The surest indication of the continuing effects of the Great Recession is that it has even affected the golden league, the NFL.  Up until the Recession first hit in 2008, it was unheard of for the NFL to suffer league-wide drop in ticket sales.  Then came the Recession and ticket sales have dropped in each of the last three years.

The drop-off this year has been so bad that as many as 11 teams may be subject to blackout when their home season opens. To be fair, the economy is no  solely to blame.  The quality of HD broadcasts and home theater AV systems has made the home viewing experience the equal of the stadium experience in many ways - especially for those fans whose seats would have been in the upper reaches of the stadium where they would have been watching the game on the stadium's big screens anyway.  In addition, the troubles of some of the 11 teams on the field surely has contributed to the drop in ticket sales.  Nevertheless, the major reason would still seem to be the economy and unless teams decide to buy up the unsold tickets for distribution to servicemen and women or underprivileged kids, the league will be seeing (or not seeing, to be more accurate) more blackouts in quite some time.