The quotes can add some good depth to your story and gives fans more info than simply regurgitating what happened on the field. I can't prove anything here, but I'd wager that more fans than not want to get reactions from the players they follow about a big game or a big call (hearing from Dez on last week's call for instance) even if the answers are just canned and meaningless. Personally, I agree more with you. I don't really care if a player speaks after the game or not because I know 99% of the time, you're just going to get meaningless canned responses. But bosses have expectations, a lot of fans have expectations and 5-10 minutes isn't exactly asking a ton. That said, if the NFL dropped the fines for media availability tomorrow, I wouldn't have a problem with it.