National Football League Fans Perceptions of the Helmet-to-Helmet Contact Rule Change

Crimsynn Dover and Jay Sturm Belmont University

Statement of the Problem

Lack of understanding of how fans feel about off-season rule changes

Is the game being changed?

Revealed that players are not in support of certain rule changes

Research Question & Hypothesis

Are fans perceptions of the National Football League (NFL) game affected by the impact of the off-season rule changes on the game?

H1: NFL fans perceptions of their enjoyment of the NFL game have negatively changed after the rule change regarding helmet-to-helmet contact.

Significance of the Study

The fan-base of a football team, its consumers, is what keeps the sport alive.

Fan reactions are important for NFL owners and organization executives to note for the purposes of NFL success.

In performing this study, the researchers may further understand fan perceptions as they relate to changes within the NFL and its organizations.

Study Limitations
Only NFL fans will be surveyed for their opinions.

Limited to those season ticket holders who have Internet access and e-mail addresses.

Focus lies within the fan bases perceptions

This research is subject to assistance from specific NFL teams. Should any team choose not to participate, results will not include that particular fan base.

Only consists of those individuals who have been season ticket holders for a minimum of three years

Definition of Terms
Fan: any person who has been a season ticket holder for at least three years.

No helmet-to-helmet contact rule change: rule 12, section 2, article 8 in the NFL rulebook.
Under the restrictions for unnecessary roughness, the NFL states inappropriate helmet-to-helmet contact occurs when any part of [the players] helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/hairline parts) or the facemask [is used] to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily (ESPN.com Staff, 2010).

Literature Review
NFL Commissioner
Rule changes decrease injuries and make the game safer Rule changes havent taken the rough and tumble our of football nor decreased its popularity (Gary, 2011).

NFL players opinions

Cleveland Browns Josh Cribbs: NFL rule changes are BS[You are] not making the game safer [you are] messing [with] a great sport, trynna hide behind safety just to add [to] games (Kelberman, 2011). Chicago Bears Devin Hester: Theyre going too far. Theyre changing the whole fun of the game (Kelberman, 2011). New England Patriots Troy Brown: difference in the way games were officiated after referees were told to crack down on defenders who try to break up pass plays before the ball is thrown

Literature Review
Growth of football and its fan base
2012: top ten TV markets included 33,740,030 TV households, which made up29.43 percent of the US (Editors, 2012)

Lack of research which focuses on fan opinions

Literature Review
Sport Spectatorship: an Achievement and Identification Perspective
When players celebrate, spectators share in their celebration.

Relationship among Fan Attraction, Involvement, Psychological Commitment, and Behavioral Loyalty

Behavioral loyalty comes from an attraction to and a psychological commitment to a sport event.

Literature Review
Review of Rule Modification Research Studies

Second most frequently mentioned purpose of rule modification was to attract spectators and to attend to commercial pressures and interests (Arias, Argudo, & Alonso, 2011, p. 3) Almost half of the studies, which analyzed previous rule modifications, found some other aspect of the game was affected. Only 8.5% of the studies consulted participants, but none considered fans opinions.

Study Design
Quantitative Research Design Rather than using phenomenological interviewing, utilizing the survey method to gain their understanding of the helmet-to-helmet contact rule change phenomenon

Beneficial when testing a social phenomenon

Population and Sample

All NFL fans having season tickets for 3 or more years

The population will be stratified based on their number of years as season ticket holders.

Stratified random sampling performed

Ethical Considerations

Investigative Techniques
E-mail sent questionnaires with close-ended questions

The dependent variable is fans perceptions

The independent variable is the helmet-to-helmet contact rule change

Instrumentation
The researchers plan to use a standardized instrument of Likert scales. The Likert scales are based on five responses (ranged from 1 to 5) Likert scales have been proven valid and reliable

Assign numerical values for the demographic information

Survey Questionnaire
Part II Part I 1. Age _________ 2. 2. What is your gender? ! Male ! Female ! Prefer Not To Answer Sad ! Scared ! Neutral ! Happy ! Excited ! How do you feel when a successful defensive play, involving helmet-to-helmet contact, occurs? 1. Head down contact is the primary injury mechanism of severe cervical spine and head injuries. Strongly Disagree ! Disagree ! Not Sure ! Agree ! Strongly Agree ! Other (Please Specify) __________________________ 3. How long have you been a season ticket holder? 3. ! ! ! ! 0-3 Years 4-7 Years 8-11 Years 12+ Years Do you believe you can determine a players intent when helmet-to-helmet contact occurs? ! Yes ! No ! Not Sure

4.

On average, how many regular season games do you attend each year? ! ! ! ! 0-3 Games 4-7 Games 8-12 Games 13-17 Games

4.

Do you feel Roger Goodell (commissioner of the National Football League) should be in charge of determining the punishment for helmet-tohelmet contact rule violations? ! Yes ! No ! Not sure

5.

For which team do you hold season tickets? __________________________ How familiar are you with the National Football Leagues 2010 helmet-to-helmet contact rule change? Very Unfamiliar ! Unfamiliar ! Not Sure ! Familiar ! ! Very Familiar

5.

Do you think harsher penalties will decrease helmet-to-helmet contact/related injuries? ! Yes ! No ! Not Sure

6.

6.

How do you feel about the following statement: Suspensions and fines for helmet-to-helmet contact are worthy punishments for the rule violation. Strongly Disagree ! Disagree ! Not Sure ! Agree ! Strongly Agree !

7.

Do you feel the helmet-to-helmet contact rule is easily interpreted? ! Yes ! No ! Not Sure

7.

How do you feel about the following statement: The helmet-to-helmet contact rule affects how players play. Strongly Disagree ! Disagree ! Not Sure ! Agree ! Strongly Agree !

8.

How much do you know about concussions as they relate to football injuries? Nothing ! Minimal ! Not Sure ! Some ! Very Much ! 8. What is your opinion on the helmet-to-helmet contact rule change as it relates to how physically the game is played? Greatly Discourages Physicality ! Discourages Physicality ! No Change ! Encourages Physicality ! Greatly Encourages Physicality !

9.

What is your opinion on the helmet-to-helmet contact rule change as it relates to players safety? Not Very Beneficial ! Not Beneficial Not Sure Beneficial ! ! ! Very Beneficial ! Never ! Sometimes ! Not Sure ! Often ! Always ! 9. How often does the helmet-to-helmet contact rule prevent players from leading with their helmets during a tackle?

10. In your opinion, how valuable is the helmet-to-helmet contact rule in preventing injuries? Not Very Valuable ! Not Valuable ! Not Sure Valuable ! ! Very Valuable ! 10. How often do you think coaches prepare their players by enforcing the rules in practice? Never ! Sometimes ! Not Sure ! Often ! Always !

Data Collections

Data Analysis Plan

Descriptive statistic and inferential statistic techniques Use inferential statistics to test the statistical significance, using the Pearson r test, for the level of correlation

Use central tendency to determine the mean age for a season ticket holder in general as well as for each year span as shown on the survey

References
Andrew, D., Pederson, P. M., & McEvoy, C. D. (2011). Research methods and design in sport management. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Arias, J. L., Argudo, F. M., & Alonso, J. I. (2011). Review of rule modification in sport. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 10, 1-8. Bee, C. C., & Havitz, M. E. (2010). Exploring the relationship between involvement, fan attraction, psychological commitment and behavioural loyalty in a sports spectator context. International Journal Of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 11(2), 140-157. Braunwart, B. & Carroll, B. (n.d.). No Christian end! The beginnings of football in America. The Professional Football Researchers Association Research. Retrieved September 14, 2012 from http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Articles/No_Christian_End.pdf. Clark, K. (2012). How the NFL Put a Fork in Defense. The Wall Street Journal, D5. Editors at the NFL. (2011, August 15). New Kickoff Rules are Winning Few Fans Among Players, Coaches. NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d821785ce/article/new-kickoff-rules-are-winning-fewfans-among-players-coaches Editors at the NFL. (2012). NFL Record & Fact Book 2012: The Official National Football League Record and Fact Book. Time Home Entertainment, Inc. ESPN.com Staff. (2010, October 19). NFL rulebook: Unnecessary roughness. ESPN. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/29969/nfl-rulebook-unnecessary-roughness. Gary, M. (2011) NFL Safer but No Less Popular, Goodell Says. USA Today. Sports 01c. Gary, M. (2012, February 2). Kickoff Returns, Concussions Drop in 2011 after Rule Changes. USA Today. Sports 08c. Kelberman, Z. (2011, March 22). NFL announces new rule changes for 2011 season. Retrieved from http://helmet2helmet.net/2011/03/22/nfl-announces-new-rule-changes-for-2011-season/. Lawrence, A. (2012). The Commissioner Cracks Down. Sports Illustrated, 116(11), 38-39. Zillmann, D., Bryant, J. & Sapolsky, B.S. (1989) Enjoyment from sports spectatorship. In Goldstein, J.H. (Ed.) Sports, Games and Play: Social and Psychological Viewpoints (241-278). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Questions?