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I'm going to (politely) disagree with you here. Before the NFL had so dramatically degraded their entertainment product and offended their loyal fan base, there was a certain social component to attending/watching games regardless of individual team performance.

It is the erosion/destruction of that social cohesion that poses the greatest danger to the league. Without any compelling reason to engage in the hassle, time & expense of attending/watching a game, masses of fans are in essence waking up from a long dream.

It's almost like leaving a cult: why the heck was I rooting for a private enterprise that simply attached the largest city/metro region in the area to its name? What does it actually have to do with me, my family & friends? Why do I care? In fact, this game is pretty boring - why am I sitting here why I'm bombarded with commercials? Do they really think I'm this big of a fool for being played like this?

It's this national awakening that is going to pose the greatest peril. How do you put the genie back in the bottle? The league in many ways has already lost the youngest generations. They no longer care about, pretend to play, or fantasize about being a pro while safely ensconced indoors playing video games, watching HD pron, or wasting time on social media.

Even worse, the core now has something else to root for: the demise of the NFL. Now, we can apply our emotional energy to a real game, with real winners & losers - the league itself.

I don't think you disagree with me much at all. I wasn't even referring to team performance in the case of the 49ers and Rams. I think there would have been a bunch of empty seats there even if both teams were 2-0 and were projected to be Super Bowl contenders.

1. The 49ers play in a stadium located miles away from the city, and it's supposedly an awful ordeal to get in and out of the place.

2. The Rams don't even have a real fan base, having moved back to Los Angeles last year after spending more than 20 years in St. Louis. They can't even fill their own stadium, so it's not like there are a ton of fans out there who are willing to make the trek up to San Francisco for a road game.

3. Attending an NFL game has gotten to be ridiculously expensive over the years. More and more people are simply priced out.

Good analysis. I’ve always thought it silly and strange for people to root for their city’s team. The team is a business and just happens to be transiently attached to a city.

I’ve always been in the “who cares” camp. God only gives you so many hours and passively watching adults play games just isn’t how I want to use those hours. Will this attitude take root more broadly? It does seem to be happening.

Flame away!