You can tell it is football season and the emotions that accompany this time of year are, as usual, running very high.
We are at the mid-way point of the NFL Season, and as the teams start to "shake out" and despite the warm weather and "laid back" reputation of the San Diego populace, when it comes to scheduling NFL games each week, everyone has an opinion, and those opinions are very passionate.
Frankly, during this time of year, I am besieged by football fans who are convinced that due to the NFL games we run each week, I am either the biggest idiot on the face of the earth, a plant for one of the other NFL teams, or I have “666” planted on my forehead and must be eradicated.
It is an exciting time of year to receive viewer feedback since the words and descriptive adjectives (and sometimes adverbs as well) being used to describe me for the football games we air each Sunday are not ones any father would like his children to ever see.
Sometimes, due to the FOX Network promotional spots that we are required to air, it looks like we are purposely deceiving our viewers and when that happens, the violent reactions from our patient and long-suffering fans escalate in quantum-physic-like proportions.
To help illustrate this, I will print a couple of actual e-mails from this weekend that require the least amount of editing for family viewing and I also show my response since this might be the best of helping our viewers understand why and how the games are scheduled each week:
To: GM Blog
subject: your choice of football games message: what are you, a complete idiot? How can you schedule a football game that has teams such a long distance from San Diego. You are an a—hole with s__t for brains. Why wouldnt you schedule the Denver vs Philadelphia game at 1pm instead of driving people away from your stupid TV station by running some lame Brad Pitt movie! Obviously, you don’t have any idea what you are doing and should be fired from your job.
To: Viewer Feedback Subject:
Viewer Feedback: your choice of football games subject: NFL Double Header message: Hey this message is for the program director that chose to play a Brad Pitt Movie rather the the Philadelphia vs Denver game. Dude you are an a--hole. So glad we have morons at fox that think they will make more money off of a 8 year old brad pitt movie then an nfl game. When does your contract with the nfl end?
So dear Blog reader, are you feeling the love? Can you sense the compassion and understanding? Here is how I responded to each of these two different e-mails with the names left out to protect the ardently outraged:
GM/RDJ: Dear XXXXXX, this was not our decision, it is the NFL's rules, you might want to direct your anal epithets at them.
First, Fox can only air the NFC designated games, and even when an NFC team is playing a AFC Team this does not mean it is available for FOX Network to broadcast. For example, last week the Chargers lost a heartbreaker to Philadelphia Eagles but it was an AFC designated game not an NFC game. The Chargers are AFC, not NFC.
As you noted, this week we were originally scheduled to have Double Header game, but by NFL rules governing home market teams, since the Chargers were playing at home at 1pm on Sunday, we only have the 10am game: Redskins vs Giants game. By NFL RULES we are forbidden to air the 2nd half DH against a home team game which will be at 1pm. If the Chargers had not been playing at home at 1pm, we would have been carrying the 2nd half of the DH, which was Denver vs Philly game. (the other DH 1pm game was Tampa Bay vs SF)
We are restricted by NFL Rules. We don't always agree with them but they are very strict and that is what governs many decisions on what games are even available to broadcast. These are rules Fox Network cannot break, much less a San Diego based Fox Affiliate.
The only other game available to us at 10am with “local interest” or AFC consequences would have been Green Bay vs Cincinnati, and while the Bengals has the former USC Heisman winner, Carson Palmer, at QB and while Green Bay has Brett Favre, the Packers have only won one game and has 1/2 their team on the injured list.
We compared this game to the Redskins and Giants who are fighting for first in the NFC east with Philly and Dallas. It is likely that 2 or 3 of the total number of NFC playoff teams will come from the NFC East this year. In addition we do have relocated snowbirds from the East coast who are fans. The Giants also had their owner (Wellington Mara) pass away this week and he was one of the greatest gentlemen in the history of the NFL…so more emotion and (possible) interest for the game.
XXXXXX, I hope that answers your question. I know it can be frustrating and especially when it comes to the NFL which so many are passionate about but it is never as easy as it appears. As you can see we would much rather run the NFL than Brad Pitt at 1pm, but that is (unfortunately) not our decision.
By the way, since I am a rabid Chargers fan (which is part of why we have the Charger Power Report on Saturday's @6pm) I personally hate having to see them on CBS when Fox does such a better job of covering football games! Believe me, I would love to see the Chargers be switched into the NFC West so Fox6 could broadcast the majority of their games…they would also win the division!
Have a good rest of the weekend.
