RustyBourneHorse
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I know the NFL likes to think of itself as an entertainment business. However, I must say that I find that the NFL is not very entertaining anymore. I mainly watch because 1. I'm a Cowboys fan and 2. There's not exactly a viable competitor for professional American Football. However, as stated yesterday, I have other sports I prefer to the NFL.
Firstly, I think the NFL is overly manufactured. Just the production of the games lately looks off. I know the game is more made for TV, but it just looks... obviously manufactured. The officiating looks like it is there more to navigate a game in a certain path. Then you have the way the media is set up to keep the talk of the game going. Maybe I'm not as enthused because I'm a Cowboys fan and it gets boring hearing them rip on us, but, outside the Pat McAfee Show, the talk shows about the NFL are either boring or are toxic. It feels like there is a narrative being pushed every season, and it gets painfully obvious as the season drags on what the narrative is. I'm not trying to say the game is rigged, perse, but I do think it's manufactured in a way that fits what they want. Think about Taylor Swift being shoved in our face all last season and this season. Then this year you hear about nobody winning 3 in a row. Then the Chiefs get incredibly lucky calls or no calls. I'm not saying it's rigged, but I do think the games are manufactured and manipulated to reach an outcome or a spot where the League gets the narrative it wants.
When FIFA got slammed with a massive scandal a decade ago (https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FIFA-corruption-scandal), it was for "More than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates were implicated in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. Central to the scandal were accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar". What the NFL is doing makes FIFA's scandal look like a mild inconvenience. As for hockey, it's incredibly hard to manufacture an outcome in hockey, compared to an NFL game. If the puck is over the line, it's a goal. If not, it's not a goal.
Secondly, I will admit some of this has to do with the Cowboys. It just feels like we are Sideshow Bob. What I mean by that is that it feels like we were sold out a long time ago by Jerry. It feels like he actually enjoys seeing us Cowboys fans be miserable and upset. Have you ever noticed how sometimes we have very good teams, but there's always one or two glaring holes that never quite get addressed or get outright ignored. Then, at a certain time in the playoffs, we end up being eliminated. It almost feels like Jerry enjoys it because he gets paid and media attention either way, and the NFL likes it because they like to bag on us. It has gotten rather old and repetitive. Then, like this year, when we are absolutely useless, the media still finds ways to take the piss out of us. All in all, much like point one, it just feels like a hamster wheel that's gotten repetitive and boring.
Thirdly, the game itself isn't as good as it used to be. With the rule changes that have been implemented and the game being not as physical as it used to be, the product itself just seems like a cheap knockoff for what it used to be. It's like watching a concert with a band that broke up years ago, but they try to make it seem like they're still the same band with the same songs, but the music just isn't as good. I understand that the players are bigger and faster than they used to be, but the game just doesn't seem as good. Even without the officiating and manufacturing points from point one, the product just looks worse.
All in all, it feels like the NFL has sold out it's core fanbase and it's core customers for the quick buck that is the new fans and the Swifties. It feels like a watered down manufactured product that appeals to the masses as opposed to the key fanbase that actually love what the game used to be. Maybe I'm just rambling, but it just feels like the NFL is not what it should be. Personally, whenever there is a new commissioner, I hope the next commissioner is a former player like a Tom Brady or a Ray Lewis so we can have American Football be American Football. Not this manufactured "American Football" garbage.
Firstly, I think the NFL is overly manufactured. Just the production of the games lately looks off. I know the game is more made for TV, but it just looks... obviously manufactured. The officiating looks like it is there more to navigate a game in a certain path. Then you have the way the media is set up to keep the talk of the game going. Maybe I'm not as enthused because I'm a Cowboys fan and it gets boring hearing them rip on us, but, outside the Pat McAfee Show, the talk shows about the NFL are either boring or are toxic. It feels like there is a narrative being pushed every season, and it gets painfully obvious as the season drags on what the narrative is. I'm not trying to say the game is rigged, perse, but I do think it's manufactured in a way that fits what they want. Think about Taylor Swift being shoved in our face all last season and this season. Then this year you hear about nobody winning 3 in a row. Then the Chiefs get incredibly lucky calls or no calls. I'm not saying it's rigged, but I do think the games are manufactured and manipulated to reach an outcome or a spot where the League gets the narrative it wants.
When FIFA got slammed with a massive scandal a decade ago (https://www.britannica.com/event/2015-FIFA-corruption-scandal), it was for "More than two dozen FIFA officials and their associates were implicated in a 24-year self-enrichment scheme that reached the highest levels of FIFA management. Central to the scandal were accusations of bribery connected to the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar". What the NFL is doing makes FIFA's scandal look like a mild inconvenience. As for hockey, it's incredibly hard to manufacture an outcome in hockey, compared to an NFL game. If the puck is over the line, it's a goal. If not, it's not a goal.
Secondly, I will admit some of this has to do with the Cowboys. It just feels like we are Sideshow Bob. What I mean by that is that it feels like we were sold out a long time ago by Jerry. It feels like he actually enjoys seeing us Cowboys fans be miserable and upset. Have you ever noticed how sometimes we have very good teams, but there's always one or two glaring holes that never quite get addressed or get outright ignored. Then, at a certain time in the playoffs, we end up being eliminated. It almost feels like Jerry enjoys it because he gets paid and media attention either way, and the NFL likes it because they like to bag on us. It has gotten rather old and repetitive. Then, like this year, when we are absolutely useless, the media still finds ways to take the piss out of us. All in all, much like point one, it just feels like a hamster wheel that's gotten repetitive and boring.
Thirdly, the game itself isn't as good as it used to be. With the rule changes that have been implemented and the game being not as physical as it used to be, the product itself just seems like a cheap knockoff for what it used to be. It's like watching a concert with a band that broke up years ago, but they try to make it seem like they're still the same band with the same songs, but the music just isn't as good. I understand that the players are bigger and faster than they used to be, but the game just doesn't seem as good. Even without the officiating and manufacturing points from point one, the product just looks worse.
All in all, it feels like the NFL has sold out it's core fanbase and it's core customers for the quick buck that is the new fans and the Swifties. It feels like a watered down manufactured product that appeals to the masses as opposed to the key fanbase that actually love what the game used to be. Maybe I'm just rambling, but it just feels like the NFL is not what it should be. Personally, whenever there is a new commissioner, I hope the next commissioner is a former player like a Tom Brady or a Ray Lewis so we can have American Football be American Football. Not this manufactured "American Football" garbage.
