OT: Detroit Lions - Sad State of the Pontiac Silverdome

are able to have death row inmate gladiator fights for spring "seasons", and are able to change the name from Silverdome to Thunderdome, it's just going to be a decaying monument of what was.

I give you...the barbarian horde.

Something for an archaeloogist after fallout to figure out.

Honestly, I can see this kind of think continuing.  Alabama is having trouble selling out home games against no-name teams.  The Tide is religion down there.  I'll take my man cave over nearly every fall game in a stadium.  I wouldn't have said that a few years ago.  I know the silverdome is dead because the Lions moved, but consider stadiums in general... 

Hockey has it right, almost.  Not a huge stadium - compared to football and baseball.  Those can sell out without having a spectacular team.  Where they have it wrong is having so many games.  I can't get up for a hockey, basketball (pro), or baseball game until it starts to really matter.  There are just too many for an individual game to mean much.  Yeah, it's all revenue, but I wonder if interest fades with so many meaningless games to the point where it actually does harm to the point where interest drops out and people see it as it is - a business.  It's so obvious already.  I actually try to not look further than coaches salaries because the plenty rest of it makes me feel like a dumb ass for even stressing and certainly spending $'s following it.

But consider your 60 inch 1080ppi screen, normal priced beer you can drink to your content, a nice couch, a private bathroom, no drive, no parking $'s, no prep, no crouds, no deafeningly loud stadium music, basically free to watch, sleeping in on Saturday morning (a personal treasure for me).  Just you, or you and your buds/family.

Football is different, but not entirely.  College or Pro - every game counts.  A football Saturday or Sunday is an event - well, the first game against a no-name team, and the bigger games.  Tailgating, the game, post tailgating.  But even the Purdue type games can be an event.  It's worth the cost and inconvienence.  But I no long get season tickets.  I typically go to a couple games every year, and enjoy watching most of the games in comfort at home or at someone else's home.

PS - I'm a Sparty (and thank you for giving us that national brand ;) ).  I only bring this up because those back to back 11 wins seasons were different; a caveat.  Then, it was an amazing experience to actually be at those games.  Understand, it was an awesome community experience being at Spartan Stadium when we were turning the corner into uncharted territory.  We had a good season every ten years or so, but this felt different.  That's when it's worth the cold and rain, and everything else - when confidence was gaining that corner was being turned, and being at the stadium with fans that suffered through mediocrity (at best sometimes) for decades.  People - strangers - everywhere would literally turn around and hug each other after big wins.  Trust me, our fan base has desperately wanted, and have for so long waited for this.  I've never experienced anything like those back to back seasons, compared to all of my many seasons at Spartan Stadium.  2013 was no different - although I didn't make a game last season.  There was that same feeling at work and elsewhere.  Actually, it was the same thing, but better.  Everyone thought we were a 6-6 team after the first two games - a mid-MAC level offense.  Then, it happened again.  Even if UofM is the bigten champ next year, I would assume it still wouldn't compare to MSU's 2010, 2011, and 2013.  Count yourselves lucky you don't know what I mean.  But that's the one time where, IMO, season tickets, and even away games are no contest worth it.  Now, I'm afraid that we've come to expect that as the norm.  It won't feel the same, and losses against really good teams become depressing.  But there's something exceptional about being right there when you're turning the corner and knocking out the heavy weights when you just recenlty were thought of as fodder. 

Okay, back to my point.

The Paradox of Choice right here.  Back when most college games weren't on TV (I'm old), and I was a kid, I loved every moment (except for losing) when I went to football games.  Now, I weigh the options, sometimes wish went when I didn't, and sometimes wish I stayed home and recovered from the work week with an easy day on the couch watching not just my game, but catching other game highlights.  Just tired by early Saturday night when I needed to relax.  Almost doesn't make sense to sit through a rainy or freezing game on a metal bench when the next best thing is actually better - and essentially free.

And "old" matters.  Look at how many old dudes sit through college games.  That is part of their culture.  I wonder if the younger dudes today are going to put up with cold, rain...all the stuff I mentioned above when their future improved 3D 4000ppi (something like that is already in the works) 90 inch screen will put them right there.  Now, consider the other sports that are essentially also rans to football for most sports fans.

Consider the bigten network price (probably already with the package you'd have anyway) vs season tickets - not to mention all of the other costs and inconveniences.  I'm thinking a couple regular season games per year is what most younger fans will want in the not too distant future.  Students don't count.  They will drink and go to the games as long as their team can still be bowl eligible. 

Massive stadiums may well point to a time when TV's were low def boxes that got 3-channels, entertainmet was relatively scarce (certainly by today's tech world), sports was king, admisson was much more reasonable, a parking pass didn't require a obscene donation just to make you eligable to then pay another obscene amount to park, pro players retired with the teams that drafted them - hard to be loyal when the players aren't, when kids didn't have "drive me to and pick me up" weekend activities all year, and chilling out from work on a Saturday or Sunday wasn't quite as necessary.  

Or maybe it's just me.