I love listening to the NFL Sirius station. For the most part, the hosts catch inconsistencies in the callers’ points. But one they missed today was when a caller said the workers are also the product, which makes it different than other businesses. But I dont see it that way. The teams and the games are the products. IF we had completely different players, people would still watch the Cowboys vs Redskins.
I think what happened was since 1987, the overall public perception of NFL players in the eyes of the public changed. Back in the 1980s, most players were perceived as respectable people who really enjoyed playing the game. Now we see self-absorbed, arrogant thugs with rap sheets a mile long who engage in disgusting, deplorable off-field antics (of course the NFL is no better, as it rewards and enables this behavior). I doubt few people would miss this crop of players if they were replaced.