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I used eat, sleep, and breathe football from Labor Day to February. Sunday noon through Monday at midnight you could find me in front of a TV. I was in a half-dozen fantasy leagues, and simply couldn't get enough of the NFL.

Things changed, slowly and by degrees. Refs called more ticky-tacky penalties, and most long-yardage plays had flags come out. This, along with interminable "instant replay" delays" slowed the games down. The NFL added Sunday morning games in Europe, and Sunday night games to their schedule. Mondays were no longer locked-in from 9 to midnight, they added an extra game here and there. Thursdays (beyond Thanksgiving) were added in, and the games weren't broadcast on National TV. I began to lose interest.

Bob Costas insisted on lecturing us on his current political fad, and BO showed up on telecasts to pimp his latest thoughts. That really turned me off, never mind whether I agree or not, I want to see football, not more politics.

So, when Kapernick (and others) did his thing last season, I started to pull away from it. Kept a finger in, watched a few games, including one of the better Super Bowls of all time, but it was more out of habit than anything else.

This year, nada. The politics turned me off completely, and the fact that the players, owners, and top brass (Goodell) told me, and everyone like me, to "Kiss Off" when we complained, proved that it was the right decision. My old favorite team is probably going to make the playoffs, but I've not seen more than a few minutes of them playing.

Honestly? I thought that I'd miss it more.

I'm not Boycotting, that would imply that I might go back if their behavior changes. Nope, I'm "indifferent", which for the NFL is much, much worse. For instance, quite often this season I've completely forgotten about the Thurs/Mon night games. I can't even tell you the two teams that played last night, or the score, or even if they played - it was Christmas, after all. I don't even give the game a thought until just now, something that would have been totally inconceivable two years ago.

My indifference has been a while in coming. However, this year's political foolishness just proved that I made the correct decision.