Posted on 02/06/2018 4:21:04 AM PST by markomalley
After a controversial season that included drops in both ticket sales and television ratings, the NFL seemed committed to keeping politics off the field at Sunday night’s Super Bowl.
There were no national anthem kneelers, celebrities kept their focus on their performances — and Medal of Honor recipients were even invited onto the field to start the big game.
The weeding out of national anthem kneelers and the dying down of the debate altogether prove President Donald Trump has officially won what was once a vicious cultural battle over whether the NFL should force protesting athletes to stand for the national anthem.
Combine those facts with the recent announcement about XFL — a new football league from WWE CEO Vince McMahon in which players will reportedly be forced to stand for the national anthem — and it seems the NFL has mostly gotten the message.
The football season won’t return until August. With the last game bereft of kneelers and the impending introduction of the XFL, the president walks away from this rubble of a debate the clear winner.
The Super Bowl ratings this year were also the lowest in eight years.
While there could be a variety of reasons for the slip — including the growing number of available platforms on which to watch the game — there's no denying that the widespread protests over anthem kneelers had an impact on this game's ratings.
The controversial sports league would be wise to introduce, finally, a regulation forcing players to stand.
Even if kneelers appear when football starts up again in August, the debate will be irrelevant at that point. And the American people have made clear how they feel, through the dipping ratings and lowered ticket sales for the NFL this season.
The controversial sports league would be wise to introduce, finally, a regulation forcing players to stand at this point, so they can avoid more embarrassing ratings and dissolve political controversy in their next season.
Too little
Too late
/NFL
“Forcing” them to stand won’t help get viewers back. At least not this one.
One more reason I didn’t watch is nbc announced they would show the kneelers if there were any.
Agreed. No one should have to FORCE someone to stand for the national anthem for God’s sake!
The race pimps at the NFL haven’t quit. See today’s Fox news.
As for the QBFimi household, on Sunday, we intentionally watched a series on NetFlix while Mrs. imi surfed on the computer.
I’m done with the whole tribe of them. Haven’t had the TV on for months; don’t miss it.
Shouldn’t season ticket renewals be going out soon? Let’s see what tune the PC owners are singing once they see how 2018 season tickets are selling. Time to pay the piper.
“People who fall for anything, stand for nothing.”
“Won” the battle or not...the NFL is dead to me forever.
Note: I haven’t been in a Target since THEY started their little bruhaha.
The NFL is actually doubling-down. Next season will be worse. You can’t fix stupid.
players will reportedly be forced to stand for the national anthem
This is incorrect. They are not being forced to stand, it is a condition of employment that they stand. Just like in most jobs, it’s a condition of employment to be on time, don’t take drugs, and don’t steal from your employer.
As far as ticket sales go, yes, my renewal came in the mail. The price went up $336 for the 10 home games (8 regular season, and 2 pre-season, all full price). I’m an original PSL holder for the team (Texans), so either I pay, or forfeit my tickets. I’m using the capitalism left in this country to sell them to the highest bidder, regardless of who that person is, roots for, looks like, or any other factor. I’m trying to sell the PSL’s, but have only gotten about a 60% offer of what I want so far.
What kind of price were you getting for 2017 tickets?
The cheapest was $250 per game... for 2018, I’m paying $2510.00 for the 10 games, so I’d lose $10 if I stick with that price. Considering the Cowboys will be in town, I expect to make a good profit on those. The Giants and Bills, I can probably sell, as well. However, the Dolphins and Browns? Plus the regular Colts, Jaguars, and Titans.
Ugh.
Good luck on your resales, but I think the market for NFL tickets is going to take a significant hit.
Yeah.. fortunately I’ve had a few folks that buy them from me the past couple of years, so I have a built-in “target audience”. Worst case, there’s CraigsList, NFL Ticket Exchange, Offer Up, Let Go, etc.
I’ve got the PSL’s listed, but need to update the listing...
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