I Don't Care About NFL Preseason

There is an interesting phenomenon going on in Seattle this summer. The NFL preseason has started and people are selling tickets to the games at and above face value. In past NFL seasons tickets to Seahawks preseason games have been basically free. Season ticket holders are forced to buy preseason tickets along with the regular season games. Rather than go to these games the ticket holders would sell them at reduced values. If you knew a season ticket holder they would often just give them to you. On StubHub you could grab a few for around $20 each.  This year they are holding onto the tickets or trying to sell them for a profit. This strange behavior is endemic of the greater attitude surrounding the Seahawks 2015 season. People were pumped for the first preseason game against the Broncos. They were having blue Friday and smack talking Broncos fans. They were full of pride and ready to root their team on, in a preseason game. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the preseason I still cant get into the games.

I have never been able to get into preseason football. Much like spring training in baseball it isn't worth my time. The games are still at least three hours long. I can easily find something else to do with my three hours than watch third stringers battle it out for a position on special teams. I don’t need to see some third string rookie play with my own eyes.  I don’t care who wins and who loses because they provide no predictor of regular season success. Instead I will just read about the results and analysis the next day.  I will still get to know who played well and is looking to make an impact on the regular season and who has under-performed.

Every year there are some previously unknown players that shine in preseason. Sports media starts hyping them all over as a breakout candidate. People talk about them all over town, beaming about their potential in the upcoming season. Very few of these preseason stars ever pan out. Instead they fail to make the team or do nothing in the regular season. Their names are forgotten by week four of the regular season. By not having watched them play I miss out on being a contributor during a couple of weeks' worth of preseason games, but that is it.

The results of the games don’t matter. After each team has played four preseason games the records are wiped clean and regular season starts. Going 4-0 in the preseason doesn't give your team a head start or even a tie breaker in the regular season. The NFL doesn't hand out trophies for winning in August. The results of the preseason games are not indicative at all of what they are going to do in the regular season. You would rather a team go 4-0 than 0-4, but it doesn't really matter. Try looking up a database of historical preseason results. It is hard to find one. Pro Football Reference doesn't keep records of the games.

The recent Broncos vs Seahawks preseason highlights all the reasons I don’t watch the preseason games. The Broncos, who are expected to have one of the best offenses in the whole NFL, didn't start their best QB, WR, or RB. The Seahawks star QB, Russell Wilson, threw one pass. Instead Wilson's backup Tarvaris Jackson played for a while before getting hurt and then some guy names RJ Archer came in and playing the rest of the game. There is basically zero chance that RJ Archer plays in the regular season. Watching him play against some Broncos third stringers tells us nothing about the Seahawks upcoming season. Additionally the results of the game, a Broncos victory count, for nothing. The Seahawks have still won the last two contests that count against the Broncos. No amount of preseason wins will outweigh a Super Bowl victory and a regular season win.

None of this is to say that you shouldn't watch the preseason. If you find enjoyment in the events, than by all means spend your time rooting for your team to beat the opponents in the preseason. To each his own. For me, I just can't get excited for the preseason. The price of not seeing the game is not great enough to outweigh the cost of not doing almost anything else.