The NFL is basically a criminal organization

betterthanthealternative said:

Gang, I think the FBI is a little busy with other things these days.

Click to expand...

Unless it's a Brady matter. Peyton matters such as hiring goons with guns to intimidate a witness, or placing your penis, nuts and taint on a woman who is trying to help you with an injury, or making your wife be your drug dealer's chump, nothing to see there.

ReverendMaynard said:

In the NFL everything is a labyrinth of dark conspiracy, and everybody is plotting to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate. - Scully, The X-Files

Click to expand...

If Scully's saying that, I can't even imagine what Mulder's saying.

The worst thing that can happen to any entertainment product is apathy. Rozelle and Tagliabue built a pillar of American culture that had both hardcores and casuals alike enthralled by the narratives and storylines that played out on Sunday and Monday nights.

Growing up in MA my family got together in the living room and watched the Patriots. It's what we did. It was the most important thing on Sundays, and growing up as an Irish kid inside of 128 that's saying a lot. The Patriots were a religion.

Last season was the first year I actually just didn't care. I didn't obsess over injury reports, didn't watch film like a crazy person, didn't seek out deeper knowledge of what was happening. It just felt...meh. It felt fake. It didn't feel like a roller coaster where the best team with the best coaching would win. It felt like pro wrestling and the game had become soulless. The authenticity was completely removed. It felt...plastic. I watch MMA now. Football is like a nice little diversion for a few months to me and I'll probably move on within a decade. I get the sense I am not alone.

Interesting to have a thread on a football message board about how little the posters care about football ...

Fencer said:

Interesting to have a thread on a football message board about how little the posters care about football ...

Click to expand...

I think it's more accurately a Patriots board populated with Bill Belichick fans.

Fencer said:

Interesting to have a thread on a football message board about how little the posters care about football ...

Click to expand...

It's pretty funny if you think about it. It is a football message board with plenty of members announcing their intention to stop watching football - just a few years down the road.

Hammer of Thor said:

While I do agree that "eSports" are getting bigger, and will become a bigger part of our culture, it'll take a long time to replace real physical sports. The most basic reason (and sorry for my bluntness here): High school football players get laid; WoW griefers do not, even in tournament form....

Click to expand...

In Korea, gamers are like the celebrities over there and get all the girls etc.. the gaming culture has been rapidly growing and is pretty massive at this point.. big budget games are developed with $250+ million dollar budgets now, similar to blockbuster movies etc

Lots of money in gaming as a professional, but just like getting into the NFL, the odds of you making it to that level are slim to none.. but there are a lot of gamer chicks these days too so they aren't doing too shabby on the ladies either,.. but also just because someone is an athlete, doesnt mean they arent a gamer.. my friend is a professional athletic trainer and competitor, but hes a hardcore gamer too and has never had a problem with the ladies

My parents even play games now on xbox and they're in their 60's! Its a massive industry

jays52 said:

The worst thing that can happen to any entertainment product is apathy. Rozelle and Tagliabue built a pillar of American culture that had both hardcores and casuals alike enthralled by the narratives and storylines that played out on Sunday and Monday nights.

Growing up in MA my family got together in the living room and watched the Patriots. It's what we did. It was the most important thing on Sundays, and growing up as an Irish kid inside of 128 that's saying a lot. The Patriots were a religion.

Last season was the first year I actually just didn't care. I didn't obsess over injury reports, didn't watch film like a crazy person, didn't seek out deeper knowledge of what was happening. It just felt...meh. It felt fake. It didn't feel like a roller coaster where the best team with the best coaching would win. It felt like pro wrestling and the game had become soulless. The authenticity was completely removed. It felt...plastic. I watch MMA now. Football is like a nice little diversion for a few months to me and I'll probably move on within a decade. I get the sense I am not alone.

Click to expand...

You clearly are not alone. But, I feel incredibly sorry for you. I grew up, and still live, in southern Worcester County about 35 minutes from Gillette and have been a Pats' fan since my father took me to the first game at BU against the Broncos in 1960 when I was 11. The events since 2007 have made me more ornery, more defensive about and more supportive of the Patriots than I've ever been. Sundays at 1:00 are still incredibly exciting and exhilarating for me. The tradition has been passed on to my daughter and grand-daughter, to a point which makes me prouder than ever of our family loyalty to the team we'll all love forever. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday family activities are planned around Patriot games and our relatives who aren't Pats/NFL fans understand that's just the way it is. The rest of the haters can kiss my ancient ass.

The Boston Patriot said:

Arlen Spector would have been all over this.

Click to expand...

He's just a specter now.

The Boston Patriot said:

Arlen Spector would have been all over this.

Click to expand...

Yup. Defending The Dope and the NFL and against the NEP. Jackasses such as Uncle Arlen are for truth, justice and the American Way-just as long as truth, justice and the American way don't involve truth and justice for the Patriots. And the American Way? Not for cheaters...

PatriotsReign said:

Do you guys believe that the NFL front office knows we have 3 members that are working there only to report back to us? Did we give the 3 the new recorders and bugs to be planted in Goodell's office?

This has been too much fun........good thing the NFL doesn't monitor our board, huh? Big FAT

My nephew has an interview at the NFL office 2 weeks from now...hopefully he'll be #4!

Click to expand...

Ok, what's this now?

Jlaff said:

Ok, what's this now?

Click to expand...

Can't a guy have fun?

If the framegate went down as described, then how about extortion and conspiracy charges against the NFL?

XLIX said:

It's pretty funny if you think about it. It is a football message board with plenty of members announcing their intention to stop watching football - just a few years down the road.

Click to expand...

Almost, but not quite. Read many posts here where folks say they're watching far fewer NYJFL games.
If you don't think that's a dangerous trend among heavy fandom, your head is in the sand.
Example: the precipitous decline in espn viewers & consequently, revenue.
But don't worry, you have company with the 32 owners.

I'll be honest. Like Jays52, my interest has waned. I used to do tons of draft research. Post pre-draft wants/needs, training camps wants/needs, etc.

I used to have DirectTV and paid for Sunday Ticket. And I'd watch games all day Sunday.. But I got rid of those things 3 years ago. I'll either go to a bar or watch the Pats games on my computer via live streams out of Europe. My last Jersey purchase was Welker's the year before he left. I think i've spent about $100 over the last 3 years on Patriots stuff.. And most of that was for the 3 Games to Glory 4 Blu-Ray and a SB49 hat..

Contrary to what Kraft said, the NFL product has been getting steadily worse the last 10 years, much of it because of Goodell and the "need" of the NFL to have ridiculous feel good stories (Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning). Not to mention the bias in the punishment of different teams.

And now, with the story coming out that other owners used Deflategate to "get Kraft", it's just another reason to not watch once Belichick and Brady are gone.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Almost, but not quite. Read many posts here where folks say they're watching far fewer NYJFL games.
If you don't think that's a dangerous trend among heavy fandom, your head is in the sand.
Example: the precipitous decline in espn viewers & consequently, revenue.
But don't worry, you have company with the 32 owners.

Click to expand...

The NFL is not declining in viewership. Numbers for the Super Bowl were down slightly because the game sucked but the overall trend for the league is upwards.

As for ESPN's declining revenue, that has nothing to do with the subject at hand.

robertweathers said:

Speak for yourself. A vast majority of the games last year were unwatchable including the SB.

Once TB and BB are out I'm done.

Click to expand...

I can respect someone who chooses to no longer watch the game once BB and Brady leaves simply due to being sick of the league.

My only thing is, to the people who are deciding to no longer watch as a form of protest thinking that the NFL will miss them and their money put towards the league: you're wasting your time, unfortunately.

Got news, fellas, if you watch the game, you support the NFL.

Their biggest revenue streams are ratings based, and the reason advertizers pay is because you are watching, along with millions of others. If you really want to quit the NFL you have to go dark on them. Not just cancelling your Cable TV subscription either. You can't go to a bar and have a beer and watch the game there, because you're still feeding the monster.

For myself, I'm too big a fan to go dark on the NFL. I hate the league, but I love the game, I love the team, I love that good people are fighting in the context of a corrupt machine and still winning. Even the story of their ridiculous corruption is high drama.

If you really want to hurt the NFL...
(1) start picketing outside their offices, in the mode of Occupy Wall Street and see them try to smooth that over. Burn some jerseys on the street, or burn Goddell in effigy.
(2) pressure advertizers who buy NFL airtime to force the league to come clean and fix their PR problems. Ways to do this...
(3) boycott all the products advertised on game day and blame it on the NFL. No more Coors, no more Bud. Stick to those crazy microbrews that have no marketing budget. Watch the ads, and then put those companies in your black list.
(4) rally social media to quit on NFL advertizers, with some clever hashtag campaign, or something. Prove to them that they are losing your business and the business of millions of angry fans because they support a corrupt NFL

They're a business, hit them in their revenue streams. And I don't mean their popcorn sales. The NFL is a media powerhouse, hurt their ability to sell ads.

Its social protest, and there's decades of history on how to do it well...easier now than ever in an Internet driven world. Power to the people.

reamer said:

eSports is the future.

Click to expand...

God I hope not


And this is coming from someone who has no opposition to video games.

rookBoston said:

Got news, fellas, if you watch the game, you support the NFL.

Click to expand...

Bingo. I can't help but chuckle a bit every time someone says "I don't support the NFL because I only watch their games."