“Wow. And LA has such a track record of huge pro football crowd support that the NFL transited the city from zero teams to two teams very quickly. Smart move (sarc/).”
Your post was so right. Former sportswriter for the St. Louis newspaper, popularly known as the “Past Disgust,” pointed out a few years before the Rams moved back to LA that StL fans attended Rams games better during the ~2007-12 period (when they were attrocious) than did LA fans in the mid-1980’s (when they routinely made the playoffs).
Revenues come from multiple sources, chief being of course (collective) broadcast rights, but also sports memorabilia, team themed goods, concession rights, and oh, ticket sales/seat licenses.
In other words, the value of each independent franchise has nothing to do whatsoever with their 'record', but rather their 'home' association. Hence, the value of the SD Chargers actually increased when they relocated to LA, even if no one cares, nor attends any games.
The entire notion of fans rooting for a private business that just so happens to attach a label with a city/regional name, even though they may not even really play in that location, is a study ripe for pyschological analysis. Of course, the owners don't need to be told; they rake in large amounts of money playing off this phenomonem.
I've always enjoyed the game, and understand the almost impossible odds to construct a winning, dominant team. That's who I follow during the year. I don't cheer, fret or otherwise really care. My interest is in the incredible physical prowess of top tier players.
Which gets back to apparently overall declining viewership. I'm not convinced it's the protests. Rather, I think the game itself has been compromised. I put on the SNF game last night, and quickly lost interest. I kept it on while I did some other things around the house, and I distinctly remember the constant break to commercials.
As an entertainment vehicle, the entire point of the NFL is to sell advertising. I understand that's the core basis of the model. But when an entity becomes so arrogant that they literally claim "I drink your milkshake" (AKA I'll steal your wife and you'll beg me to treat *you* nice), it's obvious it's time to turn off the tube.