch any college football game over any nfl game.
The whole kneeling thing was really the last straw too!!!!
Not that I needed any more of an incentive to prefer the college game over the nfl.
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