why aren't nfl employees allowed to say "nfl"?

[PackersFTW]

ever notice how you have NEVER heard an nfl employee (announcers, analysts) say "nfl" but rather they ALWAYS say "national football league". this is one of those stupid things that bother me. i think it sounds so stupid. the only thing i can think of is they don't want people to confuse the nfl, the nfc, and the afc. my problem with that is that if you are confusing a conference with the entire league, you probably watch about 1 hour of football a year, and thus the nfl shouldn't give a damn about you.

[wwcfoa43]

It all has to do with branding. The NFL marketing staff probably did focus groups that heard he term NFL (with its weak sounding "N") and then heard the full name and the conclusion was likely that the full name was better at promoting brand awareness. Now this is not the same as people at home or us using the term ourselves which is the more common NFL and you are correct that there is no confusion.

An outfit like the NFL will take brand awareness very seriously and so all broadcasters will have their rules set out for them.

[OverAndBack]

A) Announcers and analysts aren't NFL employees.
B) Announcers and analysts do say "NFL," just as they do say "National Football League."
C) No, it's not so people don't confuse the NFL, the NFC and the AFC.
D) You're on the wrong message board.

[Tim C]

" . . . Ever notice how you have never heard an nfl employee (announcers, analysts) say "nfl" but rather they always say "national football league". This is one of those stupid things that bother me. I think it sounds so stupid. The only thing i can think of is they don't want people to confuse the nfl, the nfc, and the afc. My problem with that is that if you are confusing a conference with the entire league, you probably watch about 1 hour of football a year, and thus the nfl shouldn't give a damn about you. "

wobw

[aschramm]

Originally Posted by PackersFTW

ever notice how you have NEVER heard an nfl employee (announcers, analysts) say "nfl" but rather they ALWAYS say "national football league". this is one of those stupid things that bother me. i think it sounds so stupid. the only thing i can think of is they don't want people to confuse the nfl, the nfc, and the afc. my problem with that is that if you are confusing a conference with the entire league, you probably watch about 1 hour of football a year, and thus the nfl shouldn't give a damn about you.

Yeah, you're right. The NFL shouldn't care about the people who watch the game, and in doing so increase revenue for the league.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by OverAndBack

A) Announcers and analysts aren't NFL employees.
B) Announcers and analysts do say "NFL," just as they do say "National Football League."
C) No, it's not so people don't confuse the NFL, the NFC and the AFC.
D) You're on the wrong message board.

Is this multiple choice?

[PackersFTW]

Originally Posted by OverAndBack

A) Announcers and analysts aren't NFL employees.
B) Announcers and analysts do say "NFL," just as they do say "National Football League."
C) No, it's not so people don't confuse the NFL, the NFC and the AFC.
D) You're on the wrong message board.

A) you know what i mean, and just because they may not be directly paid by the nfl, but rather fox or cbs or whatever, doesn't mean they don't have to follow nfl rules.

B) no, they don't. you must not watch much nfl. don't you think somebody who is bothered by something this small would have already been listening for them to say nfl for years? the closest they come to saying nfl is "in football" and "in the league". i notice small stuff like this, and i damn sure wouldn't think this let alone talk about it if i only had about a game or two of proof. i'm sure they have slipped up and said nfl before, but i have yet to hear it after well over 100 games where i have been paying attention, along with the analyst shows.

C) ya, the previous guy seemed to have it right, and like i said, if you are confusing those, you aren't really a fan so who cares

D) you make the rules? how about instead of trying to boost your self esteem by insulting others (you can play dumb if you want, you know what i'm talking about), you can give friendly nice advice like the large portion of people on here do, which is why i like this forum. most forums are full of flamers. not only do you have false information on B, but you state that i'm on the wrong forum for asking an nfl related question instead of a high school officiating question or something? give me a break, seriously don't respond then.

[PackersFTW]

Originally Posted by aschramm

Yeah, you're right. The NFL shouldn't care about the people who watch the game, and in doing so increase revenue for the league.

so you consider people who watch 1 hour of football a year to be people that gain the nfl money? *insert immature insulting emoticon here*

[PackersFTW]

Originally Posted by wwcfoa43

It all has to do with branding. The NFL marketing staff probably did focus groups that heard he term NFL (with its weak sounding "N") and then heard the full name and the conclusion was likely that the full name was better at promoting brand awareness. Now this is not the same as people at home or us using the term ourselves which is the more common NFL and you are correct that there is no confusion.

An outfit like the NFL will take brand awareness very seriously and so all broadcasters will have their rules set out for them.

this sounds right. thank you.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by PackersFTW

so you consider people who watch 1 hour of football a year to be people that gain the nfl money? *insert immature insulting emoticon here*

Why are you asking football officials? Shouldn't this be asked on a broadcasting forum?

Do a search on 506 forums or DBS forums and you might find a more knowlegeable crowd.

[OverAndBack]

Originally Posted by PackersFTW

A) you know what i mean, and just because they may not be directly paid by the nfl, but rather fox or cbs or whatever, doesn't mean they don't have to follow nfl rules.

You're assuming this is an NFL "rule." It's not.

Because...

B) no, they don't. you must not watch much nfl. don't you think somebody who is bothered by something this small would have already been listening for them to say nfl for years? the closest they come to saying nfl is "in football" and "in the league". i notice small stuff like this, and i damn sure wouldn't think this let alone talk about it if i only had about a game or two of proof. i'm sure they have slipped up and said nfl before, but i have yet to hear it after well over 100 games where i have been paying attention, along with the analyst shows.

Wow. 100 games? Man.

How many clips of people saying "NFL" will it take to convince you, then?

C) ya, the previous guy seemed to have it right, and like i said, if you are confusing those, you aren't really a fan so who cares

Okay, then.

D) you make the rules? how about instead of trying to boost your self esteem by insulting others (you can play dumb if you want, you know what i'm talking about), you can give friendly nice advice like the large portion of people on here do, which is why i like this forum. most forums are full of flamers. not only do you have false information on B, but you state that i'm on the wrong forum for asking an nfl related question instead of a high school officiating question or something? give me a break, seriously don't respond then.

I do not have false information. I know more about certain things than you do. This is one of them.

This is an officiating forum, genius. Your question in the OP has zero to do with officiating. Therefore, it's in the wrong forum.

You are, seriously, about 15 years old, right?

[JRutledge]

PackerFTW,

Life must be really good, you have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much time on your hands if you concerned with what announcers call a specific league.

Or you are about 15 years old as stated.

Peace

[OverAndBack]

FWIW, Kevin Harlan, Matt Vasgersian and Jim Nantz all made multiple references to "the NFL" yesterday.

[PSU213]

Originally Posted by OverAndBack

FWIW, Kevin Harlan, Matt Vasgersian and Jim Nantz all made multiple references to "the NFL" yesterday.

In addition, we have the 'NFL on FOX' and nfl.com

Plus, it's their league and they can say 'National Football League' all the time if they want to....

[aschramm]

Originally Posted by OverAndBack

FWIW, Kevin Harlan, Matt Vasgersian and Jim Nantz all made multiple references to "the NFL" yesterday.

I was definitely going to try and pay attention to that yesterday after reading through this discussion, but the announcers for the Packers/Lions game were pretty bad, so I kept the volume down. I'll listen for it this weekend though.