I don't usually boycott things. It's not my favorite way to protest, and it's often problematic. But a few years ago, I started boycotting the NFL.
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This was not easy. I had to say goodbye to my multiple championship winning fantasy team! And also my beloved 49ers. There's something very odd about not having any idea what's going on with a team you followed so closely for so many years - in my case, since about 1989, when I visited SF at 18 and fell in love with the city. The fact that that incarnation of the team was one of the greatest football teams of all time didn't hurt either!
Tomorrowwill be the fourth straight Superbowl I do not watch.
Many factors caused my decision. The league's long history of hiding the physical and mental damage done to players from concussions and other injuries was a factor. Their incredibly lax handling of domestic abusers was another. I was also turned off by what seemed to me like a unanimous decision by the league's teams to not give Michael Sam, a young man of quality and a fine player, a fair shake due to his sexual orientation.
Originally, it was "as long as Goodell is Commissioner, I'm out." Four years later, I don't know if I would come back even if he was fired. As things stand, the NFL is incredibly dangerous, and a solution to the brain injuries players suffer is yet to be found.
Now that Vince McMahon is resurrecting the XFL... nah. Who am I kidding? The XFL is guaranteed to be awful. The only good thing about it is that it's keeping Vince busy and hopefully away from WWE.
So, yeah. No American Football for me. It's a shame, but life is about choices, and I choose not to support this league.
I have a love-hate relationship with the NFL. I really do LOVE the game, but I definitely HATE the organization and the decisions they've made. I've tried to boycott in the past, but my adoration for the Packers held strong, and I was weak. This year I've watched less (partly due to the early season injury of Rodgers) and I'm learning I can live without it. It hasn't been easy. But I have enjoyed getting my Sunday's back.
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I want to note that I don't call for a boycott and I don't judge anyone who watches. It's an incredible game, and the level of athleticism is unparalleled. And there's something very lovable about the Packets, specifically, with the whole thing where it's a non-profit publicly owned organization. That's amazing.
But the corporation that is the league is basically evil.
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Yep. I have stopped spending money supporting it. Most of my family are diehard Raider people. My brother, step-brother and step-dad all have Raider tattoos. So I guess I half way protest in that I'm not buying any more merchandise as gifts. Was VERY hard to not get my 3 yr old twin nephews jerseys for Christmas LOL. Great game, but damn NFL, get your shit together!
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Yeah. To watch the NFL in Israel, when I stopped, you either had to get their expensive subscription, and thus give them money directly, or pirate, which I didn't want to do, at it seemed an unethical way to boycott. Now, I could watch many of the games legally without paying the league directly, but I'm firmly entrenched in my boycott.
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And, if you ever find yourself in the US again, Green Bay during football season is an amazing place. Last game I went to the woman that was sitting next to me had 4th generation season tickets. You can actually will your tickets to somebody when you die; they don't just sell them off to the highest bidder. It's a really great atmosphere at Lambeau.
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I'm unlikely to get to the US during the current administration. They check social media, and I have said some things, quite a few things, about y'all's current president.
Also... I am a fragile flower when it comes to cold weather, and Green Bay during the NFL season would probably kill me.
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The first game I went to was in December and I nearly died. Since then I've vowed fall games only.
We've said some things ;) Fortunately for me they can't really kick me out. I don't think.... ;)
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There's more leniency for citizens...
...
...
For now.
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Frightening, isn't it? I'm not sure I'll ever get over the shock of that election
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I totally get that. It was a terrible night. We've had some of those here as well.
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We've discussed this a lot privately. I'm close to that point, and getting closer with every "Patrick Chung gets concussed the fuck out in the third, but somehow stays in the game till the mid 4th, despite the presence of an "independent" doctor who's supposed to keep you out when you're clearly concussed the fuck out" incident (or a laughable slap on the wrist for horrific domestic violence that happened to take place in public).
I guess I'm too addicted to football, and as someone who revolutionized NFL coverage here in Israel, it's too big a part of "me", cause the moral case is past clear by this point. Also I'm kinda hedging my bets and hoping the damn Jets win a title before I really can't take it anymore...
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So I'm assuming Patrick Chung is a player who played in the Superb Owl?
Remember, I haven't followed the league in years. I obviously know who the SB teams were, but that's about it. Are the Jets good now? Is this hope of yours realistic?
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I'm impressed that you had this well reasoned response literally 3 seconds after the post went up.
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LOL. Got me. I'm da flash.
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The most valuable vote you can cast is with your wallet.
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Surely Vince's XFL second coming has alot to do with this sentiment.
He knows alot of people feel this way with the NFL.
And he says he wants to keep politics out of the game
I wouldn't say the XFL is guaranteed to be awful, but yeah....
Maybe the XFL will work??
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NFL players being a tiny bit political (still a fraction of what WNBA and NBA players do) is one of the few positive things I can point at in the league, with the blackballing of Colin Kaepernick one of the major negatives.
Vince's version of the league wouldn't fix what bothers me, it would make it worse.
Also... a league where all the teams are owned by the same guy? Unless he goes full Pro Wrestling with it (which he says he won't), where's the competition gonna come from, at the executive level?
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