You ever watch those survivalist shows? The ones where they send some allegedly poor soul out in the wilderness to live off the land, and the entire series is that person eating bugs, trying to catch fish by hand, cooking rabbit, and sifting their own urine through sand to get some liquids in them?
Obviously, it’s all fake. But the point is that when people are hungry, they find something to eat (metaphorically and in reality).
The FCS once again will take the main stage, the only time it does such a thing, this Saturday for their FCS Kickoff game, ushering in the college football season and taking on hoards of football-starved fans who will watch anything meaningful related to the game.
This will be the third season for it, and quietly, it’s become such a remarkable success, the FCS should consider expanding it past one game.
Like, if you can get the equipment on the road, get a few more games going THIS Saturday.
North Dakota State will play Charleston Southern this go-around, the second straight Kickoff appearance for the NDSU Bison. Last year in this spot, they played Montana in what doubled as the “YES, THERE’S LIVE FOOTBALL ON TV” and “I always wanted to see what the Bob Stitt (Montana coach) guy was all about, but for some darn reason, the Colorado School of Mines isn’t ever on the tube.”
Montana won a stirring game late, shocking the Bison, and only adding to the intrigue of the game.
Between the first year when the FCS tried this deal with Sam Houston State and Eastern Washington to Year 2, attendance rose by 16,000 and the television ratings spiked from 0.5 to 0.7. Last season, the Kickoff game was seen by nearly 1 million households and was the fourth most popular sporting event on cable that day.
Not too shabby for a lower-division game between two teams in minor media markets. The game drew a 2.4 rating in Birmingham (further confirming Alabama’s love for anything football related) and drew a 1.8 rating in Columbus … but even more encouraging … dual 1.5 ratings in Atlanta and Oklahoma City.
If there was a cheap stock that was destined to make you rich, sports wise, this would be it.
Now, the FCS just needs to capitalize. Get more games on. The FCS Kickoff can be the centerpiece, but get three more games on television. Get something in the morning (people love themselves some waking up to college football), one in the early afternoon, one around the 3:30 p.m. EST window, and then a prime-time slot.
Worst case scenario, you’re on television and one or two of the time slots bomb. Best case scenario, you’ve carved out a niche, capitalizing on the general public’s desperation to watch anything football related as summer comes to a close. Plus, with more games comes more exposure for teams that otherwise wouldn’t ever be in the national spotlight.
For the networks, it’s a win-win. There’s literally nothing on television this time of year, with good reason, because you should be outside doing something more productive. With the reality that even with good weather, some people hang out and watch television instead, plus the Saturday night restaurant-sports bar scene, you could end up getting some pretty decent eyeballs on these games.
The popularity of football in general is heading towards a peak, particularly the professional game, but there’s still an opportunity to ride the wave.
People are starved for their football come late August. The FCS already is getting teams on that weekend. Expand it, make money, get exposure, satiate the hungry who are willing to eat bugs for dinner (metaphor, again, since FCS football honestly is awesome and not nearly publicized enough), and keep on soaring, FCS.
