The air is beginning to cool, the leaves are changing color, and there’s pumpkin spice in everyone’s coffee. That can mean only one thing – fall is here.
Fall brings more than just new flavors at Starbucks, though. It’s usually the time when many sports leagues swing back into action, with competitions on either side of the Atlantic getting down to business.
This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and most other European soccer competitions.
With new seasons, we also see a flurry of activity in the betting markets with fans piling in to make their predictions on the outcome of the season and the opening games. These bettors also usually find a wealth of free betting offers and other bonuses around this time as sportsbooks in comparison sites such as OddsChecker look to attract new customers during this busy period.
But why is all this action concentrated in just a few months rather than spread out over the year?
The Weather
You’d think that playing more games during the summer months would make sense for sports leagues. There’d be less chance of rain and snow getting in the way of fixtures and helping to attract more spectators.
Increased daylight would also mean games could be scheduled later or at least run with fewer expensive floodlights.
But playing in the summer brings problems, most notably the fact that it can become too hot.
Granted, in many parts of the United States and all of the United Kingdom, the summer isn’t likely to bother many professional athletes, but there are plenty of places where it will.
You only need to look at the fact that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been moved to the fall because of dangerously high summer temperatures in the country to see why this is important.
Academia
You’ll also notice that most academic calendars start around the same time as these sports leagues. This isn’t a coincidence.
College football, for example, is a big influence on the whole sport of gridiron. The NFL simply matches the traditional college football schedule, with a few minor tweaks here and there.
Television
Sports leagues make most of their money from television broadcasters. It is, therefore, a good idea to help the networks make the biggest return they can by scheduling games when more people are likely to be watching.
When the days are shorter and the weather is colder, fans are more likely to be at home to watch a game than in the summer when it’s perfect to spend time outdoors.
Therefore, there’s no incentive for leagues to deviate from their traditional schedules.
