Tag Archives: Anthem

Current Events

Sports

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Disgusting, absolutely disgusting!!!  Americans Favorite sport? Really? I’d rather sit by my pool and watch the grass grow.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 23: Los Angeles Dodgers kneel during the National Anthem prior to a MLB baseball game on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 23, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images).
                          How about this one for a reality check?

As a sports fan, it pains me to say this: I watched not one inning of the 2020 World Series. This revelation is not some preening, pin-a-medal-on-me political puffery — “Those sports ball players are annoying, America-hating commies, so I’m not watching” — but rather the embarrassed confession of a discouraged, disillusioned former fanatic who has come to realize that my erstwhile sports obsessions are really not all that important.

Apparently, I’m far from alone. The Tampa Bay Rays’ instant classic walk-off Game 4 win drew 8.95 million viewers, the second-lowest viewership in World Series history — ahead of only Game 3’s 8.2 million. For contrast, remember that only four short years ago, Game 7 between the Cubs and Indians peaked at 49.9 million viewers. Game 7 of the classic 1986 Mets-Red Sox series had an estimated viewership as high as 60 million.

The ratings numbers have attached themselves to an anvil and tossed the anvil off a cliff into a black hole. It’s a shocking decline. MLB is not alone in seeing its appeal become more selective, Spinal Tap-style. The NFL’s once-vaunted viewership juggernaut is shedding passengers at an alarming pace; the league is left celebrating a 33 percent decline year-over-year for the most recent Sunday Night game, because it represented a slight uptick compared to the rest of this season’s dismal numbers.

And the NBA?  Woof.  Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals averaged 5.9 million viewers. For comparison, Michael Jordan’s last game as a Bull, the clinching Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, averaged almost 36 million viewers. Overall, the Lakers-Heat series dropped 51 percent from the 2019 numbers and 67 percent from 2018.

To extend the Spinal Tap metaphor, the NBA is a few BLM woke bombs away from second billing behind Puppet Show. Let’s be fair: There are mitigating circumstances. Nothing about this year is normal. MLB shoehorned a 60-game season into a pandemic-ravaged sports calendar. The NBA played its Finals at a time of year when teams are normally in training camp. The NFL has clung to something resembling a normal schedule, but the mostly empty stadiums and piped-in crowd noise have lent a surreal, off-putting atmosphere to the proceedings.

Personally, I’ve found it hard to care about sports when the very future of the Republic seems to be at stake, and every day’s headlines bring some fresh hell to torment and terrorize my fragile psyche. Sport becomes far less relevant in times like these, even as simple escapism. There’s no escaping a pervading sense of doom. But after the election, will my apathy magically dissipate, much like I expect the pandemic panic to do? Will I re-engage my former passion for pro sports? It’s entirely possible. A return to normalcy in 2021 would likely include a reboot of a casual interest in the exploits of overgrown man-children and a willingness to set aside their silly political posturing. A post-election de-weaponization of the virus will allow us all to relax, breathe and reclaim life’s simple pleasures. I hope so, anyway.

One final piece of advice: Don’t wait for woke-ism to recede from pro sports before re-engaging. Believe it or not, it is possible to set all that aside and simply enjoy the games themselves. If I let politics control my entertainment choices, I’d be left with listening to the Beatles song “Taxman” on an endless loop, and not much else. Life’s too short, and Jon Voight’s not making many movies these days.

Originally posted 2020-10-30 10:52:09.

Current Events

The NFL

17 Comments

Well, let’s see what the Nation’s Scum is up today? Oh dear, the infamous NFL who cares only about one thing, $$$$$$. They have never  cared about the players, the sport, the franchises, or the fans — that is as long as they continue to spend mega bucks at the games for $10 hot dogs and beers, not to mention the price of the ticket. I am fast approaching the eight decades mark, and I have never paid a dime to attend an NFL game. Oh as a kid I used to go watch Johnny Unitas and the Colts, but my girlfriend’s father paid; he had season tickets and I was sometimes invited to tag along. I do watch some on TV but not a priority in my life. But I will be scanning the games this year; see the epilogue as to the reason.

Open Letter To NFL Players. The Boycott is coming

You graduated high school in 2011. Your teenage years were a struggle.

You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Your mother was the leader of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and food on your plate.

Academics were a struggle for you and your grades were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you weighed 225 lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a football. Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play football. Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to work at McDonald’s for minimum wage.

You were recruited by all the big colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their school was best. They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend worked double shifts at Mickey Ds. College was not an option for him.

On the day you signed with Big State University, your best friend signed paperwork with his Army recruiter. You went to summer workouts.

He went to basic training.

You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered on by adoring fans. Tutors attended to your every academic need.

You attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard. You lifted weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top football players in the country.

Your best friend was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice. He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19 year-old soldiers who grew up just like he did. He shed his blood in Afghanistan and watched young American’s give their lives, limbs, and innocence for the US.

You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts. You hired an agent and waited for draft day. You were drafted in the first round and your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most money possible. You signed for $16 million although you had never played a single down of professional football.

Your best friend re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat tested sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year.

You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach. He will ride in the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers.

You will sleep at the Ritz. He will dig a hole in the ground and try to sleep. You will “make it rain” in the club. He will pray for rain as the temperature reaches 120 degrees.

On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans cheer and yell your name.

For your best friend, there is little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week. There are no adoring fans. There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers. Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to the rear” to rest. He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV.

When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his feet and salute the television. While you protest the unfairness of life in the United States, he will give thanks to God that he has the honor of defending his great country.

To the players of the NFL: We are the people who buy your tickets, watch you on TV, and wear your jerseys. We anxiously wait for Sundays so we can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us.

You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the absolute right to boycott you.

We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth. We should be ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what is morally right.

But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans. You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country. I encourage all like minded Americans to boycott the NFL.

National boycott of the NFL for Sunday November 11, 2020 “Veterans Day“ Weekend. Boycott all football telecast, all fans, all ticket holders, stay away from attending any games, let them play to empty stadiums.

Pass this post along to all your friends and family. Honor our military, some of whom come home with the American Flag draped over their coffin.

Epilogue: OK, Here is why I will scan this year and I recommend you and your friends do the same.  You know the sayings, : Money Talks,  follow the money, money is everything, etc. Where would the NFL be today without advertisements during the game breaks; hell they even delay the game to get the advertisements aired. And do you have any idea what those companies pay for a thirty second advertisement? I remember when the J Walter came out with the sword advertisement for the Corps. They got a thirty second ad and even got to pick when the ad would be air i.e.,  the first station break after kick off at the Super Bowl. The ad cost the Corps $100K. Hell that was a big chunk of the Corps’ total annual ad budget. LOL Anyway, the Corps caught all sorts of hell from the legislatures over that issue. Now I am told the ads cost in the millions for just twenty seconds.

So, my goal is to watch the commercials only and take note of who is buying air time, and I will flood those companies mail and emails, with written complaints and let them know I will buy china rather than their products. Can you imagine if 1000’s of folks did that and the company experienced a sudden drop in sales and eventually pulled their ads from the games? I know one thing, I had better not see a USAA ad this year, as in the past I have been with that company for over 45 years for everything e.g., investments, banking, home, car, and life insurance, and mortgages. I will drop them in a heartbeat. Think of the hypocrisy. They cater only to veterans, yet they buy air time, thus supporting a company who  supports players disgracing the American Flag and our National Anthem. OMG. I have already warned them with emails, you should too!

Spread the word folks, we can have a voice!!!

 

 

Originally posted 2020-07-31 11:55:26.

Recent Posts

The Silent Majority

2 Comments

I might ruffle some feathers with this one, but so be it.  

Before you venture into this blog post, I’d like to say a few words, and I will intervene in places in the post in red! If you’ve not read my book, I will not bore with any details or repeat what is in Chapter 28 titled the same as this post. I’m amazed at how foolish the so-called silent majority is today and has been for most of my adult life. They are a class of do-nothings who sit around and post comments on websites like the one that featured the below article. Remember the saying about what talks and what walks? Well, your posts mean nothing; no one of consequence reads your vents.   You are merely playing the “silent majority” game, which accomplishes squat. 

I remember reading a notation on the wall above a urinal many years ago that read: People who write these words of wit, wrap their sh** in tiny balls and people who read these words on walls, eat these tiny balls of sh**.”  Enjoy your meal folks, because that is, in essence, exactly what you are doing.

I am an Economist by education. In Econ 101, I learned the pricing of a product (micro-Economics). Money is everything, it is paramount to everything. Companies are in business to make money. If you truly want to influence something, follow the money then take decisive action. Who sponsors NFL games? Take notes on who they are and THAT’S where you vent your frustration. Instead of posting your vents on a blog, go to the sponsors website, tell them you have stopped  buying their product. Post it on FB, use the social media to ask for cooperation.

Some time ago while flipping through the channels, I noted my favorite financial company, one I have been with for over 43 years advertising on this left-wing news program. I wrote them a letter threatening to transfer all my assets from their company. I posted my letter on FB, then contacted the 100’s of like-minded, fellow military-types in my address book asking them to please speak out. They did and that company no longer advertises on that station. IT WORKED!

This article talks about the outrageous things happening within the NFL, and I’m not just talking about those millionaire pieces of garbage disrespecting the flag I served for nearly 36 years. The NFL is all about money, even if you are not a fan, which I no longer am, you are being taken to the cleaners by everything they have their hands in from stadium building to $9.00 beers.

We the people can change that, but the silent majority will never accomplish squat, nor will your posted comments on websites.

Today’s headlines tell me that Kansas City Chiefs’ player Marcus Peters sat out the National Anthem during last night’s NFL opener. I wouldn’t know, I wasn’t watching.

As consumers in America, we have a freedom to choose the products we purchase with the money we keep from our hard work after our government masters take their half. With that money, we buy the things we need and enjoy. It’s a simple concept; I don’t need or enjoy the NFL, so I do not participate in its offerings. I don’t go to games, I don’t watch them on television or the internet, and I don’t purchase NFL or player paraphernalia. I do this for a variety of reasons:

  1. It may be a small handful of players opposing their country’s anthem, but as long as it is accepted by the owners and coaches, (and the NFL) then they have lost me as a viewer. Yes, in the U.S.A. you have the freedom to express your views however ridiculous they may be. I, too, have a right to express my disapproval of your views through my pocketbook.The NFL is a business that sells a product. I happen to now find that product unattractive, overpriced, and out of style – so I refuse to buy it.
  2. The NFL has immersed itself in the hip-hop culture. Yes, I know this automatically makes me a racist according to the Left, but I simply don’t like the hip-hop culture and the things it represents that have nothing to do with skin color. I don’t approve of a culture whose music refers to women as “b**ches” and “h*s”, glorifies drug usage and violence, and encourages an illicit lifestyle. Plus, I don’t like the clothing. Pull up your pants, you look like an idiot. When this type of “music” blares out over the sound system in the stadium, as it did when I attended my last NFL game, I’m gone.
  3. It’s a game. As I age, certain things become more valuable to me. Time is a resource and I refuse to give it up to something I don’t enjoy. I do still attend some college games and cheer for my alma mater, so it’s not the game I don’t enjoy; rather, it’s the commercialization and the culture. At the last professional football game I attended, I looked around at the people spending $9.00 for a beer wearing their $90 team jersey, and decided I didn’t want to be one of them. I can still enjoy the game by watching my local high school team. I can even walk onto the field afterwards and make a young person feel good by congratulating them on a good game, great tackle, or exceptional run.
  4. The anthem. I served my country for six years, and the National Anthem brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it (when it’s done with class, not some hip-hopper adding his/her garbage to a beautiful song). Every. Time. It represents the collective sacrifice of my friends and colleagues and everyone who went before us. It’s the same flag that was draped over my former teammate’s coffin after being killed in Afghanistan. It’s personal to me, very personal. To sit it out, talk during it, raise your fist, or any other form of disrespect is unacceptable to me. Period. I’m simply not willing to look beyond that. There is no pass on this one. If you can’t stand still and respect the flag of this great nation and everything for which it stands, then you and everyone associated with you (advertisers) isn’t getting one dime from me. When Chiefs fans replace the last word of the anthem with the word “Chiefs” I don’t find it cute or excuse the behavior. It’s disrespectful to the millions of brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that these slobs could swill their $9 beers and scream at players on a Sunday afternoon. It’s inappropriate, disrespectful and I’m not going to participate.
    One aside on this topic: If I understand the argument, those who sit out the anthem think America is a racist country and the national anthem somehow represents the idea that all cops are racists. Huh? Seriously, your argument is just dumb and doesn’t even deserve a response. I would not disagree with those who would suggest that only a handful of players in the NFL hate America and therefore the rest shouldn’t be punished for that reason alone just like all cops are not racists. To that argument, reference items 1-3, 5, 6. Additionally, we are judged by the company we keep. You want to have an America hater on your team? Then I chose not to support you.
  5. We all have our likes and dislikes, and I simply dislike the culture that has become sports today. Geez, how much can we talk about and “analyze” a game? Admittedly, I pay attention to politics as much as a sports junkie watches games, but what politicians do affects my life. What’s going on in North Korea matters much more than whether or not Tom Brady completed 50% of his passes. If North Korea lobs over a nuke, you can kiss your sports goodbye, among other things.
  6. Taxpayer subsidized stadiums. A significant number of sports stadiums are subsidized or are built with taxpayer dollars. Does the taxpayer get to park for free? Do they receive free admission to the game? Are they allowed to use the locker room or weight room during the week? Do they get a free “I helped pay for this stadium” t-shirt? Of course not. Government should not participate in local business (Econ 102) other than by providing an environment where business thrives. While I commend the shrewd business owner who increases his wealth from government handouts, I do not approve of the practice and refuse to participate in something that encourages it.

So, Colin Kaepernick, Marcus Peters and every other flag protesting twit, this American is done with the likes of you. And, I’m not alone. Welcome to the unemployment line coming soon to your future.

How about a new look at the outlandish contracts offered to some of these scum. Make salaries performance-based. I’ve heard the story of last week, sorry I didn’t watch it.  Chicago down by  6, on the Falcons 5 yard line, 1st and goal and three receivers dropped or completely missed passes. Their millionaires for Pete’s sake, they deserve multi-million dollar contracts? Not if salaries were performance-based, much like everyone else’s.

Wake up Silent Majority and do something other than write your words of wit on the blogs, or to your elected criminal. I have and continue to do so.

Originally posted 2017-09-17 14:53:11.