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Should pro teams be geographically grouped?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Chuck., Jun 14, 2011.

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  1. Yes, teams and fans will use less fuel

    4 vote(s)
    80.0%
  2. No, the rivalries are too important

    1 vote(s)
    20.0%
  1. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    Should the NFL, MLB, NBA, and the NHL group their teams into divisions where they are close together?

    For example in the NFC East, the Cowboys are not exactly in the neighborhood as the Redskins, Giants, and Eagles.

    Another example: why is the Tampa Bay Rays in the same division as the Toronto Blue Jays?

    In other words, is being green more important than rivalries?
     
  2. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    It's going to take a pretty major paradigm shift before saving energy is seen as more important than making money. So, as long as the rivalries bring out the paying customers, not much is going to change on that score.

    All the airline travel isn't sustainable, but I don't see sports teams switching to railways anytime soon. They could have their own trains, complete with work out equipment, and just live on them while travelling the country. :)



    edit: I stopped watching car racing years ago, because it seemed like such a ridiculous waste that I didn't feel comfortable supporting it. Back and forth across the planet, just to go round and round. Oooh, look, this one went 42 milliseconds faster than that one. Crazy.
     
  3. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    It's more about time zones so that's why Toronto and Tampa Bay are in the same division.

    Also in the NFL, it doesn't matter as much because games are not played very late at night.

    In Baseball, Basketball and Hockey, they play a lot of games. TV ratings are very important and if NY plays @ LA with a 7:30 start time, it is 10:30 in the East. If the game ends in 2 1/2 hours it will be 1:00 AM in the East.

    Similarly, LA @ NY, the game will start at 4:30 in the west which is not exactly prime time.

    Also in baseball they have day games that start at 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM and again in the West the game could start at 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM and that really kills viewership.
     
  4. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    An even better question is: Why are teams wasting their time with geographically-based names when they're losing millions in Product Placement?

    I predict by the end of the decade we'll be seeing the Microsoft(tm)Yankees(r) play the Apple(tm) Red Sox(r).
     
  5. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    You don't think the benefits (mostly in the safety world) we get from racing outweighs the waste? I don't watch NASCAR but sports car racing and Formula 1 seem to bring a lot of technology to the streets.

    I know that Boston, Philly, NYR, and Washington take the trains when they play each other in the NHL.
     
  6. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    Personally, I would think being geographically near each other would increase sports rivalries, not decrease them. Some of the biggest rivalries I've seen have been one's where fan's can drive from one city to another to see their teams play each other. Think... Michigan/OSU - A massive rivalry that most people wouldn't care about if the two were on opposite sides of the country. As it is, they're within easy driving distance of each other so games against each other end up having large quantities of fans from both teams.
     
  7. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    The NFL and NBA would like to expand to Europe.

    Imagine scheduling a LA/Paris game! :eek:
     
  8. amm0bob

    amm0bob Permanently Junior...

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  9. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    No, I don't. Mandatory testing has done far more for passenger car safety than live crash test dummies in racing cars. Racing probably makes us less safe, not more. The whole go-fast winner-take-all attitude has permeated our driving culture, making the daily commute riskier than it should be. And we don't need hundreds more horses than we can control to move our fat, lazy bodies over short distances.