It’s been many years since I abandoned the NFL. I can’t remember the last time that I paid attention for an entire season. It’s probably been at least twenty years. And it’s been more than a decade since I’ve watched an entire NFL game that wasn’t the Super Bowl. I can probably name fewer than half a dozen NFL players not named Jay Cutler or Tom Brady.However, I don’t think the NFL misses me. They’re still raking in billions of dollars per year; $13 billion in 2016 alone. After treading water for a few years, attendance rose in 2016. Whatever problems the NFL has, millions of Americans are willing to overlook them, and devote a significant amount of their time and money to the league.The main reason that I don’t watch the NFL anymore is that I just don’t like it. The games bore me, and I’d rather do other things with one-third of my Sundays.However, even if the NFL did interest me, I’d like to think that there are enough problems with the league that I’d still choose not to watch.I hate the league’s blatant denials and willful ignorance related to the fact that the game causes permanent brain damage and other physical disabilities in players.I hate that despite scientific evidence that playing this game will damage their brains, players will still choose to play.I hate that the average price of an NFL game ticket is almost $90.I hate that the NFL promotes Breast Cancer Awareness month, and sells tons of breast cancer merchandise claiming that a percentage of the proceeds goes to breast cancer research, and then donates just 10%.I hate that the NFL doesn’t know its own rules. What’s a catch? What’s a fumble? How can you hit a quarterback?I hate that the most successful team of the century has also been the team most often accused of cheating.But perhaps my most all-encompassing, will-this-ever-end hatred of the NFL is the hype. Every damn thing related to the NFL is treated as if it’s life or death. Perhaps this is related to the fact that an NFL team only plays 16 games per season. The Bears are the oldest NFL franchise, and in 97 seasons, they’ve only played 1,354 regular season games.The Cubs have played that many games since Obama became president.I guess it makes some sense that each individual game would seem more important. But, for the love of God, does that mean that some linebacker needs to jump around and celebrate as if he just single-handedly defeated ISIS, when all he really did was sack a quarterback in the first quarter of week 3?So of course that This is So Important tendency will trickle down to the fans. At some point devoting three hours on a Sunday afternoon wasn’t enough. Now there are pregame shows and post-game shows, and fantasy leagues, and power rankings, and mock drafts.When I first heard that fans could buy tickets to attend the NFL draft, I thought it was a joke. Now we don’t just want to watch the players play the game, we want to watch the front office people huddle around a conference table and decide who they’re going to pick?No doubt there are plenty of NFL draft t-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers sold during the three-day (because one day isn’t enough!) extravaganza.The combination of the NFL’s fully-immersive, almost obsessive fandom, coupled with the limited number of games played, means there’s a wide audience for the incessant analysis from football experts who work year-round to cover a game in which teams only play on 16 days.So fans are left with plenty of time to diagnose the shortcomings of their team. I’ve enjoyed listening to Bears fans over the years as they settle on one or another problem with their team.Jay Cutler was supposed to be the savior. Until he wasn’t.Lovie Smith was the problem. He was too laid back. Let’s get rid of him, despite a winning season. Four years later, they still haven’t matched the win total of Lovie’s last season.In Lovie’s last season the Bears were 3rd in defense and 16th in offense. “We need to focus more on offense!” The next season they were 2nd in offense and 30th on defense. They won two fewer games.Jay Cutler has been the scapegoat for a few seasons, as if the greatest quarterback ever would improve the team, so it’s back to “We need a better quarterback!”Last night at the NFL draft, the Bears traded four draft picks for someone who they think will be a better quarterback. “They gave up too many picks just to move from 3rd pick to the 2nd pick!”There are times that I think, “Maybe I’ll start watching the NFL again.”Nah.Wasn't that well-written and fun to read? You should subscribe to my blog and we'll send you an e-mail every time I write a new one. Type your email address in the box and click the "create subscription" button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.
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