rufuscrispo

Football in general is probably in decline, mostly because we've lived through the "peak football" era. The conditions to prop up football as this level just aren't sustainable. It won't go away, but it'll never be as big as it has been in the past two decades or so.

Youth participation in football has been declining nationally for years. Some of that is attributable to more info on CTE coming out and families of means are directing their kids into other outlets. Some of it is young people themselves pursuing other interests.

Also, even before covid, you had weather conditions cancelling a few dozen college and high school games every season. That's only going to become more common. If you told me even two years ago that the 2020 season would look like this, I'd think you were an alarmist, but here we are.

For college football, we'll probably see another round of conference consolidations or partnerships, expanding the playoffs, and locking in participants. That's what TV wants and ad revenue for live broadcasts will be the water that floats the boats. The cost will be a lot fewer schools having the means to field a team. I don't like it, but that's what's been trending for years.

Personally, I'm a Bama fan, so I know if football's only being played on the moon and Tuscaloosa, we're nuts enough to start erecting Apollo rockets. But I'll miss all the rest of it.