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Please answer honestly about the simple question of how often you watch the anthem - not whether you approve or disapprove of the protests.
Right now a popular topic in NFL circles on talk radio and mid-week written columns is the noticeable downturn in NFL television ratings - and many are discussing the impact that the national anthem protests might be having. They base some of this discussion on tweets and other feedback that they're getting from fans that don't like the players' protest. Some disagree with the protest and some say that they watch football to get away from the rest of life and the protests interferes with that process because it injects current events and politics into football.
My question is this: are people saying this because they actually watch the national anthem and it bothers them? I can understand that if someone is watching the anthem and the protest offends them, it is a very real and emotional thing that they might carry into the game and have it effect their state of mind in a negative way. I get that. What I question, though, is how many people actually watch the national anthem when watching a regular-season NFL game?
Apart from a major national game, like the divisional playoffs or Super Bowl, I don't even remember that the anthem is part of the television coverage, especially during the regular season. It seems to me that sometimes you get a "look-in" to the stadium during pre-game activities but most TV coverage pre-game is in the studio and the stuff those bozos are talking about. For the late games, they have often already kicked off (or are just about it) when the early games end. So how often is the anthem even televised?
And at that time, I'm usually doing things to get ready for the game, or eating, or checking my fantasy lineup, or possibly finishing up some chore that was I doing before the game (possibly even still driving back to my house) during those pregame activities that include the anthem. It's not that I don't appreciate the anthem or everything that it stands for (and I fully participate when I'm at game or event where the anthem is played), it's just that I don't have much of a connection at all between the anthem and watching a regular-season game on TV.
To be clear, I fully understand that some people get offended by the protests and some people think the anthem is not appropriate to make that kind of protest. I'm not questioning that at all. What I'm questioning is how genuine people are when they say that the anthem protests affect their desire to watch the game . . . because if you're not watching the anthem, you're not seeing the protest and so those two things aren't directly related.
And if you're not watching the anthem anyway but you're still being bothered by the protests to the point that you don't want to watch the game, the reason is not because the anthem protests taint your viewing experience, it's because you disagree with the protests themselves. I think those are two separate things and it is disingenuous for people to state, in a somewhat neutral way, that they just want to watch the game without having to have the politics that the anthem protests brings . . . when they're not even watching the anthem! Just be honest and say you don't like the protests and the mere fact that the protests are happening is a turnoff because you find them offensive in some way. In other words, the politics that surrounds this issue is what bothers you and not having to actually endure watching the anthem with players protesting.
Obviously, if you're at the game it's a different story because the anthem is part of the experience that you're participating in - but if you're at the game, it clearly hasn't turned you away in the same sense that these people are making that argument as it relates to TV ratings. I don't know anyone who has stopped watching football on TV because of the anthem protests - and it is my suspicion that this viewpoint is being over-represented in the discussion about ratings (and that the ratings drop is more likely attributed to the game itself and changing culture about the way we watch TV).
But to better understand what people are trying to say here, I'm very curious for an honest poll about how often people actually watch the national anthem (if it is even broadcast) during a televised, regular-season NFL game.
Right now a popular topic in NFL circles on talk radio and mid-week written columns is the noticeable downturn in NFL television ratings - and many are discussing the impact that the national anthem protests might be having. They base some of this discussion on tweets and other feedback that they're getting from fans that don't like the players' protest. Some disagree with the protest and some say that they watch football to get away from the rest of life and the protests interferes with that process because it injects current events and politics into football.
My question is this: are people saying this because they actually watch the national anthem and it bothers them? I can understand that if someone is watching the anthem and the protest offends them, it is a very real and emotional thing that they might carry into the game and have it effect their state of mind in a negative way. I get that. What I question, though, is how many people actually watch the national anthem when watching a regular-season NFL game?
Apart from a major national game, like the divisional playoffs or Super Bowl, I don't even remember that the anthem is part of the television coverage, especially during the regular season. It seems to me that sometimes you get a "look-in" to the stadium during pre-game activities but most TV coverage pre-game is in the studio and the stuff those bozos are talking about. For the late games, they have often already kicked off (or are just about it) when the early games end. So how often is the anthem even televised?
And at that time, I'm usually doing things to get ready for the game, or eating, or checking my fantasy lineup, or possibly finishing up some chore that was I doing before the game (possibly even still driving back to my house) during those pregame activities that include the anthem. It's not that I don't appreciate the anthem or everything that it stands for (and I fully participate when I'm at game or event where the anthem is played), it's just that I don't have much of a connection at all between the anthem and watching a regular-season game on TV.
To be clear, I fully understand that some people get offended by the protests and some people think the anthem is not appropriate to make that kind of protest. I'm not questioning that at all. What I'm questioning is how genuine people are when they say that the anthem protests affect their desire to watch the game . . . because if you're not watching the anthem, you're not seeing the protest and so those two things aren't directly related.
And if you're not watching the anthem anyway but you're still being bothered by the protests to the point that you don't want to watch the game, the reason is not because the anthem protests taint your viewing experience, it's because you disagree with the protests themselves. I think those are two separate things and it is disingenuous for people to state, in a somewhat neutral way, that they just want to watch the game without having to have the politics that the anthem protests brings . . . when they're not even watching the anthem! Just be honest and say you don't like the protests and the mere fact that the protests are happening is a turnoff because you find them offensive in some way. In other words, the politics that surrounds this issue is what bothers you and not having to actually endure watching the anthem with players protesting.
Obviously, if you're at the game it's a different story because the anthem is part of the experience that you're participating in - but if you're at the game, it clearly hasn't turned you away in the same sense that these people are making that argument as it relates to TV ratings. I don't know anyone who has stopped watching football on TV because of the anthem protests - and it is my suspicion that this viewpoint is being over-represented in the discussion about ratings (and that the ratings drop is more likely attributed to the game itself and changing culture about the way we watch TV).
But to better understand what people are trying to say here, I'm very curious for an honest poll about how often people actually watch the national anthem (if it is even broadcast) during a televised, regular-season NFL game.
