When I was Thirteen years old, (give or take) playing football
seemed fun, but I was much younger then. Also, it never took
three hours (3 hours.) to play!
Now that I am older, I understand that the one hour (1 Hr.)
game has it's clock stopped on numerous occassions and is
stretched out to 3 hours. For some people like me, three
hours is too much time sitting down without real action.
Take a moment, record a game and as you are watching that
three hour game, start the stopwatch when the real action
stops (or when the game clock stops) and track the real
action. You might find that the real action usually is
limited to less than twenty minutes per game. I have been
observing this time for many years and sometimes the
actual "action time" drops below 20 minutes to 13 minutes
per game.
Commercials add to the non-action. I understand that some
commercials are fun to watch, but they are not part of the
game. They are necessary, but too many bloat the time
needed to enjoy the game of football.
We all know a game that has half-time (intermission?) Yes,
there are usually great acts and performances during halftime,
but does it need to be 30 minutes long? Perhaps 9 minutes
of half time would be better for those of us that cant sit down
for three hours to watch a one hour game (by the clock) being
drawn out to three hours.
Lowering the 3 hour game time to 2 and a half hours and
increasing the action by stopping the clock fewer times might
make the football game better.
When you include pregame and postgame shows and specials,
the football game can feel even longer.
Wouldn't the football game be more enjoyable to more people
if it didn't take 3 hours or more?