Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Third and Long

Let’s pretend that I am a football coach. No, not in the NFL as I am boycotting the NFL thus far this year. Anyway on first down I call a running play and we lose five yards. On second down I call another running play and we lose another five yards. Now it’s third and twenty. Do you think that I should call another running play? Let’s think about this logically . . . the first two plays were a disaster; it’s now third and long. Would the smart thing be to persist and call another running play. Only a knuckle-head would say, “Let’s run the ball again!”
Well welcome to the knuckle-heads of the NFL!

After a poor showing in week 1, the ratings crashed in week 2. CBS had its lowest ratings for NFL football since 1998. The ratings for the first two weeks of the season are down double digits compared to last year. Likewise as a result the shares of the parent companies have also taken a significant hit. Shares of Comcast (NBC) are down 9%. Shares of Disney (ESPN) are down 3%. Shares of CBS are down 5%. The Hollywood Reporter reported that CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC could take a $200 million hit if NFL fans continue he to turn off their TVs.
Fans seem to be leaving the NFL in droves, and several recent polls have shown that political activism is the big reason. In a poll last year 44% of fans stated that they “would stop watching if the protests against the National Anthem continued.” A recent J.D. Power survey showed that anthem protests are the big reason that people have stopped watching NFL games.

So the NFL ratings “lost five yards” in ratings in the first week, and then “lost another five yards” in ratings again in the second week. Again it is third and long. So what would a knuckle-head do next? Obviously a knuckle-head commissioner would consider celebrating and promoting “Activism Awareness Month” as has been suggested by the same recalcitrants that are refusing to stand for the National Anthem.

Couldn’t happen, you say . . . the coach (commissioner) wouldn’t be dumb enough to continue running the ball with ten men in the box (this is a football term which implies that if he did continue running the ball, he would be a real KNUCKLE-HEAD). Remember that this is the same person, commissioner Goodall, who offered support for Michael Bennett (Seattle Seahawks) in the aftermath of his altercation with Las Vegas police without waiting for any details or evidence to be presented.
Okay coach, what’s the play on third and long?

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