Whenever analytics begin breaking into the mainstream of a sport’s fandom, there’s significant pushback. Eventually, new stats become part of the lexicon, but there will always be some portion of the sport’s fans that will never accept them and rage against the nerds that are ruining the experience of watching the games with their numbers.
In baseball, the process is almost over, as advanced analytics are simply part of the game now. In basketball, advanced stats still get under the skin of many, especially former players, and the battle between numbers and the eye test rages on.
However, there’s no sport in which analytics are newer to the common fan than football. Football fans would rather talk about someone’s grit and determination than their sack rate, so it should come as no surprise that the pushback from old school football fans to new stats is more aggressive than anywhere else. The perfect example of this came from New York radio show host Don La Greca, who ranted for a good two minutes on the Michael Kay Show on Wednesday about stats nerds ruining football and how he didn’t need stats to tell him the Giants’ offensive line sucks.
https://twitter.com/dsantana310/status/910234624277741570
It’s important to note that this is incredible radio and a hilarious rant. He is getting really, really worked up over this whole thing and wants you to know that he’s watched football for 40 YEARS and the only stat that matters is that the Giants’ offensive line sucks. It’s great stuff, truly. He also goes to the tried and true “people that like stats are virgins” dig, by noting they’ve only seen the naked body through National Geographic — this is, to be honest, one of the most creative versions of that attack, so bravo.
However, it also speaks to the unnecessary disconnect between the eye test fan and the one that likes stats. There are absolutely some people that go too far in letting stats and numbers dictate their view of players and teams. That said, for the most part people want to encourage others to use stats to backup what they think their eyes see.
When watching football, it’s really hard to see everything happening on the field live, or even on one rewatch of a game. There are 22 players out there, stretched across the 53 yard width of the field. Stats can help tell you what you thought you saw was right, but can also let you know that maybe you missed some important context.
As always, a balance of statistical analysis and watching the game and knowing football is important, just like it is with any sport. By doing so, you too can know that the Giants’ offensive line sucks and much more.
But this is the most relevant use of the “Pythagorean Theorem” in a long, long time.
