Should fans pay to watch Super Bowl media day?
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Fans got to attend Super Bowl media day from the stands for the first time this year, paying $25 each to watch as players from the New York Giants and New England Patriots were interviewed by members of the press.
The 7,300 fans who attended the event could eavesdrop on the interviews on small radios and could also watch on the video board.
The league is considering a similar arrangement for the scouting combine in late February.
Does allowing the public to attend such events mean the NFL is becoming more fan-friendly? Or does it mean the league is more money-hungry than ever?
Writers from around the Tribune Co. discuss the topic. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the discussion by voting in the poll and leaving a comment of your own.
Ron Fritz, Baltimore Sun
I’m not sure if it says that the NFL is money-hungry -- we already knew that. I’m more worried about the people who actually paid to watch Super Bowl media day or plan to pay to watch the combine. What does that say about them? It takes ‘get a life’ to a whole new level.
No one will accuse the NFL of being fan-friendly. Just take a look at the price of game tickets (if you can find any), parking, the PSLs you have to buy to get season tickets and charging full price for preseason games.
Fan-friendly? The Ravens moved training camp to their practice facility where fans have no access. This killed a decades-long tradition of parents taking their kids to watch preseason practices.
It’s a billion-dollar business and the NFL wants to keep it that way. It doesn’t mean you have to pay -- especially to watch media day and the combine. Get a life.
Bill Kline, Allentown Morning Call
Whereas NFL teams extort exorbitant Personal Seat License fees from fans just for the “privilege” of buying a season ticket.
Whereas the NFL routinely schedules games that last until near midnight Eastern time on school nights.
Whereas the NFL at the last minute moves day games to night games, inconveniencing thousands of ticket holders.
Whereas if the NFL genuinely cared about its fans, Super Bowl media day attendance would be free.
And whereas the NFL would sell the leftover air it pumps into its footballs if it could.
Why of course charging for media day admission is a money grab.
Let’s just hope that at next year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, the NFL does not angle for a cut of the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.