"40% said they were watching less because of the National Anthem protests."

Ya think. I have not watched an NFL game this season.

That might be the most bogus stat I've ever seen.

Fascinating article. As much as I think Mark Cuban is a blow hard, I do believe he has a point about sometimes there is an under the radar trend that suddenly blows up in everyone's face. For example, millennials (and many non-millennials) don't have the attention span for a 3+ hour football game when they are fixated on other things like fantasy football and cell phone games.

Couple that with the disgust many have about our politically correct culture and when Colin Kaepernack is extolled by many in the politically correct sports world, it rubs a lot of people, especially in more conservative working class areas the wrong way. The sports media use to be pretty conservative but even that has changed, and I believe recently the ESPN ombudsman had to make some sort of statement acknowledging the networks recent leftward tilt on cultural issues that rubs many in the Heartland the wrong way. Don't believe me, just look at the election results. Has there ever been a time when the Midwest vote and the East Coast/West Coast vote was so vastly different?

I remember working with some older men years after the 1994 baseball strike and they hadn't been to a game since the strike, even though they would religiously attend before the strike. There was some crazy statistic about non-promotion major league baseball attendance compared to attendance figures when they did give away bobbleheads etc. Baseball needed and still needs gimmicks.

I am amazed at all the cushy extras professional sports now has like lounges for season ticket holders to get in from the elements, or just get away from the game for which you are paining through the nose. I was shocked as to how many people inside the lounge were engaged in activities that had nothing to do with the game. You add all of these factors with the concussions news and the spiraling participation rates in youth football and you see what is beginning to happen. (The link is below.)
http://www.vocativ.com/298019/youth-football-participatio... /

There are many more distractions now versus then. I agree that it is over exposed. I don't get the political reasons. If I want to watch a game, Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem surely won't make me to turn away. I don't tie patriotism into watching sports. Cuban makes a good point about pigs getting slaughtered. Good memories shared about first games. Mine were at municipal stadium in Cleveland too.

The curtailment of recess and physical education in our public schools could also be a contributing factor. Kids just don't get o play anymore or know how to play. When marching in the band can get you a PE credit, something seems just not quite right.

Uncle Wes, not sure what you mean by Ohio students working harder and playing harder than other students at Christian/Catholic schools. A lot of my high school friends went to Dayton and have done well and I never had a bad time going to visit them. The Dayton ghetto was much like OU with regard to having a good time. I never forget my freshman year on East Green getting this "listen Up men" talk by the powers that be. They told us that half of our dorm never made to be Sophomores the year previous. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Most of the guys on my floor including a prospective engineer and med student were back home pumping gas by spring quarter.

I just think kids today at all levels and all colleges realize they have to be serious. Think about it, even in the late 80s and early 90, a lot of state schools were accepting people as long as they were having a C average in high school. Now a lot of kids with 3.0 high school GPA's have to start off at a branch campus and have to fight to get accepted into their prospective majors. Dreams of sports careers just aren't practical unless you are a stellar athlete.

They grew up with a lot more diversions (data toys) than anyone who graduated in the 1980s. Maybe that takes the place of sports with some of them. I don't know, but my guess is their hobbies and free time spent is light years different than people my age. I saw somewhere a quote by Steve Jobs who said the difference between those who came of age in the 1950s and those who came of age in the 1980s is minimal compared to those who came of age in the early 2000s.

Flag waving SOBs like myself are dying off. Legion sponsored baseball used to be the norm, no longer. We fought a "war" for five years and the commitment created the "greatest generation." Congress was filled with veterans from service for decades after. Now the media pitches a fit when presidents want to have three in a cabinet. On 9/11 we suffered another Pearl Harbor like attack. Supposedly we have been at "war" for 15 years, yet, without the commitment and terror prosecuted by a "JV team" has been allowed to displace millions. Tomorrow there will be two more funerals for veterans from our area. The VFW funeral detail w/rifles will provide military honors. The local Patriot Guard, on bikes, with flags will, at the request of the families, form flag lines outside the services and at graveside. If watching your pro football game is more important to you than respect for the colors, fine. No, you did not tie patriotism to watching sports. It was done generations ago whenever they started playing the Anthem before games. You probably don't fly a flag at home, but, when you go by a house that does there is likely someone there who cares.

In Missouri there is a small Christion school called The College of the Ozarks. Under admissions criteria financial need is the first thing listed. Students there work their way through. Good school, great concept.

"Why NFL Ratings Are Sagging"

Because the product isn't good. Games are long and boring. Roger Goodell is a weasel. It uses things like supporting the troops and breast cancer to prop up it's own image. It's just not fun.

Simple. TV advertising. It's going to kill "big time" college football too.

Bcat2, what you're saying is correct. What does a football game have to do with it? You can make the argument that those people fought for the right to be able to protest. Look at the Pussy Riot incident in Russia. Is that what you want to see? Why stop at sporting events? Play the national anthem before you see a movie, or a play or the symphony performance?

I fly a flag at my house and I do care. That doesn't mean that I care less about the injustices that some groups in our society face everyday. If I choose to exercise my right to speak about that using the tallest platform that I can utilize, so be it and so much the better.