Headlines today tout the issue in professional
football: fewer people are watching the
games. So, why are fewer people watching
the games? I have some thoughts to share
after the full disclosure that I love watching football and am a supporter of
the Houston Texans and the Dallas Cowboys, and hope someday to support a
winning team. Set that aside, these are
reasons that discourage me from watching NFL games:
Every televised game has a lead announcer who describes the
play-by-play and an “analyst” who tells us what just happened. Many of the analysts are former coaches or
former players. The best in the business
in my humble opinion is Chris Collinsworth.
The worse, absolute worst, is Jon Gruden. It is clear he remains a frustrated
coach. He does not so much provide
analysis as he shares what he would do if he was the coach. I don’t want to hear that. Don’t tell me it is time to run up the middle
or throw a screen pass. Just analyze
what I just saw and don’t predict what will happen. If I have to watch a Gruden game I do so with
the sound muted.
I am also put off by the entire sports analysts’
entourage. If I have to listen to one
more group of overpaid, poorly (but expensively) dressed former athletes and
coaches sit around a semi-circular table telling us what they think has
happened, will happen, etc., I am going to scream. I don’t care what you think. I resent the fact that you guys, and now
gals, are making a small fortune just talking about football. Every guy in every bar in America can do the
same, and many have more insight and humor than any of you. Just have commercials, show the half-time
shows, or show highlight reels and get the talking heads out of here.
I am growing more and more sad watching professional
football, or college ball and high school ball for that matter. I know I am watching men in prime physical
condition encouraging the onslaught of CTE.
Every player will have some brain damage, some more than others. And I wonder how long bright young men will
be willing to perform in this sport knowing they are killing their brains. In many ways, it is time for the sport to
radically change the rules or the equipment to protect athletes. Otherwise, the brightest athletes will not
play and the less than bright will continue to migrate toward the less than
bright end of the scale.
I totally support players’ rights to protest
peacefully. Kneeling before a game does
not offend me because I know America is bigger than its symbols and one of the
ways it is bigger is that we allow protests.
What I have a hard time mastering is the thought that these adults want
to be seen a serious citizens with an issue until they score a touchdown at
which point they become terrible juvenile vaudevillian dancers. I hate the celebrations. It does not happen in baseball, golf, track,
basketball, etc. Only in football do
grown men do stupid little dances after they do something they are paid to
do. Be like baseball players and if the
fans continue to clap, turn around and tip your cap. The message you send is “I am great and to
hell with the concept of team.” Please,
grow up. I will respect your humility
but not your personalized celebration.
And football has saturated the market. Games on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, sometimes
Friday is way too much. Just play on
Sunday. All those games expand the need
for talking heads and they need to go as well.
Even if a game is not on the TV there are always people talking about
the games that have been on TV or will be on TV. That is too much.
In the end I suspect football players will go the way of the gladiators, and billion dollar stadiums the way of the coliseum. If so, high school boys and their parents can stop dreaming of a free ride in college that will scramble brains and actually focus on academics, which, silly me, I think is the purpose of school.
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