- Aug 31, 2015
- 2,606
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/26/t...nick-anthem-protests-donald-trump-nfl-ratings
I really thought this guy summed it up for me... obviously in a more eloquent way than I am capable of. On Monday night, I didn't watch my first Cowboys game in I can't even remember how long. I wasn't protesting and am not saying I'll never watch again or anything like that. I was just sick of hearing about it. Instead of all the normal pregame buildup about the players and teams, it was all about what would the Cowboys do tonight to protest. What would Dale Hanson say on his unplugged segment. What would the fans think. Instead, I came home, grabbed my clubs, went and played 9 holes, drank a beer with an old friend I saw at the course, came home and never turned it on.
Have read your column avidly for years, first thing Monday morning. Love your insight into the game and the personalities of those involved. The fact that I don’t share your political views in no way detracts from that enjoyment. Heck, I don’t like coffee or the taste of beer, and you write about those all the time. To each his own.
But like many who I’ve seen write to you before (major props for publishing those critical emails) I’ve become increasingly saddened by the politicization of the game I love. And this from a guy who grew up in a super politically active household. My mom was a Representative in the Arizona House for years. I voted for the first time on my 18th birthday. I follow politics closely, reading political columns and newsletters on Monday as well, but not until after my MMQB.
I’m a pastor who happens to be very much against school prayer. We live in a diverse society, a society I share with many people who share my beliefs, and even more who don’t. I love the fact that I’m free to believe as I do, and even make my living giving weekly presentations about my faith, to which the general public is invited. And the vast majority of those in my community decline. That’s okay. The same society that grants me the freedom to believe as I do gives them every right to not share my beliefs.
So we make a deal. I can believe like I do, you like you do, and we can still be friends and neighbors because we share so many other aspects of our lives that are secular. Like school. Like sports. We don’t live in a theocracy, which is fine by me. If we did, and my faith were not the dominant one, then I’d suffer the same fate as religious minorities all over the world.
Now imagine a world where my faith was the dominant one. Where you couldn’t watch a movie, or enjoy a TV show or go to a game without having to sit through a sermon. Where even the news was delivered from the perspective of a religious person. I wouldn’t want to live in that world.
And yet I increasingly feel like I do. I love movies, and used to watch the Oscars every year. But I gave that up when they stopped being about celebrating film and turned into a political rally. You find your political views mocked, and feel like you’re on the receiving end of well, a sermon. Same with the Emmys. But I figured that if I didn’t want the sermon, I didn’t have to watch.
Football used to be a place where people of all races, religions and political views could come together. Not anymore. Now you have to sit through the sermon. And the tough things about not liking the sermon is that those preaching it love the message. They believe it. They think it would be great if you embraced their belief. Believe me, I know. So they feel justified in making everything about The Message.
So I’m left with the same option for football that I have for entertainment. If I don’t want to sit through the sermon, I have to turn it off. It just seems like a weird business model to actively try and run off half your audience, then be stunned when the audience begins to shrink. I want to keep watching. I love football. I play fantasy. I watch the highlight shows, even the cruddy ones.
I guess I just miss the days when sermons were limited to church. — Kevin Carlson, Mesa, Ari.
I really thought this guy summed it up for me... obviously in a more eloquent way than I am capable of. On Monday night, I didn't watch my first Cowboys game in I can't even remember how long. I wasn't protesting and am not saying I'll never watch again or anything like that. I was just sick of hearing about it. Instead of all the normal pregame buildup about the players and teams, it was all about what would the Cowboys do tonight to protest. What would Dale Hanson say on his unplugged segment. What would the fans think. Instead, I came home, grabbed my clubs, went and played 9 holes, drank a beer with an old friend I saw at the course, came home and never turned it on.
Have read your column avidly for years, first thing Monday morning. Love your insight into the game and the personalities of those involved. The fact that I don’t share your political views in no way detracts from that enjoyment. Heck, I don’t like coffee or the taste of beer, and you write about those all the time. To each his own.
But like many who I’ve seen write to you before (major props for publishing those critical emails) I’ve become increasingly saddened by the politicization of the game I love. And this from a guy who grew up in a super politically active household. My mom was a Representative in the Arizona House for years. I voted for the first time on my 18th birthday. I follow politics closely, reading political columns and newsletters on Monday as well, but not until after my MMQB.
I’m a pastor who happens to be very much against school prayer. We live in a diverse society, a society I share with many people who share my beliefs, and even more who don’t. I love the fact that I’m free to believe as I do, and even make my living giving weekly presentations about my faith, to which the general public is invited. And the vast majority of those in my community decline. That’s okay. The same society that grants me the freedom to believe as I do gives them every right to not share my beliefs.
So we make a deal. I can believe like I do, you like you do, and we can still be friends and neighbors because we share so many other aspects of our lives that are secular. Like school. Like sports. We don’t live in a theocracy, which is fine by me. If we did, and my faith were not the dominant one, then I’d suffer the same fate as religious minorities all over the world.
Now imagine a world where my faith was the dominant one. Where you couldn’t watch a movie, or enjoy a TV show or go to a game without having to sit through a sermon. Where even the news was delivered from the perspective of a religious person. I wouldn’t want to live in that world.
And yet I increasingly feel like I do. I love movies, and used to watch the Oscars every year. But I gave that up when they stopped being about celebrating film and turned into a political rally. You find your political views mocked, and feel like you’re on the receiving end of well, a sermon. Same with the Emmys. But I figured that if I didn’t want the sermon, I didn’t have to watch.
Football used to be a place where people of all races, religions and political views could come together. Not anymore. Now you have to sit through the sermon. And the tough things about not liking the sermon is that those preaching it love the message. They believe it. They think it would be great if you embraced their belief. Believe me, I know. So they feel justified in making everything about The Message.
So I’m left with the same option for football that I have for entertainment. If I don’t want to sit through the sermon, I have to turn it off. It just seems like a weird business model to actively try and run off half your audience, then be stunned when the audience begins to shrink. I want to keep watching. I love football. I play fantasy. I watch the highlight shows, even the cruddy ones.
I guess I just miss the days when sermons were limited to church. — Kevin Carlson, Mesa, Ari.
