Politics in sports are ruining sports for a lot of people.
This is why we try to keep politics off the board.
Politics fuel emotions and people get offended.
MLB and NBA have lost their allure for me. I rarely watch them anymore. NHL also isn’t as fun to watch as it used to be. The products just aren’t the same.
I find myself watching more and more college football.
I’ve been talking about canceling mine for the season too and revisiting it this winter.
The NFL has handled this issue poorly from the start in my opinion.
I do think the NFL would be wise to lower ticket prices across the board. NFL attendance is down but viewership is up. Esp in light of hi unemployment and a recovery that is likely to take some time. Having a lottery at every stadium that doesn’t normally sell out open to people/families on unemployment. You wanna make nice with the public and make some generational feel good stories that don’t cost a dime, well, here’s your chance.
I do not know if that’s accurate.
I do know the Lions have been selling out a lot lately and have broken several attendance records. Many games were standing room only.
I do know that at the away games I attend most have been sold out as well.
I get the feeling the NFL wants to cater to the upper class customer. Things seem to be heading that way to me.
First of all, you’ll be way better off saving that money than spending it on watching a subpar product. Good on you for cutting the cord.
Also, I’m sure some people will watch less or stop completely but I also find that some people say they won’t watch anymore in the heat of the moment then wind up posting when big Lions news happens or in Game Day threads.
I’ve been posting on various message boards for years and I can’t even count how many times people have said that they’re done with the team or the sport for various reasons then come back after a short hiatus or start posting again once they cool off.
I’m sure that some people will be turned off by the political stuff and boycott for good but that gets largely forgotten once these guys are on the field competing. So many people said they would boycott after the Kap kneeling and subsequent BLM flare up but that wound up not happening as the NFL machine kept rolling along. The three things that are certain are death, taxes and Americans watching football.
Baseball has definitely lost some allure for me as well.
I still go to about 10 Yankees games a year but I wind up walking around The Stadium mingling than sitting in my seat watching most of the game. I still love the playoffs but I don’t remember the last time I’ve watched a full regular season game.
Kind of similar with the NBA. I don’t really watch much in the regular season (even the Pistons I rarely watch anymore) but love the playoffs especially the later rounds.
I watch the NHL as much as ever. The players are as fast and skilled as they’ve ever been and nothing beats NHL playoffs.
Same with the NFL. If it’s football I watch whether it be college or pro.
I get annoyed by politics entering sports culture (in partciular this absurd rumor of them painting Black Lives Matter on the court and “political messages” on the jerseys) but by and large, it doesn’t prevent my enjoyment of the sport once they’re competing.
Down about 6% since a peak in 2016. You’re telling me that last season had “many games” that were standing room only? BS, you want stats on viewership? Not only is it up but the NFL is penetrating the international market and that’s where the big bucks will be coming from going forward. You realize that attendance figures include paid seats whether people show or not too, right?
Well 2016 is the year that politics became a big part of the NFL as I think that is when CK initially started his protest.
It will be interesting to see, if IF, there is a season, and what impact the whole current climate will have on the NFL. As well as how it will impacts all the sport’s leagues that plan on making major statements throughout their seasons.
Personally I can’t wait to watch some football on
the television. I’m not all that optimistic that there will be a season in the fall, but if so I imagine I’ll watch more of it than ever before.
No way would I go to a game during the pandemic. Not even at 35% occupancy or whatever social distancing plan they come up with if fans are allowed to attend.
Kapernick first kneeled in a preseason game in 2016, 45 didn’t tell people to quit watching until 2017. I know from my friends who said they were protesting that by and large they weren’t. I know that they aren’t in any kind of trouble nor will they be going forward no matter what happens with the ref’s, rules, etc. How do I know? Because ESPN got people to watch Corn Hole matches.
I will watch football if they play it…on Saturdays.
This season I will go to Lions games if I can’t sell my tickets for at least my cost. Next season I won’t own season tickets.
Starting this year I will not watch Lions games on TV unless they make the playoffs. Then I will watch.
If, by a miracle they win the Division and get a home playoff game…THEN I will spend the money I used to spend on Season tickets and buy 50 yard line seats even if they are $1000 a seat and still come out ahead of buying season tickets.
My wife is going to be unnerved on Sunday and Monday night LOL
I hope people who don’t want to evolve as the state of football does, leave. Good riddance. Nothing will ever stay the same. I’m all for it. I played football. Enjoyed it then. Enjoy it now. Just because the most popular players care and exercise their right to speak on their communities, it doesn’t make the product less enjoyable. I guess people would rather they just shut up and play. Sorry, but everyone that used to dance and entertain you, have decided to be human and Americans. There are people waiting on your seat. Don’t purchase it. Nobody cares what you watch in your homes. Look at something else. You’re just as replaceable as the players you watch. And to a lot of you on this forum: Most of us would be open to you also never coming back again. 
Peace!!
That’s not what I said. But I’ll back up what I did say.
As you can see they’ve broken their attendance record several times recently. Their doing this by selling standing room only seats.
The Lions started out strong last year in attendance but fell off sharply after Stafford went down.
However 8 NFL teams averaged over 100% Total capacity at home according to ESPN. See link.
If attendance really is down I’d guess that it’s because today’s stadiums are smaller.
I agree…The overall product is crap and the politics are too much…For me, the Lions are not even close to good enough to justify putting up with this clown show of a league
A little harsh don’t you think? Fans are entitled to their opinion, oh and thank you for speaking up for those claiming most of “us” would be open to never coming back then you proceed to say Peace… I don’t think you understand what that word means if you think you are being peaceful by telling people to not come back.
There is a reason lots of people don’t care about anything Pro Athletes say…it’s because most of them, of all races, are ignorant morons who wouldn’t have graduated high school if they were not tremendous at sports. Why would anybody care what stupid comments come out of their mouths? Same with the Hollywood. Why would anybody care what a celebrity or athlete has to say when most of it is ignorant drivel. Just because they are famous? Being famous has nothing to do with being able to form intelligent sentences…that is painfully evident.
If they want me to care what they say then maybe they should get educated and say something intelligent. Just because they are famous does not mean that what they say is rational nor worth listening to.
The ONE AND ONLY thing most of them know and are good at is acting or their particular sport so I want to watch them act or play their sport and I will happily listen to actors talk about their acting/films/TV Shows and happily listen to athletes talk about their sport. The problem is, once they leave their ONLY area of knowledge…what they say is usually so stupid all you can do is roll your eyes. So they are rarely worth listening to outside their narrow area of expertise.
And hey, I don’t care if someone else buys my seats anymore. If I care to watch sometime in the future their will be TV…maybe. There are only so many people willing to spend what I have been for seats. I doubt you would. Between running off their fans and overpaying the “oppressed” multi-millionaires the NFL and NBA and MLB are gonna hit a financial wall one of these days. They can’t jack ticket fees into infinity forever to cover the money they pay for 1/2 Billion dollar contracts and if viewership goes down so will television revenue.
We will find out if I am the only person that feels this way.
I agree with you, I don’t see the NFL losing much if anything on this.
Agree with me or leave. That is all the “tolerant” Cancel Culture folks know
That’s like saying because I’m great in the IT field…that’s all that I know. These athletes are well rounded. Some actually learned something in college. Or the lived in this world long enough to see and learn something. I don’t think you’re giving them enough credit. The mere assumption can be and is dangerous. But I guess you can believe that I’m assuming too. I get it.
Not even close. Your completely missing the mark
I am going to assume you were not just passed through HS and given a diploma because you were good in sports
I am gonna assume you got a college degree and didn’t just hang around campus for 2-4 years to play sports like most pro athletes. While you got a degree you learned at least a little about a lot of things not even related to your degree. If you (like me) got a degree in Computer Science (or Information Systems or Computer Engineering) I can PROMISE that by getting that degree you have to be way more intelligent than the sports stars on campus that took some “Sports & Recreation” classes and “Football Theory” and Phys Ed classes for a couple years to do the minimum to stay eligible.
I will guess that you are more intelligent and more knowledgeable about the world events than at least 75% of pro athletes who know nothing beyond sports and the XBox, but love to tweet on every subject, most of which they know absolutely nothing about. I know I am
So honestly, I put way more worth on what you say than I do pro athletes. Unless they have proven to have intelligent thoughts and not just tweet made up bullshit like LeBron James does, I really DNGAF what they have to say