The Captain patch

[irish]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

When I saw this thread title, I thought maybe it was about some sort of variation of the soul patch...

The C in the NFL certainly doesn't carry the same weight as the C in the NFL, but internally in each locker room I think it's significant

I doubt it has any significance in the locker room as the players know who the real leaders are and a patch isnt going to make a non-leader sudedenly into a leader. So whats next, stickers to be put on the helmet after a good play like in college. Then they could compare helmets in the locker room and know who the real players are.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by irish

I doubt it has any significance in the locker room as the players know who the real leaders are and a patch isnt going to make a non-leader sudedenly into a leader. So whats next, stickers to be put on the helmet after a good play like in college. Then they could compare helmets in the locker room and know who the real players are.

You're missing the point. It doesn't turn non-leaders into leaders. It just recognizes the established leaders, plus when there are issues/concerns between the coaches and players the captains often act as the go-betweens.

[irish]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

You're missing the point. It doesn't turn non-leaders into leaders. It just recognizes the established leaders, plus when there are issues/concerns between the coaches and players the captains often act as the go-betweens.

I seems to me that you are missing the point, the established leaders are already recognized by the team and coachs. No patch is required to know who the go betweens are. If anything, the patches are for the fans, not the players, team, coaches, or refs.

I guess I'm old school. All that matters is that the team & coaches know who the leaders are and the rest is just for show.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by irish

I seems to me that you are missing the point, the established leaders are already recognized by the team and coachs. No patch is required to know who the go betweens are. If anything, the patches are for the fans, not the players, team, coaches, or refs.

I guess I'm old school. All that matters is that the team & coaches know who the leaders are and the rest is just for show.

So what if they're for the fans? The fans are the driving force of the NFL anyway. The whole league is for the fans really. I think it's silly to suggest a player wouldn't be proud of wearing a captain's patch. Obviously the players and coaches know who the leaders are. But many of the fans out there wouldn't know who the team captains are without the C patch. It lets all the viewers know who leads their respective unit. I'm sure that means something to every player with the C on their chest.

[irish]

Originally Posted by GMScud

So what if they're for the fans? The fans are the driving force of the NFL anyway. The whole league is for the fans really. I think it's silly to suggest a player wouldn't be proud of wearing a captain's patch. Obviously the players and coaches know who the leaders are. But many of the fans out there wouldn't know who the team captains are without the C patch. It lets all the viewers know who leads their respective unit. I'm sure that means something to every player with the C on their chest.

I guess we could also debate the idea that the fans are the driving force of the NFL. IMO that couldnt be further from the truth. The driving force of the NFL is TV revenue. To a large extent it doesnt really matter what the fans want or when they want it, it all about what the TV networks want. If it comes down to a battle between TV or the fans the fans lose every time.

I'm sure players are proud to wear a C patch but I suspect they are more proud to know that they are viewed by their teammates and coaches as leaders whether they have a patch or not.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by irish

I guess we could also debate the idea that the fans are the driving force of the NFL. IMO that couldnt be further from the truth. The driving force of the NFL is TV revenue. To a large extent it doesnt really matter what the fans want or when they want it, it all about what the TV networks want. If it comes down to a battle between TV or the fans the fans lose every time.

I'm sure players are proud to wear a C patch but I suspect they are more proud to know that they are viewed by their teammates and coaches as leaders whether they have a patch or not.

What drives TV revenue? In large part it's ad sales. What brings top dollar for ad sales? Tons of viewership. Who views games? Fans.

If TV ratings sucked because there were no fans to watch the games, what would happen to TV revenue? Exactly.

Where are games played? In stadiums full of fans who pay top dollar for tickets, concessions, and parking. Revenue directly from fans' wallets into the teams' bank accounts.

Ultimately it all comes down to the fans. I'll argue this to death. If no one cared about football, it goes away. Pretty simple really.

[irish]

Originally Posted by GMScud

What drives TV revenue? In large part it's ad sales. What brings top dollar for ad sales? Tons of viewership. Who views games? Fans.

If TV ratings sucked because there were no fans to watch the games, what would happen to TV revenue? Exactly.

Where are games played? In stadiums full of fans who pay top dollar for tickets, concessions, and parking. Revenue directly from fans' wallets into the teams' bank accounts.

Ultimately it all comes down to the fans. I'll argue this to death. If no one cared about football, it goes away. Pretty simple really.

The fans are an indirect driver of revenue but when it comes to real muscle the TV networks win every time. The NFL knows the fans are a bunch of suckers that will lap up anything football related at any price. I just cant think of one case where the fans demands won out over TVs. IMO, thats where we see who has the true clout.