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Trump and NFL boycott

gregthehammer said:
Maybe my recollection is wrong, but prior to this year, the only time I really remember the NFL showing the national anthem is during playoffs and superbowl. Again, maybe my memory is wrong, but I swear in the past they jumped from pre-game coverage to boom, the ball is being kicked off after commercial break.
:confused:
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Once in a while they would show the last bar or two and say, "That was America Top Talent 4th place finisher in 2011, Alice Somethingorother. Great job, Alice. Now Phil, do you think the Giant offense is going to **** the bed again this week."
 
gregthehammer said:
Maybe my recollection is wrong, but prior to this year, the only time I really remember the NFL showing the national anthem is during playoffs and superbowl. Again, maybe my memory is wrong, but I swear in the past they jumped from pre-game coverage to boom, the ball is being kicked off after commercial break.
:confused:
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For sure. The NFL TV production is highly scripted to maximize commercial time. Why would they waste a minute showing the playing of the national anthem, which no one wants to see, when they could have beer commercials instead?

You are right. They go from "the studio" to the announcers in the booth, and immediately the kickoff happens. And it's not a coincidence. The players are all standing there waiting for the TV guy to tell them it's time to kick off.

Go to a game and you can see the TV guy on the field, telling the referees when they can play.
 
Spindrift said:
Once in a while they would show the last bar or two and say, "That was America Top Talent 4th place finisher in 2011, Alice Somethingorother. Great job, Alice. Now Phil, do you think the Giant offense is going to **** the bed again this week."
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Is this part of what seems to me to be an increasing fetishism over both the military and certain symbols (such as the US, and for that matter Confederate, flag) ? Rather than consider the issues in a country, dismiss any protest as unpatriotic and jingle the keys of "respect for our brave soldiers/police/first responders".
 
The Don said:
Is this part of what seems to me to be an increasing fetishism over both the military and certain symbols (such as the US, and for that matter Confederate, flag) ? Rather than consider the issues in a country, dismiss any protest as unpatriotic and jingle the keys of "respect for our brave soldiers/police/first responders".
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Yes. Jingoism has been on the ascent since 9/11 and it's increased in the past few years.
 
The Don said:
Is this part of what seems to me to be an increasing fetishism over both the military and certain symbols (such as the US, and for that matter Confederate, flag) ? Rather than consider the issues in a country, dismiss any protest as unpatriotic and jingle the keys of "respect for our brave soldiers/police/first responders".
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To echo what others have said, it really irritates me that any flag issue is conflated with a military issue. The United States is not its army.
 
Imhotep said:
I take issue with this as a fan of English Football. "The most beautiful game" and "rubberneckers" are not compatible concepts...
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Okay, rubberneckers and instigators?

ETA: Does "rubberneckers and ruffians" work better? Anyway, just a light jab at soccer riots. I have nothing against soccer fans. Hockey is too exciting for some folk.
 
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phiwum said:
Okay, rubberneckers and instigators?

ETA: Does "rubberneckers and ruffians" work better? Anyway, just a light jab at soccer riots. I have nothing against soccer fans. Hockey is too exciting for some folk.
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Well, the original context was fans of watching sports on TV I believe. But jab accepted.
 
Meadmaker said:
I wonder if this kerfuffle could go away if the networks simply announced that they would not show players during the playing of the national anthem. Seriously. Why is there a need to show players during the anthem at all?
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They could devote more of the camera time to showing all the people chatting with their neighbors or on their cell phones or eating or going and coming from the restrooms.

(And, in my opinion, during the playing of the national anthem might be a great time for a commercial break, but if you did that I can picture much wailing and gnashing of teeth from pseudopatriots saying that the networks are disrespecting the flag. There's no way you can say that if they simply don't show the players.)
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It gives the home viewers a last minute chance to get all their snacks brought in for the game.
 
quadraginta said:
They could devote more of the camera time to showing all the people chatting with their neighbors or on their cell phones or eating or going and coming from the restrooms.
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There was a picture the other day of some guy standing for the anthem behind Kaepernick, I think. The best part is that he was wearing a shirt made up from a US flag (probably not an actual flag, but the blue field with stars and red and white stripes).

He sure showed Kaep something about patriotism and respecting the flag!
 
quadraginta said:
They could devote more of the camera time to showing all the people chatting with their neighbors or on their cell phones or eating or going and coming from the restrooms.
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I laughed.

But seriously, after the last out was recorded in the Cubs World Series, Joe Buck had the class to shut up for about ten minutes as the cameras panned around Wrigley Field and the streets outside. Best ten minutes of baseball I've ever seen! Next best thing to being in Chicago that night.
 
I think my Trump-loving nephew may be having an epiphany - he also loves the NFL but is going to take a break "for a short time." I wonder if he's really going to boycott it until not one player anywhere is taking a knee ...

How will NFL players know when to stop kneeling, anyway?

He was also going to stay sober his whole life, then he found out he likes alcohol.
 
Here's the way one NFL player sees it:
Julius Thomas, a Miami Dolphins tight end who had previously stood for the anthem, knelt for it on Sunday with several players. “To have the president trying to intimidate people — I wanted to send a message that I don’t condone that,” Thomas said, echoing the opinion of most N.F.L. players. “I’m not O.K. with somebody trying to prevent someone from standing up for what they think is important.” News link
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Characterizing players who quietly knelt in protest of what they consider state-sanctioned acts of murder by law enforcement, for president Trump to refer to them as "sons of bitches," was disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful. Another example of the intolerance and confrontational style Trump seems to stand for. As a number of NFL players (and others) noted, when the American Nazi group and white supremacist groups marched in Charlottesville in a demonstration that turned violent, Trump was much more moderate in his criticism.
 
Dr. Keith said:
Dale Hanson struck me as a blowhard when I first moved here. Over time I've grown to really like him. He is very good about being right when it would be easy for him not to be.
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IIRC, didn't he also go viral over his response to Michael Sam coming out before the draft?
 
quadraginta said:
"Nattering nabobs of negativism". Those were the days. Trump hasn't got the vocabulary to come up with gems like that.
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Whoa, flashback! :eek:
quadraginta said:
If Trump were a used car salesman he'd have me looking for a different dealership.
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you are not alone.
Dr. Keith said:
In all seriousness, this Thursday night **** is driving me crazy. I hope their viewership does decline for that reason alone.
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That's two of us.
The Don said:
President Trump will now claim that his intervention single-handedly rescued the NFL's ratings :rolleyes:
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What's funny is that I will bet the over on him making that claim within the week.
Cain said:
"Football combines the two worst things about America: it is violence punctuated by committee meetings." -- George F. Will
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Funny, from a devotee of baseball. (If you have not read his book "men at work" about baseball, I recommend it).
Dr. Keith said:
Not to mention NASCAR. Every clip of NASCAR that I have viewed over the last five years has included a wreck.
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IT's why people watch. I can't watch, it just doesn't do it for me.
pgwenthold said:
The NFL TV production is highly scripted to maximize commercial time. You are right. They go from "the studio" to the announcers in the booth, and immediately the kickoff happens. And it's not a coincidence. The players are all standing there waiting for the TV guy to tell them it's time to kick off. Go to a game and you can see the TV guy on the field, telling the referees when they can play.
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yeah, disconcerting the first time you go to a live game and see how often the players are standing around waiting to play. Not like Friday night high school football.
Cleon said:
This is the *US* politics forum. The game is called soccer, "color" doesn't have a "u" in it, and "Jeff" is spelled in such a way as to reflect how it's pronounced rather than to describe the production of a hairball. ;)
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We thank you for the PSA. :cool:
Hercules56 said:
Here all you need to hear, from a Vietnam Veteran
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Thanks for the Hansen piece. Had not seen it.
 
Compliance with traditional mores that a conservative body uses to reinforce their position is not a politics neutral position.
 
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