I’m not advocating anything, just pointing out one consequence of this little dust-up:
If say 20% of a given team’s audience is Conservative who will cease their support (not watching Sunday TV, I mean actual revenue, as in buying season tickets, going to games, etc;) then in my crude estimation every NFL team just lost about 10% of its value. They’re worth about a $billion. Times how many teams? That’s a lot of scratch.
I don't really listen to Rush (his positions are ok, it's just his ego that's a little out of whack to me) but I agree in principle with those who are willing to support him and call out the NFL on this bit of garbage that they've pulled (fabricating quotes out of thin air really sealed that deal).
However, I think there needs to be healthy dose of realism here. Rather than 20 percent I think you need to be thinking in the low single digits. To be frank, any small, measurable impact would be a success, but I just don't see it happening. You won't see Rush go out on a limb on this because he knows the craziest thing he could do is to appear to be taking on the NFL. It's hugely successful, hugely popular, and hugely profitable (even with the "downsizing" of staff this year). BUt even moreso, most football fans I know do NOT want to mix their politics with their weekend pigskin love affair. Some things just don't fit together. Diehard Rush fans excluded.jmho