Posted on 09/22/2020 3:51:39 AM PDT by Old Yeller
In 2017, when Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva stood near the tunnel to the Pittsburgh locker room with his hand over his heart while The Star-Spangled Banner played, the former Army Ranger was the only member of his team to do so.
Apropos of the moment, that game against the Chicago Bears was being played at Soldier Field.
Villanueva, a Bronze Star recipient, said his decision was not an intentional violation of coach Mike Tomlins order for every team member to stay in the locker room until the anthem had concluded. It was the result of Villanueva asking the teams leaders to amend their original plan because of the texts hed received from wounded veterans asking him to stand for the anthem.
Instead, he stood with star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the teams other captains at the front of the tunnel. Chaos ensued, and Villanueva found himself standing alone, with his teammates a few yards behind him.
Within 24 hours, several things happened: Tomlin stridently voiced his displeasure; Villanueva held a press conference expressing his embarrassment for becoming the center of attention; his NFL gear briefly outsold that of every player in the league; and he gave fans alienated by national anthem protests in the NFL a reason to keep watching.
Anthem protests began in 2016, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt during the anthem, followed by several other players on other teams. It was a significant factor in the 8% plunge in average viewership for a league that had previously been seen nationwide as a great unifier.
That ratings plunge continued the next year, President Donald Trumps first year in office, when the protests expanded. That time, the plunge was 9.7%.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Is there some kind of mental illness that drives people to watch games, even though the players, the coaches, the team owners, are all insulting our flag, our Anthem, our country?
The Left ruins everything it touches. And, it is not happy until it has touched everything.
Then, having ruined everything, it will come up with new Leftist demands and start all over again. No happiness or non-PC thought can be allowed. When every thought is PC they will start over with new PC thought, outlawing all the other formerly new PC thought.
It used to be saying negro was the preferred term. Then it became black, then person of color, then African-American. Now, saying half of those terms can get you fired, banned or ostracized. You can’t keep up with the new terminology and that is by design because...you know what? You whites are evil.
I agree with your sentiment. However, 2 guys I know who are 25, both very conservative and good young men play fantasy football. So they watch NFL games. I dont consider them any less patriotic. Theyre just being 25 year olds. They just want normalcy.
“I agree with your sentiment. However, 2 guys I know who are 25, both very conservative and good young men play fantasy football. So they watch NFL games. I dont consider them any less patriotic. Theyre just being 25 year olds. They just want normalcy.”
_____________________________________________________________
Are they watching football or playing the game of fantasy football? Without their game would they watch the game? I doubt it. They would probably find another game to interact with—most probably somewhere on the internet.
For the first time in 17 years, I am not playing fantasy football. There was a consistent 9-11 guys in my league every year. This year the commish emailed us that there wasn’t going to be a draft this year due to “lack of interest.”
Unfortunately the NFL knows this and knows they will keep the millennial demographic as well the majority of the Gen X and Boomer demographic. They know that there may be a short term hit to viewership this year but within a year or 2 most people will be back. It happened last time. Look for the ratings to rebound around the playoffs and Super Bowl.
As for me, they lost me and after 50 years I will not be back unless they drop the SJW claptrap. (Which they won't) The fact that viewership is only down 17% in this year of COVID is very discouraging. I would have thought there were more likeminded people who would have stopped watching. But I don't care and wouldn't care even if the ratings went up. For me, it's a matter of principle.
Butt fumble.
To do that they have to tear everything sacred down and destroy our society and culture.
Make no mistake. This is not by happenstance. This is by design.
I’m interested in the total percentage drop in viewership and/or revenue since Crappernick started his shenanigans in 2016, if anybody has access to that info.
And the speed with which they are doing it, and the success that they are having, is truly frightening. I no longer wonder how communism, fascism, and nazism took over their countries in the 20th century. Im watching it happen here, now.
You left out the part about the bulk of them wanting us dead.
There were always some kids in school that thought getting beat up after having their lunch money stolen was normal.
I will continue to post this until I see it reported in the NY Times, WaPo, and on NBC, and CNN
Please share the letter on any other media sites that you use.
(Please disregard if you have already seen it)
Letter to the NFL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kcFR_uQwiw&feature=emb_logo
That's a very good question.
I was a big NFL fan for decades but had no problem giving it up. Giving up pizza was harder. Found other things to do on Sunday afternoons and my crisp, autumn hikes in the local state parks are now such a part of my weekend routine that I'll probably stick to that even if the NFL ever comes back to its senses.
Roger that.
Normalcy would be a nice thing. But ignoring the insanity overwhelming our country is just sticking our heads in the sand.
At 25, they should know better. We have a war going and pretending that it isn't there is not patriotic - it's idiotic.
Hate to say it but my mother is still watching.
She cannot stop talking about Trump, or Soros, or always lecturing on how we have to pray for this country and defend against the hateful people who are literally burning it .
But she always loved her football, and watched it with my dad for decades. Now dad is gone this year, she is alone and sad, and cant turn away from it.
I am grateful we were able to get them to a game on a gorgeous day with great seats for their 50th, before all this nonsense really snowballed.
IMHO, anyone that watches, attends, gambles or buys NFL stuff is promoting the kneeling, PC and virtue signaling crap that is currently happening. I was a football fan for most of my life. I gave it up when Kapocrat started, and although I thought I would miss it, I haven’t.
All those label switches and white people just stayed white.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.