Posted on 07/16/2020 5:26:05 AM PDT by Sir Napsalot
The National Football League celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. This should be a time of self-congratulation for the brutal sport, which has no similar counterpart outside the United States.
The NFL's megaprofits dwarf those of other professional sports in the U.S. The Super Bowl, not the World Series, is America's national sports event.
(snip)
In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem. He claimed he was protesting the treatment of African Americans. ....
Kaepernick's rejection of "The Star-Spangled Banner" eventually spread throughout the NFL. Even though he was a backup quarterback, Kaepernick became a resistance idol. Soon he was a corporate ad man pitching Nike sneakers.
Then game attendance fell. So did television viewership. Apparently, lots of fans had no desire to spend their Sundays watching 20-something multimillionaires lecture them that the American flag was not worth honoring.
(more snip)
... NFL capitulation poses fundamental problems for the league. It has now essentially green-lighted the sort of activism that in the last few years has been eating away its profits.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
I haven't watched any NFL game since the spread of kneeling during national anthem (i.e. 2016), no league (commish, owners, personnel) action nor player action have enticed me back to support them (either by watching them in person or on tv; or buying any kind of paraphernalia related to the sport). I want to say ditto to NBA or women NBA but I don't watch them in the first place.
Once this capitulation spread to all professional and collegiate sports, I am down to playing old video games all time then (since I haven't watched any movie in theater for >2 decades).
I stopped watching over two decades ago. I see snippets when I’m in a sports bar or pizza parlor, but that’s about it.
The NFL is staring into the abyss while being pushed forward by former fans.
Let them go over the edge and enjoy the ride down.
The left has wanted to end football for a long time. Guess they’re going to get their wish
There’s biting the hand that feeds you - and there’s taking a dump in it.
I’m not in the demographic the NFL cares about. I’m over 60, and the fan of a traditionally horrible team. I used to be a big fan. Then my hometown team decided to make a mockery of professional football, both in the move, and in the ineptitude of their reincarnation. Add on this political crap, and I’ve never felt less interested in the NFL.
May I suggest a federal ticket tax and a federal pay per view tax to support education to compensate for tax subsidized stadiums.
Couldn’t care less. The NFL is now nothing more than a “wokeness” pageant.
Count on it.
Overall, he's got a good point. The NFL may be somewhat saved from its own folly if there are no fans in the stands for the games where the players kneel.
I personally already reduced my football watching to just the Browns, but if -- as threatened -- the QB and others kneel at that first game, I'm done with them too.
NFL is courting a huge set back. I know people who will never again spend a penny on a ticket, watch the sport or spend anything on NFL gear.
I am sure the NFL has irreparably devalued their own brand.
It’s a unique situation that Americans can vote TWICE.
They can vote on election day and AGAIN with their dollars. WE have the upper hand and if we just demonstrate our views on voting day AND by withholding our dollars... we can regain the country.
Next thing you know they will be demanding participation trophies for the losing teams.
Corporate “America” is nearly all in on the progressive agenda. The behavior of the NFL is no different than any other large corporation. The NFL doesn’t care about older demo because corporate advertisers covet young people.
Catering to the people who don’t watch your sport while spitting on the ones who do is not a good strategy.
“I stopped watching over two decades ago.” Problem is FR posters aren’t typical. There are a lot of fans who live and die by the team they grew up with. The NFL will lose money but they have a lot of money to lose before they reach the point where it really hurts. The owners are rich and don’t need the cash. The proportional racial thing will never happen. Sports are about winning and the current mix is optimum for that.
We’ll see the patronizing go on and be accepted as normal. It will further denibish the collective patriotic view and make racial divisions greater.
I am done with the thug league.
“So far, the NFL has avoided federal safety regulations that could curb the incidence of physical trauma inherent in the sport.”
VDH equivalent of “nice shop you’ve got there - real shame if anything happened to it”.
bump
John Stossel: Football Stadium Subsidies: A Bad Deal for Taxpayers?
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