Jimmy G to Seattle

[obiken]

A long time ago, I read or heard something to the effect that the reason the NFL doesn't start their season earlier is because they have a gentleman's agreement with MLB to leave them the Labor Day weekend.

Hey thanks, that makes sense!

[RiverDog]

A long time ago, I read or heard something to the effect that the reason the NFL doesn't start their season earlier is because they have a gentleman's agreement with MLB to leave them the Labor Day weekend.

Hey thanks, that makes sense!

I'll have to emphasize that I don't know how much truth there is to it.

They used to play games on the Labor Day weekend. As a matter of fact, I think Curt Warner blew out his knee in the home opener in 1984 on either Labor Day or the prior Sunday. It wasn't until 2001 when the league moved their opening day to after Labor Day.

It's an interesting question, and maybe someone else can weigh in on it.

[Hawktawk]

I specifically recall Warner blowing his knee vs Cleveland on a Sunday as I was watching the game with church folks . No contact , just cutting on that really crappy rug . As remarkable a career as the guy had imagine what might have been , particularly that season had Curt Warner stayed healthy .

[NorthHawk]

It's an interesting question.
I don't know either, but I wonder if it's a carryover from College where it started and traditionally the school year began in the fall.
We're creatures of habit and often do things a certain way because we've always done so and the time of year becomes that sport's season.
Spring is Baseball season and Fall is Football season

[RiverDog]

Spring is Baseball season and Fall is Football season

Baseball relies heavily on fan from well outside a 100 mile radius of their ballparks for their weekend games, so Labor Day is a huge asset for them. The NFL realizes that, since they share the same venue location with so many MLB teams, that it's imperative that the two leagues work together on issues like this one, and that giving baseball the Labor Day weekend wasn't really a big deal for them.

And yes, Hawktawk, I, too, vividly recall Warner's knee injury. We were favored to go to the Super Bowl that season and losing our big gun in the first game of the season was a huge blow. And yeah, it was a non-contact injury with no one within 5 yards of him. He made a bit of an awkward cut and his cleats caught in the rug. I often wonder if the same injury would have happened on modern day fields, ie Field Turf and what his career might have looked like had he benefited from today's surgical practices.

[NorthHawk]

The question that was presented was why doe the NFL start so late?
Football as we know it evolved from the College ranks so it makes sense they would start in the fall as that's what people expected.
Baseball, although it evolved from the English Rounders didn't have the same college start as it evolved organically so to speak.
Baseball could have started in the fall, but they would have to play through the winter months which wouldn't work, either.

I can't think of another reason that Football would start so late in the year other than its traditional roots.
Maybe someone else has some information...

[Hawktawk]

And yes, Hawktawk, I, too, vividly recall Warner's knee injury. We were favored to go to the Super Bowl that season and losing our big gun in the first game of the season was a huge blow. And yeah, it was a non-contact injury with no one within 5 yards of him. He made a bit of an awkward cut and his cleats caught in the rug. I often wonder if the same injury would have happened on modern day fields, ie Field Turf and what his career might have looked like had he benefited from today's surgical practices.

I think we went 12-4 and Krieg set the team TD record at 32. Lost to Miami in the divisional . Got screwed out of a fumble Easley hit Duper so hard he was unconscious in midair . That’s from memory so maybe off but Knox had a few tough teams . It was remarkable at that time that Warner did as well coming back but it was never quite as explosive .

[c_hawkbob]

The question that was presented was why doe the NFL start so late?
Football as we know it evolved from the College ranks so it makes sense they would start in the fall as that's what people expected.
Baseball, although it evolved from the English Rounders didn't have the same college start as it evolved organically so to speak.
Baseball could have started in the fall, but they would have to play through the winter months which wouldn't work, either.

I can't think of another reason that Football would start so late in the year other than its traditional roots.
Maybe someone else has some information...

Who says it's starting late? It's starting the same time as it usually does. Just seems longer because there are only 3 preseason game so we have a week pause before game 1.

[NorthHawk]

I took the question as being late in the year.
Maybe that's not what he meant...

[RiverDog]

The question that was presented was why doe the NFL start so late?
Football as we know it evolved from the College ranks so it makes sense they would start in the fall as that's what people expected.
Baseball, although it evolved from the English Rounders didn't have the same college start as it evolved organically so to speak.
Baseball could have started in the fall, but they would have to play through the winter months which wouldn't work, either.

I can't think of another reason that Football would start so late in the year other than its traditional roots.

Maybe someone else has some information...

Who says it's starting late? It's starting the same time as it usually does. Just seems longer because there are only 3 preseason game so we have a week pause before game 1.

The NFL has been starting their regular season after Labor Day since 2001.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_NFL_ ... e%20season.

Like I said earlier, although I can't find a source, I'm pretty sure that they moved it to after Labor Day to accommodate the wishes of MLB.

[RiverDog]

And yes, Hawktawk, I, too, vividly recall Warner's knee injury. We were favored to go to the Super Bowl that season and losing our big gun in the first game of the season was a huge blow. And yeah, it was a non-contact injury with no one within 5 yards of him. He made a bit of an awkward cut and his cleats caught in the rug. I often wonder if the same injury would have happened on modern day fields, ie Field Turf and what his career might have looked like had he benefited from today's surgical practices.

I think we went 12-4 and Krieg set the team TD record at 32. Lost to Miami in the divisional . Got screwed out of a fumble Easley hit Duper so hard he was unconscious in midair . That’s from memory so maybe off but Knox had a few tough teams . It was remarkable at that time that Warner did as well coming back but it was never quite as explosive .

You have a good memory! We blew out the Browns in that game, but it seemed like a loss due to Warner getting injured.

I went to the last regular season game that year vs. the Broncos. We were 12-3 and could have wrapped up HFA had we won that game, but Elway played fantastic, and we ended up losing in the 2nd round of the playoffs.