The NFL is ...

[ColbertWatcher]

A. a scam preying on the sports-addicted

B. an employment agency for the ultra-violent

C. exploitation of athletes and city budgets for the benefit of a few wealthy assholes

D. a front for the promotion of the GOP agenda, including, but not limited to Fundamentalist Christian "values"

E. a business no different than any other

F. Other, please see my opinion of the NFL in reply

[Neshanic]

1. Part of the hidden homosexual agenda.

[Orsino]

79. Incorrect.

It's not hidden well enough.

[jbane]

2. It's entertainment

Except for the Detroit Lions, they need a govt. bailout!

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Somehow I think "C" would be the Lion's owner's choice. n/t

[babylonsister]

5. LOL! Yea, they're pretty lousy nt

[BB1]

3. I voted B. I always do.

My name is Bart.

[The River]

6. It's a Modern Version of

City - State warfare.
Symbolic combat sanctioned by society
to harness our violent warrior instincts in a
relatively harmless way as we battle
over a fertility symbol (ball=egg)
while the temple virgins cheer them on.

[woolldog]

31. haha, I love that anthropological description.

I remember once reading about a book on sports that described football as a sport that typifies the idustrial age: a group of people, each with a very specific, discrete task, working together, with machine like precision. Kind of like an assemblyline with all the specialization. And all of this needs to be done within a set,limited amount of time.

Baseball, on the other hand, this guy argues was a product of an agrarian society where time wasn't such an issue.

Here I found the book I was talking about (starts on page 119)

http://books.google.com/books?id=RT-sRk86Ip4C&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=football+theindustrial+revolution+sport&source=web&ots=B1hu8sT_nj&sig=rZGgs0hZLZ7WGgM-CBcWLlOzVbw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA119,M1

[Fumesucker]

50. George Carlin either read that book or wrote it.. :)

Baseball vs Football

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WallEDRs0M

[cherokeeprogressive]

63. That's some funny, funny shit. And wrong.

While it may be symbolic combat, it's not the "fertility symbol" that is being contested, it's the real estate. Football as egg? I'm wiping coffee off of my chest, keyboard, and monitor. Wouldn't an egg be PROTECTED with all the fierceness that could be mustered by the team who was in possession of it? Why then toss it fifty or sixty yards? Why kick it at a goal post as far as 63 yards away? Why focus on tackling the person carrying it rather than holding him up and gently relieving him of it?

Cheerleaders as temple virgins? Trust me on this: No one sees cheerleaders as the moral equivalent of temple virgins. Notice the tight sweaters and short skirts?

[TahitiNut]

7. A business ... exempted (i.e. privileged) from anti-trust laws. E.g. a monopoly.

:shrug:

[ColbertWatcher]

8. So, a vote for "D"? n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

36. I Said Other

It's a Vegas conspiracy to assure 20 weeks of steady cash flow to the bookmakers.
GAC

[TahitiNut]

41. That wouldn't explain the Detroit Lions.

They're cash flow FROM the bookmakers. :evilgrin:

[ProfessorGAC]

42. I'll Bet You They're Not!

Get it?!?! I'll bet you!! I crack myself up!
GAC

[TahitiNut]

64. (grin) To be fair ...

... there's nothing that explains the Detroit Lions.

:rofl:

[craiga86]

9. Awesome

NM...

[FLAprogressive]

14. agreed :)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. Loud and boring entertainment.

[woolldog]

32. It's beautiful, not boring.

Like ballet.

[Mark E. Smith]

11. A sport

Some enjoy it, others don't.

[ColbertWatcher]

15. NFL isn't the sport; football is. n/t

[Mark E. Smith]

53. Neener neener

Ain't you special now.

[ColbertWatcher]

56. Meh. n/t

[nomorenomore08]

12. All of the above. But it's still my favorite pro sports league, regardless.

:P

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, congratulations! n/t

[gravity]

16. A professional football league

[Johnny2X2X]

17. Somehing Else

A huge conspiracy to humiliate the Lions.

[Sheets of Easter]

18. An 88-year old professional sports club chartered in Canton, Ohio.

[AsahinaKimi]

19. My dad made me a sports nut..

Sitting on his knee while watching the 49ers.. He even gave me season tickets one year for my birthday.. Now, sigh.. where's my team? ack. *major disapointement*

[Forkboy]

20. Bread and circuses. Nothing more, nothing less.

Fun to watch. Important as the color of your toilet paper.

[Greyhound]

46. Circuses anyway, bread will cost you another $50. n/t

[Bettie]

21. The NFL and other professional sports are simply....

...bread and circuses.

Something to keep the masses, the sheep occupied while our government is doing whatever it needs to hide at any given moment.

Then again, I'm not a sports person at all. Still, the mass spectacle, the overwhelming violence puts me in mind of the Roman arena.

[harun]

22. Other: A bunch of adults playing a barbaric childrens game. Adults who play

childrens games for too long tend to act like children (tantrums, jumping up and down, etc.).

[LBJDemocrat]

23. Idiocy.

A waste of time, so that beer-swilling, misogynistic filth can think about something other than what really matters in the world.

[GOPisEvil]

30. Thanks for the name calling.

Really, that's awesome.

I'm misogynistic, idiotic filth. Won't my mom be proud!

[GrizzlyMan]

61. Don't worry he/she believes in fairy tales

Based on the cross avatar.

[cherokeeprogressive]

58. I do not swill beer. I am NOT misogynistic filth.

So you don't like the NFL. Good for you. Calling those who do the names you just tossed out there? Fuck you for that. I think you are an ass.

Maybe you don't understand what the attraction is for most sports fans. I think it's something that a lot of them don't understand themselves...

In sports, you can lose today and come back to win tomorrow. You can be the worst one year, and the best the next. There is always a next game, and a next season. Always another chance.

In life when someone loses, it's either their job, possessions, friends, children, spouse, or their life. Very few second chances there.

Fuck You for calling people you don't know filth and misogynists. I'm sure though, that you regularly say the same thing about soccer fans, yes? - Alcohol-swilling filthy misogynists who can't think about what really matters in the world... right?

Fuck You and Have a Terribly Shitty Day for Calling Me Names. Your hatred makes me think you're prone to shitty days anyway.
Chris

P.S. I'm a NASCAR fan as well. Fuck you in advance for what you'd say about me and my friends armed with that little tidbit.

[riverdale]

59. misogynistic filth checking in

Do you praise Jesus with that mouth?
I'm really not into beer though.

[AsahinaKimi]

70. wait... what???

Your talking about the same misogynistic filth that Support THE UNITED WAY?
The same NFL players who go out into the community and who give
thousands of dollars to help people? The same NFL teams that give away
hundreds of thousands of more dollars to help their community? The same fans of
those teams who contribute a ton of money to the United Way because they get
to meet their favorite players and get autographs??

Those Misogynistic filth????
Those people????


um...Ok. :eyes:

[Forkboy]

73. Clearly, you work all the time and never have fun.

Otherwise, you clearly just don't care what really matters in the world. And we wouldn't want you to be a flaming hypocrite, would we?

[Suji to Seoul]

86. I neither drink beer nor am misogynistic, Stereotypes-R-Us.

And I love watching football.

[Blue_Tires]

24. all of the above

and still forever better than college and their bcs bullshit

[Ex Lurker]

28. disagree, for all its problems, college football is much more entertaining n/t

[Blue_Tires]

43. ...up until the time they try to determine a legit champion...

[Ex Lurker]

45. I'll give you that it's problematic at times

but another way to look at it is that every week is a one-game playoff. I'm an alum of a school that's won a couple of BCS titles in recent years, and is usually in the running every year. There's nothing like it. I remember the last weekend of the regular season a few years ago, staying up past 2 AM to watch Hawaii play somebody because the outcome of that game had an indirect impact on our BCS rating because of the strength of schedule formula. The NFL has much better athletes, but it's just plain boring in comparison. I wouldn't be averse to a playoff, IF they can come up with one that doesn't water down the importance of the regular season. That's the risk, IMV.

[Bill McBlueState]

81. 3 of 4 college divisions do it just right

Once I-A gets with the program, we'll be all set, but I'm keeping busy following the college football playoffs over the next few weeks.

[tomreedtoon]

25. If your violence is too amateurish for the police force...

...you can consider football as a career. At least when a cop pulls his pistol, he has guidelines for using it and punishment if he misuses it. A football player that pulls a piece and shoots up a bar or whorehouse is considered a "colorful character" and given wry smiles by professional sportscasters like Rush Limbaugh and Dennis Miller.

[dysfunctional press]

26. ...a helluva lot better than watching something as boring as soccer.

nt

[ColbertWatcher]

37. Wow, you must watch some bad soccer.

Personally, I like watching hockey and basketball.

All the other sports are too damn slow.

The NFL has become more commercials and time outs than game--talk about boring.

[dysfunctional press]

38. i don't watch any soccer. i tried a couple times- but it's more boring than baseball.

and that's saying something.

basketball hasn't been the same since jordan retired, and hockey is useless as a televised sport- if you want to watch, it's best to do so in person. football on the other hand, is best seen on television...preferably a 60-inch or better plasma hdtv.

[ColbertWatcher]

40. Baseball is another sport that doesn't work as well on TV as it does in person.

I have to disagree about soccer.

It's got way fewer commercials than (American) football and is fun to watch.

I guess it's not for everyone.

[GOPisEvil]

27. Yay!! Another thread set up to bash those that enjoy sports!!

Just an opportunity for those that hate sports to tell us all how much better they are than those that don't.

I'm not saying that is the OP's intent, but there will be many responses such as I describe.

[Ex Lurker]

29. such as...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4546857&mesg_id=4548113

[ColbertWatcher]

34. No, that was not the OP's intent.

I love sports. I like playing them and I like watching them.

What I don't understand is the cult-like attitude of the NFL.

The NFL has turned watching sports on TV into a religion. It's sickening.

[riverdale]

60. I have drunk the Gatorade

Since I don't subscribe to any religion, it works for me.

[datasuspect]

65. high school football is sports

the NFL is an advertising vehicle.

[Hubert H. Hubert]

75. I am *so* much better than you

My hatred of sports is but one of the many aspects of my bettererness.

[MrSlayer]

33. The biggest and best sports league in the world.

There are too many teams though.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

35. Other . . . The No-Fun League

The NFL has become nearly unwatchable. Rule changes that made it less watchable and offensive schemes that are simply DullDullDull.

[johnaries]

39. Go, Titans! 11-1! n/t

[TahitiNut]

69. They ain't shit. Any team that lets the Lions score 10 points isn't ready for prime time.

:dunce:

[Greyhound]

44. E. is not true. Any other non-sports team business that was run like the NFL

would be shut down and it's assets seized under anti-trust and RICO statutes.

[ColbertWatcher]

47. Could you give some examples?

There may be some people who would vehemently disagree with you that the NFL could do any wrong.

[Greyhound]

48. Employment regs alone would shut down any other business that tried to operate like the NFL.

The blackmailing of municipalities by the owners club brings in RICO.

There's a lot more, but I just checked in before bed.

Although I'm still a Bronco fan (not by American standards, but I still like it when they win), I don't watch TV. Did something happen to spur this, or was it just the usual turkey-bowl game? I take it the Lions got their asses kicked.

[ColbertWatcher]

55. Nothing happened to spur this besides it was Thanksgiving and the Lions did lose again. : ( n/t

[michreject]

49. Best sport on the planet

I watched all 3 games yesterday.

[taterguy]

54. I enjoy watching football but by any objective standard it's not a great sport

Great sports improve the health of the participants, whereas with football, almost everyone who plays it for any length of time ends up with a destroyed body. (Except kickers of course)

[ColbertWatcher]

57. Football is the sport, NFL is the business. n/t

[laststeamtrain]

51. I voted F.

It's a game where the ball's in play for one hour but takes three and a half to broadcast.

Mostly it seems to consist of fat guys in stripes measuring stuff.

I have enjoyed big-time NBA playoff basketball. Action.

[theboss]

52. The most important thing in my life...

But I am a Steelers fan.

[Baclava]

88. Go Steelers!!!

All's I want for X-mas is a healthy Fast Willie.

[DeepBlueDem]

62. I spoke privately to former NFL players in the past. They all said one thing

If they have to do it all over again. They would NOT go into the NFL!

The NFL is not what many people think it is.

[ColbertWatcher]

66. Did they say why? n/t

[DeepBlueDem]

67. They didnt want to go into detail about it. They mentioned Politics,

[ColbertWatcher]

76. OK. Thank you for answering. n/t

[ThatsMyBarack]

68. The NFL is also....

Something that makes 60 Minutes and The Amazing Race run up to an hour late every Sunday! :grr:

[AsahinaKimi]

71. Then there is this NFL....

NFL Charities is the cornerstone of the National Football League's commitment to community service. NFL Charities supports programs and initiatives that deliver education and youth services, designates funds to assist the foundations of current and former players working in local communities and awards sports-related medical research grants that advance the body of knowledge of sports medicine for professional and recreational athletes.*

************************************************



NFL Disaster Relief Fund

The NFL and the NFL Players Association responded to September 11th by establishing a $10 million NFL Disaster Relief Fund.

Immediately following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, the National Football League (NFL) and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) jointly responded to this tragedy by establishing a $10 million NFL Disaster Relief Fund.

and this...


Teacher of the Year
The NFL Teacher of the Year Award salutes educators who make the classroom a valuable learning experience while also serving as role models to current NFL players and fans across the country.

NFL Youth Education Towns
The YET initiative is aimed at positively impacting youth in at-risk neighborhoods in Super Bowl host cities.

Play It Smart
The NFL Youth Football Fund has partnered with The National Football Foundation to create the “Play It Smart” program. “Play It Smart” is an educational program that teams student-athletes with an academic coach to strengthen classroom skills and build leadership qualities.



In support of the NFL and American Heart Association's "What Moves U" campaign, NFL Films and Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Steve Smith spent several days shooting a public service announcement to show kids that when it comes to physical activity, thinking outside the box can still mean having fun.



Tackling Men's Health
Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation and GlaxoSmithKline have teamed up with the NFL to present Tackling Men's Health, a comprehensive source of information for men on cardiovascular health, diabetes, mental illness, prostate cancer and other health issues

NFL Community Quarterback Award
The NFL Community Quarterback Award honors community volunteers who demonstrate leadership and dedication to bettering their hometowns.



Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes a player for his community service activities as well as his excellence on the field.

Hometown Huddle
The NFL/United Way “Hometown Huddle” is an NFL-wide day of service that provides NFL players, coaches, wives, and staff from each team the opportunity to participate in a variety of community-service activities.

much more here..
http://www.jointheteam.com/programs/program.asp?p=25&c=6

Not to mention thousands upon thousands of UNITED WAY charities supported by the NFL.

[ColbertWatcher]

78. They would really help communities if they didn't steal from them.

Like how the owners insist that the community pay for the stadium, then sell "naming rights" to some corporation and then demand to have a "moving clause" in the contract, while gouging the addicted fans to outrageous season tickets that pay for luxury boxes.

Oh, and another way they could help communities is if they made education a higher priority.

Like refusing to accept college athletes before they graduate or high school kids at all ever under any circumstances.

Another thing the NFL could do is work to prepare the rookies better to deal with the pressures of fame and sudden astronomical wealth.

But, none of the suggestions I added here are good for business; it's easier to give some cash to poor people in front of the cameras hoping no one spends too much time thinking about what they're doing.

[AsahinaKimi]

82. I guess you figured...

That the NFL charities were a waste of their time..? Are we discounting
what I posted? Its bogus? what? Did you even bother to click on the link?

[ColbertWatcher]

83. I think the damage the owners do to communities almost negates nearly anything else they do. n/t

[AsahinaKimi]

85. so all the things they did do

Should be negated? wow..tell that to the kids
and parents of kids and people who got help.

[ColbertWatcher]

87. I was careful not to use any absolutes. n/t

[hlthe2b]

72. WTF? How can anyone say "a busines no different than any

other?" Just to start, it is a friggin legal monopoly and socialized welfare, given the tax dollars that go into building stadiums and related "perks." Like it or hate it, it is certainly a "business no different than any other.

[robcon]

74. It is a business no different from others.

It's part of the entertainment business, and the 32 teams compete for the entertainment dollar like other businesses.

[liberalpress]

77. Boring to me.

It takes four hours to play a one-hour game, most of that time in order to sell you beer or cars. If they were real men, not papmpered millionaires, they would play hard-hitting, slobber-knocking football for an hour in an hour. Best team wins.

[ColbertWatcher]

80. They gotta have a halftime at least. n/t

[liberalpress]

89. OK. But only for some cheerleader action. n/t

[Suji to Seoul]

84. F: Something I watch with interest in my Buffalo Bills on Sundays.