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Post by BakFu on Dec 17, 2023 19:29:34 GMT
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Post by BakFu on Dec 24, 2023 4:30:03 GMT
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Post by BakFu on Mar 3, 2024 15:28:00 GMT
Clueless Canadian here, what’s the story behind Oklahoma not having an NFL team while some states have two? Is it just down to population size/density (Market size) or are other factors at play? It seems like a fiercely supported college sports state, but I don't know the whole story. Up here in the frozen north, Saskatchewan doesn’t have an NHL franchise, but it’s a huge hockey province and an abundant source of many NHL players. Saskatchewan is definitely considered a small market and the population is pretty spread out (even though it’s a prosperous province), and it seems almost blasphemous it doesn’t have a pro team while there are cities in the US that have “ice hockey” (shudder…) teams that don’t seem to give half a shit about them. Would Oklahoma even want an NFL team? Just curious, thanks in advance!
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Post by El Marsh on Mar 8, 2024 23:38:37 GMT
Clueless Canadian here, what’s the story behind Oklahoma not having an NFL team while some states have two? Is it just down to population size/density (Market size) or are other factors at play? It seems like a fiercely supported college sports state, but I don't know the whole story. Up here in the frozen north, Saskatchewan doesn’t have an NHL franchise, but it’s a huge hockey province and an abundant source of many NHL players. Saskatchewan is definitely considered a small market and the population is pretty spread out (even though it’s a prosperous province), and it seems almost blasphemous it doesn’t have a pro team while there are cities in the US that have “ice hockey” (shudder…) teams that don’t seem to give half a shit about them. Would Oklahoma even want an NFL team? Just curious, thanks in advance! As knowledgeable as I feel that I am about general sports topics, I've never really delved into the dollars and cents of the business side of it, so I am quite possibly speaking outside of my depth here.
My take on Oklahoma not having an NFL team is that while Oklahoma City "might" be able to support an NFL team (they do very will with the NBA which appeals to a much smaller domestic audience, generally and in terms of game attendance), the fact that the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team is the biggest sporting brand in the state probably has something to do with it. I think there is some trepidation revolving around the idea that an NFL team might detract from the media prominence that the Sooners and (to a much lesser extent) Oklahoma State Cowboys bring. Whether that thought is accurate can't be known until someone actually succeeds in moving a team there.
Regarding the market size, Oklahoma City (which I use because it's the most populous and prosperous city in the state) has a more populous metro area than New Orleans, Buffalo, and (of course) Green Bay. It's marginally smaller than Jacksonville (the 4th smallest market in the league) which has notoriously struggled with attendance for a myriad of reasons that wouldn't necessarily happen in other markets (like being the league's 3rd team in a state that's also a very prominent College Football hotbed). Likewise, part of what drew the NFL to Las Vegas wasn't a big media presence (LV is the NFL's 5th smallest market) but the metric **** ton of money that it could make off of appealing to tourists who travel to AMERICA'S MECCA FOR TOURIST SCHLOCK to see their team play and that concept has worked out perfectly for them. I don't think OKC offers the league much in terms of attracting new fans or generating big revenue, domestically or from visitors.
tl;dr It's a bit of a gamble to plop a team in a market that's defined by its college football and the market itself doesn't have enough to offer the NFL to justify expanding there, at least as it is now (the city is both growing and trending in the right direction economically)
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Post by BakFu on Mar 9, 2024 18:34:26 GMT
Man, this all makes sense. As a Canadian, we can’t often grasp the magnitude of college sports in the US. There really isn’t anything remotely comparable here, barely anyone notices university sports, and our best prospects are poached by US college teams anyway. Lower tier hockey leagues are semi popular, but the NHL is king here. CFL is dying as its fan base ages out and is not replaced by new fans, and the NBA is really picking up steam now.
I guess you don’t need a pro team when you have a huge following for your college squad. I once saw Beaver Stadium next to Penn State, and I was shocked at the size of it. Locals told me about the scarcity of tickets, and how ownership of those tickets could tear families apart and such. I’d love to check out a college game of anything one of these days. Thanks for the in depth analysis!
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Post by gotchism4life on Apr 23, 2024 22:12:37 GMT
NHL Playoffs...Yay!
Having both Florida teams in the playoffs while being a proud Floridian...Yay!
Both Florida teams playing each other in the 1st round...Boo! That doesn't work for me brother.
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