I actually cut my cable three years ago but I used to look forward to going to Buffalo Wild Wings (or some other sports bar) to see a game on Sundays. Usually I'd try to see the New England Patriots or New York Jets (they remind me of how the Patriots used to be). Now I don't even bother doing that.
It does seem strange that the disrespect of the national anthem would cause me to not even want to see the actual game but that is what happened. I am not alone. I believe the NFL made a very grave error not clamping down on this from the very beginning. I was in the Marine Corps and I cannot tolerate anybody disrespecting the country or flag.
Also, another force is at work here. Younger people tend not to be football fans. NFL football is a sport for the older people. My own kids had absolutely no interest in football whatsoever even though I always had it on in my house when they were growing up. They were more into their chat rooms and other internet related activities. This was back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now they are grown up and they probably couldn't name more than three NFL teams.
So I think the NFL has had their glory days and they will be slowly fading away. The disrespect of the anthem is only accelerating that decline.
“Also, another force is at work here. Younger people tend not to be football fans. NFL football is a sport for the older people. My own kids had absolutely no interest in football whatsoever even though I always had it on in my house when they were growing up. They were more into their chat rooms and other internet related activities. This was back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now they are grown up and they probably couldn’t name more than three NFL teams. So I think the NFL has had their glory days and they will be slowly fading away. The disrespect of the anthem is only accelerating that decline.”
yeah, i’m seeing the same thing. a good friend my age (recent retiree) who has been a rabid football fan has two young adult boys who have no interest whatsoever in football. They were taught the love of good food, and weirdly enough they enjoy the company of their elders, but no amount of good food is enticement for them to show up at a football get-together.
Football could easily end up like Oldsmobile and Sears, where their customer simply all died off without any replacements from the next generation.
“It does seem strange that the disrespect of the national anthem would cause me to not even want to see the actual game but that is what happened.”
Absolutely. A liberal coworker said one day, “You can’t COMMAND people to stand for the anthem.” And maybe he’s right, but my response was, you shouldn’t HAVE to. It’s in your heart and you understand it deserves the honor if you love this country. It’s who we are! If you have to convince these BLM thugs to comply, it’s already too late. I have nothing but disgust over this behavior, and it ruined the enjoyment of the game for me.
I’m doing other things on Sundays now for the first time in 40 years. They crossed a sacred line and there’s no fixing this. I know who they are now. I’m done with the NFL.