Columnist Dean Juipe: NFL games running too long

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

It was 12:20 a.m. in Miami when Philadelphia's David Akers kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 34-24 lead against the Dolphins, and with two minutes still remaining to be played Pro Player Stadium was all but deserted.

Those two minutes actually took 12 to play and by the time the Eagles' 34-27 victory was finally sealed the stands were empty.

Monday Night Football had become Tuesday Morning Football, and it wasn't only the Dolphins' fans who were tired and displeased. Throughout America, football fans were left to wonder at what point does too much of a good thing become downright tedious and unbearable?

National Football League games, particularly those televised nationwide, are being dragged to ponderous distances by networks whose primary interest is expanding the telecasts to accommodate more and more commercials.

The games themselves are long and when TV delays -- including such things as the long-winded introduction ABC uses to open its Monday telecasts -- are factored in, they can become monotonous if not exhausting.

The Monday night game, which concluded at 12:32 a.m. in Miami (or 9:32 p.m. in the Pacific time zone) ran three hours and 25 minutes from the opening kickoff. And it was not atypical for last weekend's games.

Aside from the all but jaunty 2:48 it took the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers to play, most games exceeded three hours and at least one -- Tennessee vs. Buffalo, at 3:30 -- stretched longer than the Miami-Philadelphia game a night later.

The majority of games clocked in at or around an arguably counterproductive 3:15.

Pro Player wasn't the only stadium that emptied early, as fans become disgusted with the delays and leave early for home. But to see a competitive game on the fish bowl that is Monday Night Football come to an end with more people on the field than in the stands only drove home the point that longer isn't always better.

Pro football has a problem and it's lengthy games. Speaking for myself, I don't believe I've made it through a single NFL game from start to finish this season, and it's not because I don't like the football being played.

It's just that the interruptions are too constant, too debilitating. As a consequence, it has become progressively easier to get up and walk away.

What needs to be done is this: Find a way to limit the games to three hours, which, incidentally, is the time limit the networks stubbornly block for their telecasts even though the games routinely run over and disrupt their other scheduled programming.

Major League Baseball has made a concerted effort to reduce the times of its games in recent years, and basketball and hockey games run acceptable lengths. Look at the times (at the bottom of the box scores) for games in the NBA and NHL and figures such as 2:07, 2:11 and 2:18 are commonplace.

With pro football games running more than an hour longer than the other major sports, it isn't only the players on the field who are winded. Fans in the stands and TV viewers alike are being fed a steady diet of pauses, disjointed play and impromptu intermissions that sap even the heartiest of supporters.

And the league's indifference to such things is a sign of disrespect to those who pay the freight.