I can’t support the NFL no longer (1 Viewer)

[bosoxs45]

Roger Goodells stance on concussions make me feel nauseated. The fact that they hide information from its players for years makes me think they’re no different than smoking companies. I want to throw up supporting a league that denies care to its former employees.

 

[modogg]

i think it is great when people say they will quit the NFL because a player kneels, but concussions are all ok in their book. The few people i know who actually stopped watching NFL have done it because of 1) time constraints with kids and 2) the concussion issues. 

 

[GregR]

I can’t support the NFL no longer

I do not think this means what you think it means.

 

[Gr00vus]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

 

[Hov34]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

Are you not entertained!?!

 

[Christo]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

I'm okay with it since they're doing it for their own egos rather than my entertainment.

 

[IC FBGCav]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

Take out boxing, MMA, Skiing, Racing, and hockey too by that logic.

 

[pecorino]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

I believe the players are compensated fairly considering the years of their life they may be losing due to their chosen profession. I also believe the players have ample information about concussions to make that decision. Ya know, I heard coal is making a comeback—I certainly hope those workers get full and clear info about black lung (and who knows what other side effects come with that job) before signing their contracts.

 

[Todem]

My decreased interest in the NFL has everything to do with the quality of the product. 

It stinks compared to the 1980's and 1990's. Not even close in fact.

Games are a complete bore, replay and rules changes have killed the game. You can't play defense anymore.

NCAA football is where it's at.

 

[Koya]

i think it is great when people say they will quit the NFL because a player kneels, but concussions, domestic violence, gang activity, womanizing, sexual assault, drug running are all ok in their book. 

 

[matuski]

My decreased interest in the NFL has everything to do with the quality of the product. 

It stinks compared to the 1980's and 1990's. Not even close in fact.

Games are a complete bore, replay and rules changes have killed the game. You can't play defense anymore.

NCAA football is where it's at.

I think the NCAA is better mainly for the fact we haven't figured out how to infiltrate it with reality TV drama like the NFL.  Yet.

I don't give a rats ### about why or who dunnit, or what your feelings are about why and who dunnit.  Put players on the field and let me watch football.

 

[Da Guru]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

Nobody is forced to play in the NFL or college.  It is a choice.

The players choose this line of work because it pays extremely well and most are local celebrities in the town they play.  Most NFL players do not like or want any new rules..they now know the game is dangerous but continue to play. Truth be known the player pool is endless and will continue to be endless with the chance of big paydays.  Stars leave the game every season and the machine keeps on chugging along.

My now deceased uncle was a brick layer/carpet installer and I remember he used to say all the time "this job is killing me"  By age 50 he looked 70 and he was on disability with  2 rotator cuff tears, he needed both hips and one knee replaced and his lower back was so bad he could not get in and out of a car.  Yet he put in 30 years doing this and sacrificed his body to support his family.  People will do anything for a nice paycheck.

 

[Hawkeye21]

All of that has been going on in the NFL and almost all professional sports for a very long time.  People will talk about the hay days of their favorite sports and not realize that it was just as bad if not worse back then.  We didn't have the media coverage back then as we do now and didn't here as much about player's personal lives.

If I knew what I know about Michael Jordan now I probably wouldn't have liked him.  If he was playing now he would not be my favorite NBA player.

 

[chet]

So you are supporting the NFL.  Interesting.

 

[mr. furley]

i think it is great when people say they will quit the NFL because a player kneels, but concussions, domestic violence, gang activity, womanizing, sexual assault, drug running are all ok in their book. 

i can no longer support any business that has people working for it that have ever committed a crime whether convicted, suspected or known only to the offender

any crime, misdemeanor or violation of social contract

 

[Joe Summer]

Todem said:

My decreased interest in the NFL has everything to do with the quality of the product.

It stinks compared to the 1980's and 1990's. Not even close in fact.

Games are a complete bore, replay and rules changes have killed the game. You can't play defense anymore.

NCAA football is where it's at.

Congrats on being a member of the extreme minority of college football fans who hasn't had a game ruined by a B.S. targeting call.

 

[HellToupee]

Nice title 

 

[Peyton Marino]

I watch with a vague sense of unease that it’s bad for the participants, and an overwhelming sense of entertainment otherwise.  a little cognitive dissonance never hurt nobody.

 

[JoeSteeler]

I do not think this means what you think it means.

 INCONCEIVABLE!

 

[Joe Summer]

Da Guru said:

Nobody is forced to play in the NFL or college. It is a choice.

The players choose this line of work because it pays extremely well and most are local celebrities in the town they play. Most NFL players do not like or want any new rules..they now know the game is dangerous but continue to play. Truth be known the player pool is endless and will continue to be endless with the chance of big paydays. Stars leave the game every season and the machine keeps on chugging along.

My now deceased uncle was a brick layer/carpet installer and I remember he used to say all the time "this job is killing me" By age 50 he looked 70 and he was on disability with 2 rotator cuff tears, he needed both hips and one knee replaced and his lower back was so bad he could not get in and out of a car. Yet he put in 30 years doing this and sacrificed his body to support his family. People will do anything for a nice paycheck.

People who work in a physically demanding profession can mitigate long-term health risks by making various lifestyle choices. Don't drink excessively, don't smoke, don't eat a lot of unhealthy foods; get regular exercise, maintain a healthy body weight, etc.

But NFL players don't have that option. They already do most of those things, and yet those lifestyle changes won't do anything to prevent brain trauma or CTE.

Also, most people know the risks of their profession before they choose that career. For example, we've known about 'black lung' for 60+ years; coal miners understand the risks and are therefore able to give 'informed consent' when choosing that profession. But we didn't know about CTE in football players until 2006 (and the NFL didn't admit to anything until 2016), so it's not as simple to expect current players to be able to fully understand the risks when many of them started playing football before the risks were known.

Sooooooo......yes, NFL players "choose" to play football. But they're making that choice under a cloud of uncertainty that doesn't exist for most other professions.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I watch with a vague sense of unease that it’s bad for the participants, and an overwhelming sense of entertainment otherwise.  a little cognitive dissonance never hurt nobody.

Much like boxing, MMA, and horse racing for me.

 

[TobiasFunke]

On the one hand, all of the anti-NFL arguments here are 100% accurate.

On the other hand, what else am I going to do with myself in September and October if my baseball team isn't in contention?  Exercise more? Spend more time with my family? Read books? Come on.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I watch with a vague sense of unease that it’s bad for the participants, and an overwhelming sense of entertainment otherwise.  a little cognitive dissonance never hurt nobody.

Same with me.  Applies to the NFL and MMA.  If I overthink it I stop enjoying it.   So I don't.   

 

[Mario Kart]

Roger Goodells stance on concussions make me feel nauseated.

I see what you did there.

On a more serious note though, football needs to stop at the pee-wee level. The NFL doesn't cause the severe brain trauma that some may have, but it begins at the pee-wee levels when the brain is much more susceptible to this kind of stuff. Maybe organized football should begin in high school... not when kids are 6 years old.

 

[Koya]

i can no longer support any business that has people working for it that have ever committed a crime whether convicted, suspected or known only to the offender

any crime, misdemeanor or violation of social contract

Yup, that's exactly what I said. Tremendous grasp of nuance and context.

Come on man, really? 

 

[Gr00vus]

Nobody is forced to play in the NFL or college.  It is a choice.

The players choose this line of work because it pays extremely well and most are local celebrities in the town they play.  Most NFL players do not like or want any new rules..they now know the game is dangerous but continue to play. Truth be known the player pool is endless and will continue to be endless with the chance of big paydays.  Stars leave the game every season and the machine keeps on chugging along.

My now deceased uncle was a brick layer/carpet installer and I remember he used to say all the time "this job is killing me"  By age 50 he looked 70 and he was on disability with  2 rotator cuff tears, he needed both hips and one knee replaced and his lower back was so bad he could not get in and out of a car.  Yet he put in 30 years doing this and sacrificed his body to support his family.  People will do anything for a nice paycheck.

I'll answer this one since it's the longest of the responses I got. I understand all that, and my response is to withdraw my support for the sport. I know the impact of ending my individual funding is negligible. But maybe, if enough people do the same, one day it becomes a less attractive option for employment. 

And I do apply the same logic to Boxing, MMA, etc. I'm not going to pay people to beat the crud out of each other for my entertainment.

 

[Godsbrother]

I'm done with it because increasingly over the years I've come to understand people are killing themselves for my entertainment. I can't condone that anymore.

I'm not.   And if I had the skill to play in the NFL I would without hesitation.   

 

[Da Guru]

I'll answer this one since it's the longest of the responses I got. I understand all that, and my response is to withdraw my support for the sport. I know the impact of ending my individual funding is negligible. But maybe, if enough people do the same, one day it becomes a less attractive option for employment. 

And I do apply the same logic to Boxing, MMA, etc. I'm not going to pay people to beat the crud out of each other for my entertainment.

When I was younger I used to love watching people get knocked out in boxing and MMA...now I can`t stand to watch it anymore. To me these sports are much worse and only a small few actually get paid.  Thousands of others are getting their brains beat in the gym everyday for nothing.

 

[Epic Problem]

A wise man once said....

I've stopped watching not because of player safety, but because of the charade the NFL is putting on to make it look like they care about player safety when all they care about is their culpability. In doing so, they've turned to game into an over-officiated, unwatchable mess.

Helmet to helmet hits, defenseless receivers, tapping the QB on the head penalties that are called are all to often awful interpretations of the rule's apparent intent, and those impact the outcome of the game so frequently it becomes maddening.

I want to watch the players determine that outcome, not the stripes. I don't always blame the officials for making the calls that they do because of the speed of the game. They are put in a near impossible position, but when these calls are so important to who's winning and who's losing each contest, they need to be reviewable.

And then the vicious circle begins because the last thing I want to do is watch an official look at a replay.

 

[Gr00vus]

When I was younger I used to love watching people get knocked out in boxing and MMA...now I can`t stand to watch it anymore. To me these sports are much worse and only a small few actually get paid.  Thousands of others are getting their brains beat in the gym everyday for nothing.

For sure. I've never been a boxing or MMA fan though, whereas I have spent a lot of time and some money on the NFL. Can't do it anymore.

 

[Todem]

Congrats on being a member of the extreme minority of college football fans who hasn't had a game ruined by a B.S. targeting call.

Oh I have seen those calls.....all this subjective call BS is ruining sports now. It also has crept it's way into baseball (take out slides and blocking the home plate etc).

But overall....NCAA football is exciting and I can always find a great game every weekend no matter what. The NFL has become so sterile and contrived.....can't stand it anymore.

 

[Tom Servo]

My decreased interest in the NFL has everything to do with the quality of the product. 

It stinks compared to the 1980's and 1990's. Not even close in fact.

Games are a complete bore, replay and rules changes have killed the game. You can't play defense anymore.

NCAA football is where it's at.

Someone else said the NFL is sterile; this is true. Give me a Saturday in most any college football stadium - even at my D3 alma mater - and I'll find more life, atmosphere, and fun being had that in the whole of the NFL stadia combined.

Besides the sterility of the pro game and the lack of self-awareness over concussions, I'm more and more repulsed by the NFL's overt greed. Nothing matters to them except the almighty dollar - over and above most other sports IMO. Thursday night games? Yeah, they'll suck from a competitive standpoint but we gotta have that  Bye weeks? Don't need 'em but what better way to fool the customer into thinking he gets more football but lengthening the season. Touchdown, extra point, commercials, kickoff, more commercials? Don't mind us; we're just shoveling more   into our gorged coffers.

I can barely watch an NFL game anymore. Sunday afternoon kung-fu movies on El Rey Network are more fun. 

 

[Todem]

Someone else said the NFL is sterile; this is true. Give me a Saturday in most any college football stadium - even at my D3 alma mater - and I'll find more life, atmosphere, and fun being had that in the whole of the NFL stadia combined.

Besides the sterility of the pro game and the lack of self-awareness over concussions, I'm more and more repulsed by the NFL's overt greed. Nothing matters to them except the almighty dollar - over and above most other sports IMO. Thursday night games? Yeah, they'll suck from a competitive standpoint but we gotta have that  Bye weeks? Don't need 'em but what better way to fool the customer into thinking he gets more football but lengthening the season. Touchdown, extra point, commercials, kickoff, more commercials? Don't mind us; we're just shoveling more   into our gorged coffers.

I can barely watch an NFL game anymore. Sunday afternoon kung-fu movies on El Rey Network are more fun. 

Ahmen brother.

 

[TheDirtyWord]

Someone else said the NFL is sterile; this is true. Give me a Saturday in most any college football stadium - even at my D3 alma mater - and I'll find more life, atmosphere, and fun being had that in the whole of the NFL stadia combined.

Besides the sterility of the pro game and the lack of self-awareness over concussions, I'm more and more repulsed by the NFL's overt greed. Nothing matters to them except the almighty dollar - over and above most other sports IMO. Thursday night games? Yeah, they'll suck from a competitive standpoint but we gotta have that  Bye weeks? Don't need 'em but what better way to fool the customer into thinking he gets more football but lengthening the season. Touchdown, extra point, commercials, kickoff, more commercials? Don't mind us; we're just shoveling more   into our gorged coffers.

I can barely watch an NFL game anymore. Sunday afternoon kung-fu movies on El Rey Network are more fun. 

While I still love the NFL, the ‘greed’ component to it has become over-whelming.  The biggest indicator of that is that Goodell is still Commissioner.  His one ability in that role has been to maximize revenue.  And he’s likely done a solid job there as the other owners pretty much rubber-stamped his extension, save for Jerry pouting a bit.  But the relationship with the players is toxic now.  A lot more distrust there than I think I’ve felt/seen there before.

The offshoot of that is that the idea of ‘protecting the shield’ rings hollow because the players themselves feel like the brand of the NFL has played them.  

The lack of true partnership is going to be felt/seen over the next 10-20 years.

 

[eoMMan]

I still enjoy the NFL and will continue to do so.

Regarding the concussions/head injuries in the NFL (and in other sports), I think most people know the risks at this point.

And NFL is still better college football.