In this day and age it is hard to instill respect in individuals. With entitlement at its peak, liberals think they need to be shown something in order to respect someone.
To our future’s dismay this mentality of self-deserving has even gravitated toward our very nation itself, which ironically is the very thing that gave such individuals the freedom to speak nonsense, the value to feel they are worth it, and the means to get their message across.
We see the despicable display of such disrespect for our country in NFL players as they kneel during the pre-game national anthem.
The controversial act began in 2016 when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the patriotic song to allegedly protest racial discrimination and police brutality.
Case in point, Kaepernick thought he, and others were owed something, thus he felt privileged enough to be disrespectful to the country in which he took all other blessings for granted.
The national anthem has been playing in stadiums for a hundred years, and only now have we reached a point of pretentiousness for such impiety.
In the 1918 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox, during World War I, the national anthem rang out for a people who felt tired and scared.
The war had wreaked havoc on the economy, causing many baseball players to be drafted into the military. This move impacted not only the fans, but the country at large, seeing that the severity of the war had no limits.
PolitiFact reported on how through the somber mood of the nation, the sports industry raised the mood of masses:
“The scene also made an impression on the two teams’ front offices. The Cubs’ management made sure the band played the anthem during the next two games as well, and attendance, which had been in a rut, increased. When the series moved to Boston’s Fenway Park, officials moved the playing of the anthem to the pregame festivities, coupled with the introduction of wounded soldiers who had received free tickets,” the authors wrote.”
Oh how far the mighty have fallen; speaking of those who choose to follow suit in kneeling during the anthem.
The worst part is, Kaepernick did not act out his shameful display in a bubble, but in front of thousands, upon thousands of viewers; many of which who were young impressionable men who look up to him.
The ripple effect that ensued thereafter is one we are still experiencing with no end in sight. With the NFL paying a high price for their representatives.
Over the weekend, the Minnesota Vikings delivered an entertaining last-minute win against the New Orleans Saints that sends them to the NFC championship game in Philadelphia.
Despite this, people have been changing their channels across the nation due to players kneeling during the national anthem, and the season being exceptionally boring.
Could it be a possibility that the players morale is down due to the divisiveness kneeling has caused, not only between the NFL and their viewers, but between teammates as well?
Many of the people that have a lot to lose from dropped ratings were hoping the playoffs would bring in some much needed viewers, but, unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
“The Wild Card round two weekends ago saw ratings drop 13% over last year”, according to the Daily Wire, and last weekend during the divisional playoff games, “ratings for all four games fell to their lowest point in almost a decade”, according to NBC.
The NFL is not accustomed to a drop in ratings like they have seen recently. All NFL games, including Monday and Thursday night games, have always reeled in die-hard fans.
The Daily Wire reported on “the year of the national anthem protests”:
“Favorable” ratings for the NFL have dropped to 44% from 57% from the end of August to the end of September. During the same period, the “unfavorable” rating has risen to 40%, according to the Winston Group survey.
A recent survey also found that 33% of NFL fans have totally boycotted the league this year, according to SurveyMonkey and Ozy Media.
The survey then asked the football fans: “Did you purposely stop watching or attending NFL games this season for any reason?” 33% of respondents said yes.”
This works out to be about “5.8 million viewers from each of the four NFL divisional playoff games last week” that chose not to watch football, according to the New York Post.
Watching football as friends and family gather has been an American pastime for decades.
There has never before been such a move away from this national favorite pastime during the 17 week season.
Over the decades of American football, it has become a representation of national camaraderie, as fans cheer glasses and link arms over a common love.
The decline in NFL viewership seems to mirror the schism between national union and political disparity.
One would hope the decline in fans would make the NFL players take a hard introspective look into the type of league they are newly forming.
That they would think of the energy on the field at the 1918 Red Sox game, as wounded soldiers stood in the midst of unified fans, and stand tall as the first note to that sweet song echoed across the green grass.
Please let us know if you have been boycotting the NFL games or not, and why.