The NFL season is over, but media coverage of America’s most popular sport is now a 24/7/365 affair. There’s certainly more NFL media content available than ever before on sports TV shows, talk radio, podcasts, and social media. But is coverage better than in the past?
The Domonique Foxworth Show tackled that topic Wednesday, posing the question: “Has NFL coverage gotten better or worse?” Bryan Curtis, media critic for The Ringer, appeared as a special guest and provided a clever one-word answer: “Both.” Curtis noted that the expansion of coverage has brought both positive and negative elements.
Foxworth classified NFL media coverage into three types: the first group consists of those who watch just to see something “dope” or “really cool.” The second includes “the ball watchers, the jargon users, and the film guys.” Foxworth expressed his disdain for the final category, referring to them as “stats nerds,” who tend to sap the enjoyment from the game as they focus on analytical problem-solving.
Reflecting on his early days in media, Foxworth said, “When I first got into media…I tried to overcompensate…’Oh no, you guys aren’t smarter than me; I can get as deep into these analytics as anybody can.’ Then I realized I started dreading getting ready for this, because it was much more fun to watch the game and then be like, ‘You know what, this is dope. …Because the reason why we like sports is because it’s f****** cool.’”
Curtis emphasized that the best talent in NFL media can seamlessly navigate the three categories Foxworth outlined. He stated, “When we talk about the best people at doing TV, the Troy Aikmans, the Cris Collinsworths, the Greg Olsens, they are doing the ‘Wow!’ part. They’re smart enough to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, did you see that?’ But then they’ve read the analytics and looked at all those stats, allowing them to mix in Xs and Os without making anyone feel left out.” Foxworth agreed, noting, “I think that’s one area that we can say has unequivocally gotten better is the in-game play-by-play guys. I think that has definitely gotten better.”
Despite his criticisms of “stats nerds,” Foxworth also believes that social media has negatively affected NFL media coverage, stating, “You find yourself responding to, and also having your takes and opinions, influenced by your social media experience.”
