NFL panic? Not likely

As the popularity of high-definition televisions has skyrocketed, some NFL fans have observed that watching games at home has its merits. Rising ticket prices and extra security measures to make sure weapons are kept out of stadiums have made attending games a bit more of a hassle.

So while it was surprising last week that three of the NFL’s four wild-card round playoff games were not instant sellouts, it wasn’t a total shock. Just as the concert industry has suffered a backlash from higher ticket prices, many have been expecting a similar reaction to professional sports.

As someone who remembers when postseason tickets were rare treasures, it hurts to admit that it’s hard to argue with someone who says the hassle may not be worth the trouble of attending.

Thanks to the crystal-clear close-ups, fans at home see so much more than when our screens were square shaped. Ask Ohio State fans who watched last Friday’s Orange Bowl. Who had a better idea that quarterback Braxton Miller was in pain — viewers in their comfy living rooms or Urban Meyer’s coaching staff?

I don’t blame anyone who thought twice about buying a ticket for Sunday’s San Francisco 49ers-Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field. As Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban and Betty Garrett sang in 1949’s “Neptune’s Daughter” — baby, it’s cold outside.

And Green Bay was frozen.

For those who have to leave home today, ask yourself how badly you’d want to be exposed to these temperatures for a three-hour-plus game. The answer depends on what’s at stake (I’m sure Browns fans would pack FirstEnergy Stadium if there was a game there today).

Sitting outside wearing six layers (or more) of clothing is not for everyone.

The indifferent reaction of fans in Indianapolis and Cincinnati last week should send alarm bells ringing in league offices for all major sports, but it won’t.

That said, I was puzzled. The Colts play in an indoor stadium. The Bengals were seeking to snap a 22-year drought in playoff victories. Why would you not want to go to those games?

Being outdoors on a wintry night can be challenging. Steelers fans showed that on Dec. 15 at Heinz Field when the third-place Steelers jumped all over the first-place Bengals for a 27-7 lead at halftime of NBC’s Sunday night game.

Although the temperatures were in the mid-20s, brisk winds were blowing. At halftime, just about everyone in our upper-deck section left their seats to get out of the wind. Hoping to warm our toes with a little walk, we saw the masses huddled in front of the concession stands TV sets on the upper concourse while a high school band valiantly played on the field.

As the game was about to resume, fewer than 50 fans returned to our section. In the third quarter, we lasted two possessions. When the Founder of the Feast says her toes are freezing, there’s no negotiating. We immediately descended to The Great Hall’s bleachers to watch the rest of the game.

A friend wondered if fans would have stayed in the stands (and created somewhat of a windbreak) if the Steelers’ record had been 8-5 instead of 5-8. The answer? Probably.

The empty seats weren’t a problem for the Steelers organization — all the tickets were sold. But when 10,000 aren’t used, that’s a lot fewer customers buying concessions. (To their credit, the Steelers gave away hot chocolate that night.)

Will the NFL panic at slow sales? Hardly. It’s the most popular league in the land. The NFL is so confident that it can charge its best customers the same prices for preseason games as for the ones that count.

And the TV ratings for last weekend’s four games were tremendous. The 49ers-Packers rating (47.1 million viewers) was the best ever for a wild-card game (topping the Steelers-Broncos overtime game from 2012).

Stay warm and say thanks to the football gods that there are no playoff games today. Who knows who might show up to watch.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on twitter at @Williams_Vindy.