“It’s disinterest in the NFL.”
Yep. Boxing was all the rage in the early 1900s. Newspapers would dedicate almost a page to boxing.
Outside of title fights, you’re hard pressed to hear much about it.
Football is just as cyclical as any other sport. As the sport grew in popularity, it was changed to cater to all sorts of different demographics (casual fans, women, fantasy football stat geeks, you name it). The end result is a big mess with rules that allow a flag to be thrown on virtually any play. I got sick and tired of that nonsense and tuned out completely around 2007 (basically after the refs gave Super “Bowel” 40 to the Steelers ... And the Steelers were my favorite team). Those rosy ratings won’t last forever if they continuously screw with the game.
Mix in this stupid political nonsense and you have yourself a catastrophe in the making. People use sports to escape that crap. When your bombarded with it during what’s supposed to be entertainment, you’re going to want to shut it off.
I know what you mean. The sense of fair play outweighs team loyalty.
I was a Panthers fan until Cam Newton at the Super Bowl claimed he was the victim of racism in not getting enough credit. Then I was glad to see the Broncos beat them!
a big mess with rules that allow a flag to be thrown on virtually any play
That could also be a function of the players' size, speed, and strength outstripping the rules that worked in earlier days. Tackle football just may not be physically feasible with players like we have today.