Football Economy

Boy am I glad football season is back. I get excited every Saturday and Sunday morning like a kid on Christmas who is about to open his presents. The best part is it doesn't stop there. Monday Night Football is a constant and now there are big college games every Thursday and Friday. I guess that makes Tuesday and Wednesday the football weekend.

But with football season back in full swing I am not the only one who is excited. Business owners seem to be happy to welcome in the crowds. Everyone has talked about how expensive it is to go to a game and how great the television viewing experience has become. It seems like any sports bar I go to is capitalizing on that point.

On Saturday's and Sunday's almost all sports restaurants are taken over by people dressed in jersey's and other NFL paraphernalia. Rather than paying hundreds of dollars to go see one game, football fans are flocking to televisions where they can see all the games. Local watering holes have become a virtual United Nations for sports. Where LSU and Florida fans can come to watch their teams play and their rivals loose. Thanks to the NFL Sunday Ticket those fans can watch every game as they bounce from TV to TV.

As they do so, restaurants have picked up a tailgate like atmosphere. The wings are hot and the beer is cold. Packer fans don't have to battle the frozen tundra of Lambeau field and Dolphins fans don't have to put up with the sweltering heat. With such an inviting atmosphere you can be sure fans will return week after week as they live and die with their favorite franchise. And as they do they'll be living the life of excess: drinking, eating, and spending money. Still, they'll be getting quite the discount compared to what they would have paid to go to the game, and they won't have to put up with the traffic either. Leaving sports bars and restaurants to spike their profits.