4 ms·

To be clear, my point is not that Football is boring -- I like to watch it now and then when it's a close game. It's that without the government sponsorship, t

To be clear, my point is not that Football is boring -- I like to watch it now and then when it's a close game. It's that without the government sponsorship, the sport and viewership would be significantly smaller, probably about as popular as rugby.

EpicEng 8y ago
It seems to me that your point was exactly that it was boring and that its popularity is due solely to US government propoganda. It seems that way because that's exactly what you said. I just don't know how you escape that given what you wrote: >For anyone who has ever wondered why American Football is so popular in the US in spite of being fairly boring to watch (and in spite of being fairly unpopular nearly everywhere else in the world), the NFL receives significant funding every year from the US Government and is part of the PR strategy to promote military enlistment as a patriotic act (1). >I'd argue that many Americans view watching football to itself be a patriotic act. And now we have >It's that without the government sponsorship, the sport and viewership would be significantly smaller, probably about as popular as rugby. Where did you get this idea? The military stuff is very recent and does not in any way constitute a large portion of the NFL's revenue. You're just making things up to fit your own notions of how the world works.
mulmen 8y ago
That's absolutely wrong. The main revenue stream for the NFL is advertising, not government subsidy.
- astura 8y ago
  And even if it was, football is still very popular outside of the NFL.
function_seven 8y ago
The government sponsorship thing is very recent. Football has been very popular for much longer than the whole military recruitment angle has been in effect. People didn't start watching football when they heard that a few jets would be flying over before kickoff. (And, for the record, I hate all that jingoistic crap. The sport would be much better without it)
- __david__ 8y ago
  The government sponsorship is the exact opposite of what the OP thinks: it's military recruiters latching on to something popular to get military recruitment up, not the NFL getting bolstered by government sponsorship.

EpicEng 8y ago

It seems to me that your point was exactly that it was boring and that its popularity is due solely to US government propoganda. It seems that way because that's exactly what you said. I just don't know how you escape that given what you wrote: >For anyone who has ever wondered why American Football is so popular in the US in spite of being fairly boring to watch (and in spite of being fairly unpopular nearly everywhere else in the world), the NFL receives significant funding every year from the US Government and is part of the PR strategy to promote military enlistment as a patriotic act (1). >I'd argue that many Americans view watching football to itself be a patriotic act. And now we have >It's that without the government sponsorship, the sport and viewership would be significantly smaller, probably about as popular as rugby. Where did you get this idea? The military stuff is very recent and does not in any way constitute a large portion of the NFL's revenue. You're just making things up to fit your own notions of how the world works.

mulmen 8y ago

That's absolutely wrong. The main revenue stream for the NFL is advertising, not government subsidy.

astura 8y ago
And even if it was, football is still very popular outside of the NFL.

function_seven 8y ago

The government sponsorship thing is very recent. Football has been very popular for much longer than the whole military recruitment angle has been in effect. People didn't start watching football when they heard that a few jets would be flying over before kickoff. (And, for the record, I hate all that jingoistic crap. The sport would be much better without it)

__david__ 8y ago
The government sponsorship is the exact opposite of what the OP thinks: it's military recruiters latching on to something popular to get military recruitment up, not the NFL getting bolstered by government sponsorship.