Who could have dreamed it? The National Football League, which depends on the love and support of millions of American patriots and conservatives for its ongoing popularity, is now facing a slump of historic proportions thanks to its untimely, ill-advised stance against the national anthem.
You would have thought that someone in Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office would have told him, “You know, boss, maybe we’re playing with fire here? NFL fans aren’t, by and large, known for their liberal activism.” You’d think that, but if anyone had that kind of advice for him or anyone else in the NFL’s front office, they were ignored. Instead, players have been allowed, week after week, to stage their little protests against the anthem and the flag. These protests haven’t had the slightest effect on the “problem” of police shooting black suspects, but they’ve had a terrible effect on the NFL’s bottom line.
As first reported by the Washington Examiner, a new poll shows that the NFL’s popularity has taken an enormous dive in recent weeks. The poll, taken by the Washington-based Winston Group, shows that the NFL now has the highest unfavorability ratings of any major sport in America. 40% of Americans now have an unfavorable view of the league, officially making it the least-liked major sports organization in the country. Meanwhile, the favorability ratings have also tumbled. At the end of August, 57% of the country had a favorable view of the NFL. By the end of September and the league’s silly little feud with President Donald Trump, only 44% said they had a favorable view of the institution.
“More critically for the NFL, the fall off in favorables occurred among important audiences,” reported the Winston Group. “Among males, NFL favorables fell 23 percent, going from 68 percent to 45 percent. In looking at a more specific audience, males 34-54, NFL favorables fell 31 percent, going from 73 percent to 42 percent. Among this group the NFL has a surprising negative image, as it went from +54 percent in August to -5 percent in September.”
Ticket sales are down, TV ratings are sinking like a stone, and the NFL has shown no signs of stepping in to even encourage players to make their voices heard in a more constructive manner. There appears to be nothing but contempt for the viewing audience, in fact, and the league may have already missed any chance it might have had at winning back disgruntled fans. In fact, with every passing week, the anger among patriotic Americans is only growing.
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