Wrong again! That's exactly what they are. That's what fans are in every sport. It's especially true in terms of football, NFL and College. (...) They bond over the common enemy - that being the other team (and their fans). Fans for the most part want the players to hate each other too - until at least the end of the game, then everybody can rejoin "life". That's the way it is; and if that changes, it ruins the NFL system. When the players try to force this change, they're messing with they system.
Yes, the feeling of common cause with other fans of your sports team is part of the excitement of the whole experience. I've written about this before... I believe that we're hard-wired to form "tribes" around "causes", and that in our modern world where we don't have real tribes anymore, we form fake tribes-- around things like sports teams, or religions, or political and social causes, or even conspiracy theories.
But it's certainly not the case that Falcons fans all feel the same about this issue, and it's also probably not the case that this issue is viewed the same way in Atlanta as it is seen in Baltimore or in Seattle.
Players shouldn't divide fans into race,
Why would this issue divide fans by race? Is there some race out there that's in favor of police brutality? I'm not aware of such a race.
they shouldn't preach they're disgust with the police or the current president.
I don't think anybody said anything about the President until the President inserted himself quite loudly into this debate by calling players "sons of
****" and telling NFL owners that they should fire players who don't stand during the anthem.
As for being disgusted with police... should NFL players refrain from addressing that when they're on the playing field? Or should they refrain from addressing it at any time, 24/7/365?
And this notion that players shouldn't use their position to express personal views... does that apply to any personal views, or does it only apply to personal views that you don't agree with? I ask because, once again, many of the people saying the players should just shut up and play football thought it was great when Tim Tebow was using his platform to promote his faith.
"It's great that Tim Tebow is using this opportunity to start a conversation about Jesus!"
"It's terrible that Colin Kaepernick is using the NFL as a platform for his own personal views."
And I'll grant you that some of the people who thought Tim Tebow was being ridiculous are probably saying the opposite about the players protesting during the anthem, and they're hypocrites as well.
And, I again have to ask: how come all these people who are saying "keep politics out of football!" didn't have anything to say when the US Armed Forces were paying the league millions of dollars to turn games into recruitment advertising?
Now, one could say "they're doing this for unity", but is it? Is it unity when players try to turn fans against police?
I'm not sure who's saying "they're doing this for unity". I think everybody understands that there is some controversy here... if there wasn't, they wouldn't need to do this in the first place.
And the notion that they're "trying to turn fans against police" is a complete misrepresentation of the message here.
Is it unity to claim that NOT supporting the players is an act of racism? Is it unity to protest the anthem/flag that so many fans believe strongly about, that they have suffered for or had family die for? I know the cynic in you thinks it's a joke or manipulation, and being Canadian, I can see why.
To be clear: I think the manipulator here is the President. The guy who fanned what had been a relatively low-key issue into a national controversy by calling the players "sons of
****" during his angry rant. People who got all fired up about this because Trump turned it into a big deal are the ones being manipulated.
However, to dismiss this as a bunch of brainwashed rubes is wrong, there is much more going on here that speaks to the social side of Americans - sports gives them unity already, It's Monday to Friday that needs changing - not Sunday!
If people gave a
**** about this Monday-to-Friday, this wouldn't be an issue on Sunday. People want the players to shut up about it so that they can ignore the issue seven days a week instead of just six.
-k