NFL HOBBLES ALONG – AT 11:42 A.M. ET:   We wait for NFL football each week now, not necessarily to watch the game, but to count the number of empty seats.  From Breitbart: 

The NFL likely hoped for a return to normalcy for Week 6, especially after Commissioner Goodell’s call to “move past the anthem controversy,” and address the issue in detail at league meetings on Tuesday. Instead, what the NFL got was a return to what has become the “new normal” in the age of anthem protests: empty seats.

Throughout the league, stadiums could be seen with thousands of empty seats at kickoff, and, in some cases in the middle of the game.

Note, that the Jets played New England on Sunday, meaning there should have been a big crowd for that game. The Texans, Atlanta, and Baltimore are also very relevant teams with relatively loyal fan bases. Yet, thousands upon thousands of fans no-showed or didn’t buy tickets for those games.

COMMENT:  The NFL has now caved to the players, not handing down an edict requiring respect for the flag.

All kinds of "solutions" are being thrown around, including not televising the national anthem.  I suspect that will make things worse.

Fans are distancing themselves from the NFL, and the fans are right.  Sponsors are reportedly also looking around for alternatives.  I doubt if professional football will die, but it's possible the current damage, combined with increased sensitivity to the physical danger of the game, may produce permanent losses. 

Baseball used to be the "national pastime," but no one speaks of it that way today.

October 16, 2017