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Comment by cheschire | Hacker News Reader

Whenever I think it might be worth it to finally go watch an NFL game live, and I start looking at those ticket prices, I start to question if it's worth it or not. Then I get to the seat view simulator and instantly close the tab because holy hell are the "affordable" NFL seats absolutely terrible to watch a game from. Can you even see the player numbers let alone the names? I guess you need to be a big enough fan to know all the players by number on offense, defense, special teams, and the full depth chart for every position in case there are injuries.

Nah. A one time purchase of a 77" TV with surround sound was absolutely the better option.

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I went to go see a Broncos game once about 10 years ago, it was $400 for a single ticket. I was in the top section, 3 rows from the back, I needed a Sherpa to help me get to my seat. I could tell there was a game of football being played down below me, but that was about it. I couldn't see the ball, I couldn't read any of the players' numbers, I couldn't see the refs hand signals. A beer and a hotdog was $30, and there was a 10-minute wait for the trough urinal in the bathroom. I was just watching the game on the jumbotron, which based on the distance was comparatively smaller than the TV in my living room.

The atmosphere was great, cheering with 75,000 other fans is exhilarating, but I haven't felt the need to go again. Soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, I've all been to multiple times, the Denver stadiums for them are great, and the tickets and concessions aren't too expensive. Football is the only sport I really follow, but I'll never go to another game. The local high school is within walking distance, and a ticket is $5.

I used to go to Rockies games over the summer with coworkers after work and buy cheap seats in the rockpile and everyone would drink and eat and just leave when they felt like it. It's probably the best live sports experience I've ever had.

The very best gridiron football is NCAA (SEC specifically) but getting tickets is basically unobtanium. I was lucky to have a FIL who was an alum, and donated enough yearly to get "rights for" season tickets for UGA games (Go Dawgs!). As the saying goes, "There's nothing like cheering on your team with 92,000 of your closest friends." An absolutely amazing experience every time that I got to go. [edit:clarity]

Live football far exceeds football on TV for watching play development and execution. TV can't resist the closeup, which precludes you from seeing tne entire field of play, the defense being run, the matchups...you're missing a lot on TV. That being said, I don't live in a city having an NFL team so I have to travel. Add in elevated ticket prices and I don't typically make it to more than one game per year.

In case you didn't know, the NFL releases game video on their website which can be downloaded as part of their basic NFL+ subscription ($7.99/mo). It's not the broadcast feed, it's the "all-22" views where you can see all the players on the field from above and each end zone. This is the same footage you see on many game analysis videos by football YouTubers.

Now that every NFL player wears a tracking beacon between their shoulder pads, there's an unbelievable amount of automated metadata available from a variety of third-party data services. The data can include breakdowns segmented per team, unit, player, drive, down-and-distance, etc and the costs can be quite reasonable depending the depth and sophistication of analysis. There is also some data available free on ad-supported sites or on free-to-join sites, including on fantasy football and sports betting sites who use the free data to attract sign-ups.

College is a good alternative. I go to one of my almae matres' games every year. To me, it's way more fun than NFL for a fraction of the price.

I agree NFL is best at home. Hopefully OTA broadcasts remain a thing for a long time to come.

One time purchase? How are you watching?

Probably an OTA antenna and/or streaming

Since I would maintain an NFL+ subscription regardless of my attendance at a game or the purchase of a large TV, I don't factor it in.

I got the TV specifically with the money I redirected from an NFL tickets budget line.

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