Sports fans have plenty of options to choose from this weekend, with key games taking place in both college football and the NFL. The 12-team College Football Playoff commences on Friday night with a first-round game between No. 10 Indiana and No. 7 Notre Dame. Throughout Saturday afternoon, two more CFP games take place that air at the same time as a doubleheader of pivotal NFL matchups. The first-round matchup between No. 9 Tennessee and No. 8 Ohio State closes out the night in prime time television on ESPN and ABC, which also takes place as basketball and hockey games air per usual.
With a number of choices being offered, former 97.1 The Ticket host Mike Stone wanted to know whether people would watch college football or the NFL if offered the choice on Saturday. Stone, who was filling in for Jon Jansen on the morning show, asked co-host Jim Costa his opinion regarding the matter while he also shared texts from listeners divulging their opinions. Although Costa has several NFL fantasy teams still alive in leagues, he affirmed that he would choose college football in this scenario.
“Ohio State, which may be overrun with Volunteers fans, and they all might be pulling for Tennessee by the end of that game because Ohio State fans are going to be just a mess if they can’t win this football game,” Costa said. “There’s great college football games to watch this weekend, and that’s not a knock against the NFL games, but what are the stakes of Texans-Chiefs? Seeding?”
One of the listeners who texted their opinion into the show concurred with Costa, saying since the NFL games only consist of AFC teams, he would watch college football instead. The four teams that are scheduled to play on Saturday will have a short week to take part in the first-ever NFL games to be exclusively streamed on Netflix as part of a Christmas Day doubleheader. Although the league had played Christmas Day games in the past, it was never an annual endeavor until the 2020 season, and it has exhibited strong intrigue despite being up against the NBA.
“[That] is a whole different [thing],” Stone said regarding NFL games on Christmas Day. “I think it’s almost sacrilegious. ‘Well, NBA does it.’ Well, that’s a tradition, whatever.”
Costa asked Stone why the NFL should opt against starting a new tradition, to which he replied that he does not want NFL games to take place on a Wednesday. After conveying that Christmas Day does not always fall on Wednesdays, Stone added that he understands and hopes that the holiday does not fall on a Tuesday.
“Around the holiday, a lot of people got time off,” Costa explained. “Days of the week blur together for people. I’m not sure it’s that big a deal whether it’s a Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s going to be a day that people have off and they can sit down and watch big NFL games, as long as they make it good matchups.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
