Commentary

Poll On Fan Reaction to NFL Labor Mess Good News For The League

The authors of a new poll on how the current NFL labor unrest might affect fan interest have the wrong spin. Sadly, instead of causing the NFL and the players to recoil and begin negotiating with a renewed desire to compromise, it should only accentuate a belief that fans will always be there, so what's the rush?

The Adweek/Harris Poll found that 19% of Americans say they will be less likely to watch games if the season is delayed because of the labor fight (11% of that subset say much less likely). A pollster conclusion: the labor mess and some fears about the rash of head injuries suffered by players (current and past) may bring "a rough road ahead" for the league.

Among the critical 18-to-34 demo, only 12% say they're less likely to watch due to a season delay.

The poll also found that on the plus side for the NFL, 67% are basically ho-hum and aren't any more or likely to watch.

So, less than 20% are turned off enough to even express their frustration in an online poll -- about 2,100 U.S. adults were surveyed -- where it would seem natural to just say the heck with both the owners and players?

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That's remarkably low. Not sure what the over-under number is for when the NFL should be worried. But 20% is way under.

It's May and fans aren't really likely to dial in until maybe two weeks before the season is to begin. A poll then with lost games threatened could show their pique way up, but the current results reinforce the grip the NFL has on fans.

That's a remarkable contrast to baseball. When the sport has had its past labor strife, the players' union - perhaps because it was viewed as particularly uncooperative - seemed to be the target of particular public anger and blame. It was, to be fair, their strike that did lead to a World Series cancellation.

And there was a feeling of who do these guys think they are with this idea that millions of dollars to play a kids' game isn't enough?

That 1994 strike caused enough fan frustration with baseball that some say widespread interest did not return until the 1998 race to break the single-season home run record.

It will take football four games to recover, not four years.

The head injury issue could actually help save football as far as the current labor stand-off. Fans have much more sympathy for the NFL players and what they sacrifice to play than they did for the baseball players.

That could ultimately lead to immense public pressure on the owners.

So far, however, the owners don't have to worry - if the poll is right.

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