Posted on 10/16/2009 9:01:21 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The concern and negativity expressed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Indianapolis Colts' owner Jim Irsay, and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith over Rush Limbaugh potentially becoming a limited owner for the St. Louis Rams was certainly the right thing to do from a public relations standpoint.
And it certainly accomplished its goal, as Dave Checketts essentially had no choice but to drop Limbaugh from his group that is interested in the franchise, which he did last week.
But from a business standpoint, it sends a bad message to prospective owners and could end up hurting the league’s bottom line as a whole.
Not only was the potential for an overlooked team that lacked tradition in St. Louis to become meaningful in the eyes of NFL fans everywhere discarded, but Limbaugh’s tremendous platform that could have been used to promote the league was also lost.
Limbaugh’s job description and resume as a conservative shock-jock speak for themselves, and stating that you want President Barack Obama to fail and insinuating that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is overrated because he is black are not the best things to say if you want to become a part of the increasingly P.R. conscious NFL.
But Goodell and Irsay seemed to focus more on what Limbaugh has said, than to whom he has said it to.
Millions and millions of people, many of who like him and many who despise him, and more importantly, many longtime NFL customers combined with those who could not care less for the sport.
I don’t know how having Limbaugh as an owner would have hurt teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, who can’t sell out their stadiums, because Limbaugh could have been the Jerry Jones of owners for liberal sports fans everywhere.
And I also don’t know how it wouldn’t have increased the value of the NFL’s TV and cable contracts, its advertising spots, and the amount of Rams' merchandise sold across the country.
Advertisers gobble up spots for Limbaugh’s radio show, why wouldn’t they do the same for games featuring a team owned by him?
And the notions that Limbaugh being a minority owner for the Rams would have hurt the team’s ticket sales and resulted in players refusing to sign with the franchise are false.
If there is one thing that fans do best, it's separate their teams from their owners.
Clippers' owner Donald Sterling has admitted to paying for sex and has been accused of housing discrimination, but that doesn’t stop the team’s small number of loyal fans from showing up at the Staples Center.
And Lions fans still support their team sufficiently even after years of poor ownership by the Ford family.
It's easy for players to say that they wouldn’t have taken Limbaugh’s money now, but I don’t know if that would have ultimately been the case.
ESPN NFL analyst Chris Mortensen said it himself when talking about the subject: “Money talks.”
Is the NFL powerful enough to continue to be the most successful professional sports league in America without Limbaugh?
Obviously.
MLS commissioner Don Garber and the NHL’s Gary Bettman would have played Russian roulette with Andrei Kirilenko if it meant having an owner with the shrewd marketing skills and audience that Limbaugh possesses, and would have put up with all of his potential Mark Cuban-type moments on the radio because of that.
The NFL is not the MLS nor the NHL.
But with that said, perhaps the biggest consequence of Goodell and Irsay writing off Limbaugh so quickly will be revealed in the near future when current owners try to sell their teams.
There are only so many multimillionaires with squeaky clean reputations that are interested in becoming an NFL owner.
Former CEOs of insurance companies, Russian oligarchs, and Saudi princes may prefer to spend their money on an NBA or European soccer team instead of making a bid for an NFL franchise at the risk of their character being publicly criticized.
In a league where teams can be worth more than a billion dollars, that could cost an owner millions.
I’m not calling for a boycott. I don’t believe in general they are effective.
I am making the personal choice to no longer watch. As of now The sports “news” shows were turned off a few days ago. I stopped visiting my team’s board. I stopped visiting general NFL boards. I will not be watching this Sunday or Monday.
It’s gone beyond Rush for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rush watches this Sunday. I won’t be surprised if he attends another game. His choice just as it’s your choice and mine. I’m opting out.
I’ll watch Saturday’s college games and then Sunday will fill my day with something new.
I seriously doubt this incident with Rush will affect the NFL’s true bottom line.
The NFL has bigger issues, namely, the uncapped year NEXT season and the almost certain lockout to follow it.
the NFL lives off of TV revenue. Clothing sales and tickets are just icing on the cake. People just won’t stop watching the NFL because Rush Limbaugh was essentially told “Thanks but no thanks”....
Besides which, Rush really has to know better. Let the Checketts group get their bid approved for the sale of the team and THEN buy into the franchise. Anything preliminary to the actual sale makes it much to easy to say no, which is exactly what happened.
Sports contests gets the sheeple’s mind focused away from political concerns and onto artificial substitutes. Let them eat cake.
I copied in my team (yes, the Detroit Lions) the letter I wrote to Goodell. They need to know why I will not be watching games or buying jerseys. If you’re boycotting, be sure to tell your favorite team why. Let the owners know this kind of crap is unacceptable. The owners have the power, not Goodell.
Sorry NFL, our relationship is over. You’ll have to look to someone else to pay for your big pu**y earrings.
abso-fu$$king-lutely! good call. how easy the sheeple are distracted huh? these idiot ‘reality’ and ‘dancing’ shows the youngn’s apparently view religiously each week are really something, from what I have read and heard. I can’t believe there are American people so unsatisfied with their own lives that they have to live vicariously thru these people and those insipid shows, especially with what is going on in America right now. sports contests I think are a bit different. they do teach team work etc. even in some ways over the TV broadcasts. now, I have not payed any attention to the NFL myself since the late ‘60s and the NBA since the GREAT Jerry West ret. in late ‘74 but I do not disparage those who do. IF I were an NFL viewer now, after what was done to Rushbo, that would be it. FU$K ‘em all to heck.
I got a 550 internal error when I tried to leave a message. Coincidence?
and folks were calling up Rush this week reporting that they have now CANCELED there subscriptions to the NFL ticket as well
thanks for the link...locked and loaded
You really should drop WAG and use SWAG. SWAG is much more accurate because it is scientific.
Perhaps the NFL simply forgot who their fans really are, which is a huge block of the 48% who voted AGAINST Obama and the politically correct crowd. I am betting that this same 48% love Rush Limbaugh.
Fixed it for ya.
Now that is good, right on.
You will see college football GET REAL POPULAR VERY FAST!:)=^..^=
Go UConn!
.......Well 2010 is coming and coming FAST.:)=^..^=
Plus the NCAA rules are VERY STRICT and ARE ENFORCED.
Polk High?
Just wait for the next step.
EIB broadcasts over some of the same radio networks that were slandering Rush. If the left can stop him from being a minority owner in the NFL, they can put pressure on those same networks to shut Rush down.
Maybe this whole thing will turn out for the good if it leads Christian Conservatives to go back to consider Sunday as the LORD’s Day and stop spending the whole afternoon and evening staring at the one eyed god.
Or put another way:
“Bread and Circuses”.
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