The NFL season officially got underway earlier this week with the Chiefs and Lions game, but with all due respect to Patrick Mahomes and company, none of it will feel real until the kickoffs later today. That’s because, no matter how many days the NFL expands to, it will always be intrinsically linked with Sunday and more specifically, the chaos of Sunday afternoons with a ton of games going on at once. And nothing better exemplifies that chaos than NFL RedZone.
Since the season ended last year, NFL RedZone has displayed a really depressing graphic thanking fans for watching and saying it’ll be back. Well, that back is almost here, and to celebrate, longtime host Scott Hanson dropped a picture of that very same graphic to hype up fans. You can check it out below…
Remember when this popped up in January and we were all sad? It disappears in 12 hours. See you 1pm ET ! #NFLRedZone pic.twitter.com/qJwZX4ziytSeptember 10, 2023
The live update channel launched back in 2009 and has since grown into a cult phenomenon. It allows fans the ability to stay updated on every single NFL game going on at once. In short, host Scott Hanson switches back and forth between all the action going on, specifically focusing on games that feature one team in the RedZone, aka the twenty yard line and in where scoring plays typically happen. He also shows replays of all the touchdowns and pulls out notable plays.
It’s a great way for people who are more broadly fans of the entire league rather than one specific team to watch the action, and with the rise of fantasy football, it’s also a great way for fans (and celebrities) to keep updated on their personal players that are likely playing for many different teams at the same time.
Over the last few decades, entertainment has become increasingly segmented. There’s never been more stuff to watch, and there’s never been more niche interests being served. In many ways, that’s been a huge win for consumers who are now getting way more programming targeted at them, but it also means there are way less times in which large groups of people are consuming the exact same thing at the exact same time. The NFL and more specifically NFL Sundays are a big exception to that, as tens of millions of people watch every Sunday across multiple networks and NFL RedZone.
If you’ve never tried NFL RedZone before, I can’t suggest it enough. I’m mostly a full games kind of guy, but sometimes, if my chosen game is a blowout or during commercials, I’ll hop over to RedZone, and it’s a delight every single time. Scott Hanson is the best in the business, and I’m so happy to see him back for another trip to the endzone.