Hard Knocks

[Mackeyser]

Compared to other seasons, this one is really slow and never really gets going on any one topic. I guess it's hard to do so when you have to split screen time between two teams but I don't really feel I've gotten much of a glimpse into the offseason for either team - which is why I watch the show in the first place. For me, it has nothing to do with the show enabling the players and staff to use the platform to try and drive social change. Set that aside and it really is just a mash up of footage that has no real substance.

Edit: To be clear, I'm completely on board with them using the show for the social issues. Just show me more football!

No preseason, COVID restrictions, significant social unrest and dividing the content between two teams means that there's gonna be diluted coverage and that doesn't take into account specific events, be they like a killing or a terrorist attack.

As far as football goes, I feel for all those UDFAs and lower round draft picks that won't have careers in the NFL because of this confluence of factors. I feel for the teams that are left to make even less certain guesses than they ordinarily have to make in putting a team on the field.

I'm very enthusiastic about this season for the Rams with full and complete mindfulness of all the other things going on in our country.

One thing is CERTAIN and people might as well get this now: It will be impossible to fully extricate politics, social unrest and professional sports this year and maybe years to come.

Make whatever decisions y'all want to make accordingly, but complaining about it going forward is just ignorant. The age of "shut up and dribble" is over (and to be clear, that's been put forth by Reps and Dems so that particular call isn't a right/left thing). It's just plain over and it doesn't matter if we say, "FINALLY" or "This is bullshit, I don't watch sports for this".

Doesn't matter. Even the veneer has been stripped away. And you KNOW it's not gonna change when even NASCAR stood up to make clear where they stand (even as the event precipitating that turned out to be not as initially thought)

Sports will no longer be a refuge for people like it once was or maybe never was, but all the other stuff was easier to ignore.

That's a conversation for another space.

As for the episode or even the show... they're sorta covering the news around the teams, I guess, but that means even less football than normally covered which isn't much to begin with.

All I know is that once football starts, it'll be easy to feel overloaded. I'll probably watch far too much football as will most of you and I suspect this board will light up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Pace yourselves and hydrate. Much love all.

 

[Mackeyser]

What some fail to accept though is while they can say what they want others have just as much of a right to tune them out. I'm all for player community activity. I've stated in other threads I think the best thing players can do and the league can do is a show on NFLN about what players do in their communities. I'd watch that shit weekly but kneeling tunes me out. Unfortunately a lot of players will get up on their soap box and scream and yell but when it comes to doing productive work in the community fall short.

Well empirically, pro athletes do more in their community than almost any other profession, be it funding food banks and domestic abuse shelters to starting schools or funding improvement projects all over the world like Water Boys.

For all the people that keep threatening to tune out, I wish they just would already and stop complaining.

Is anyone so naive to think as there will be LESS of this stuff in all pro sports going forward? I would hope not.

So... everyone just needs to make their choice based on what is, not what was.

As with every form of entertainment, we're always free to change the channel.

 

[Ramhusker]

No preseason, COVID restrictions, significant social unrest and dividing the content between two teams means that there's gonna be diluted coverage and that doesn't take into account specific events, be they like a killing or a terrorist attack.

As far as football goes, I feel for all those UDFAs and lower round draft picks that won't have careers in the NFL because of this confluence of factors. I feel for the teams that are left to make even less certain guesses than they ordinarily have to make in putting a team on the field.

I'm very enthusiastic about this season for the Rams with full and complete mindfulness of all the other things going on in our country.

One thing is CERTAIN and people might as well get this now: It will be impossible to fully extricate politics, social unrest and professional sports this year and maybe years to come.

Make whatever decisions y'all want to make accordingly, but complaining about it going forward is just ignorant. The age of "shut up and dribble" is over (and to be clear, that's been put forth by Reps and Dems so that particular call isn't a right/left thing). It's just plain over and it doesn't matter if we say, "FINALLY" or "This is bullshit, I don't watch sports for this".

Doesn't matter. Even the veneer has been stripped away. And you KNOW it's not gonna change when even NASCAR stood up to make clear where they stand (even as the event precipitating that turned out to be not as initially thought)

Sports will no longer be a refuge for people like it once was or maybe never was, but all the other stuff was easier to ignore.

That's a conversation for another space.

As for the episode or even the show... they're sorta covering the news around the teams, I guess, but that means even less football than normally covered which isn't much to begin with.

All I know is that once football starts, it'll be easy to feel overloaded. I'll probably watch far too much football as will most of you and I suspect this board will light up like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Pace yourselves and hydrate. Much love all.

That’s why I watch just about all sports tape delayed now. I just fast forward through all the bullshit. I just don’t watch pre game, post game, halftime, commercials anymore. I don’t need the useless fluff.

 

[Mackeyser]

I avoid a lot of that stuff because I don't really care for all the focus on fantasy football or the personal interest stories which seem very contrived.

I think sports is the crucible which distills human virtue.

It's enough to focus on the game for me and if someone has some extraordinary motivation that aligns with a moment in sport, then cool. That actually adds value.

Problem is that most of the time, it's just "human interest" stories... or as they say in every movie about a reporter that wants to cover "real" stories, they're "fluff".

The halftime stuff is so compacted with highlights and commercials that any commentary devolves into fortune cookie territory.

Even as we may disagree as to what constitutes "all the bullshit", I tend to want to focus as well.

Carry on, Ramily.

 

[fearsomefour]

Well empirically, pro athletes do more in their community than almost any other profession, be it funding food banks and domestic abuse shelters to starting schools or funding improvement projects all over the world like Water Boys.

For all the people that keep threatening to tune out, I wish they just would already and stop complaining.

Is anyone so naive to think as there will be LESS of this stuff in all pro sports going forward? I would hope not.

So... everyone just needs to make their choice based on what is, not what was.

As with every form of entertainment, we're always free to change the channel.

Just record the game and start watching it 15 minutes after kick off.
That way you can fast forward through the cowtowing, the heart string pulling nonsense and being lectured.
That’s what I do.
Unless you enjoy an extra glass of boring misery, then enjoy I suppose.

 

[fearsomefour]

Well empirically, pro athletes do more in their community than almost any other profession, be it funding food banks and domestic abuse shelters to starting schools or funding improvement projects all over the world like Water Boys.

For all the people that keep threatening to tune out, I wish they just would already and stop complaining.

Is anyone so naive to think as there will be LESS of this stuff in all pro sports going forward? I would hope not.

So... everyone just needs to make their choice based on what is, not what was.

As with every form of entertainment, we're always free to change the channel.

Everything you said is true.
I just get tired of being lectured by 25 year old entitled fucksticks.
That mostly offer up nothing but vapid emptyheaded platitudes.
When I go out to eat or pay the power bill I don’t want to get lectured by the person working....just as I don’t vomit on people when I’m working.
The narcissism in society and pro sports now is nauseating.
I enjoy sports to get away from the misery of day to day life.
So, delay the game and fast forward.

 

[dieterbrock]

Is next week the last one? Going to sign up for my free week

 

[Snaz]

Can you dial up the NFL and tell them that?

Politics "has" invaded sports. It's invaded the NFL. It's now invaded our Rams.

Kind of hard not to talk about it when it's all over our sports shows, end zones, helmets, etc.

I hate it!

The problem with Politics in sports is many of sports fans turn to sports to escape the world.
The fact that 15 minutes of playoff Hockey is dedicated to Black Live Matter ruins the escapism.
The average fan is going to stop watching, as they are no longer escaping reality.
Only hardcore fans are left.

Athletes jobs are to play sports. They get paid to do so. Most people are not allowed to discuss our political platform at work, and neither should they. Do it on your own time, off the field. Or risk losing viewers.

 

[Angry Ram]

For all the people that keep threatening to tune out, I wish they just would already and stop complaining.

Yeah that's all it is for me. Put your money where your mouth is and stop watching/buying/caring about it.

Personally I don't like any of the stuff. The cancer stuff in October, military in November, the sap-fillled guilt fests from Thanksgiving until playoffs start. Don't they have Hispanic appreciation in September still?

Still though, I'm able enough to not let that bother me. Like, it's annoying but harmless all things considered and I still enjoy football. These days I love the actual game more than ever, and more appreciative of it during the season.

 

[Jacobarch]

People always have the choice to tune out. Telling us about it, just shows that you're doing the exact same thing the NFL is doing. Protesting. Everyone has a right. What I don't like is that corporations have gotten into the mix as well. The second an entity becomes political no matter what side they're on, they are going to lose fans by the masses. Esp right now. People are very hardened in their stances on these issues. And that's fine and all but the NFL, NBA, and MLBA all have record number losses this year so far because their ratings have tanked at a rate that isn't sustainable. They're eventually going to have to answer for it to their share holders and people will be fired for it. In the end money talks and if the reason that their ratings tanked is because they became part of the woke mob then that's their problem, not mine.

 

[Angry Ram]

People always have the choice to tune out. Telling us about it, just shows that you're doing the exact same thing the NFL is doing. Protesting. Everyone has a right. What I don't like is that corporations have gotten into the mix as well. The second an entity becomes political no matter what side they're on, they are going to lose fans by the masses. Esp right now. People are very hardened in their stances on these issues. And that's fine and all but the NFL, NBA, and MLBA all have record number losses this year so far because their ratings have tanked at a rate that isn't sustainable. They're eventually going to have to answer for it to their share holders and people will be fired for it. In the end money talks and if the reason that their ratings tanked is because they became part of the woke mob then that's their problem, not mine.

NBA ratings being down is only partly due to the politics. ANother factor no one talks about is the schedule.

-It's an off year, schedule wise.

-The NBA has done it's best with the presentation, and it really is a good thing, but the atmosphere just isn't the same without real fans and it shows in the players at times.

-Many of the playoff games so far have been during the day; people are either working or the teams aren't exactly must see tv.

-All the games have been on BSPN or TNT. Cable cutting pre and post corana has affected that, too. Some of them have been on NBA TV lol.

-Prime time games are actually up:

The four NBA playoff windows to begin in primetime (after 8 PM ET, or 7 PM on Sundays) have averaged 2.74 million viewers. That is up 16% from what primetime games averaged through the first Thursday of last year’s playoffs (14 telecasts: 2.34M). Last year’s average includes one game on ABC and three on NBA TV; excluding those, the primetime average was 2.69 million.

NBA Playoff Ratings Slip As Fans Grumble That League Has Become ‘Too Political’

The Harris Poll found the NBA is more partisan than any other sport. Only 34% of Republicans say they “actively follow” the NBA, compared with 48% of Democrats.

www.forbes.com

NBA Playoffs up in primetime, but not enough to overcome day game deluge

NBA playoff ratings are a tale of two dayparts, with primetime viewership up double-digits and afternoon games low.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

But hey, headlines are what people read. Last nights Thunder/Rockets game 7 was awesome. Those who are tuning out missed on a great one.

 

[nighttrain]

NBA is a run and gun show, defense is a thing of the past
train

 

[majrleaged]

Can you dial up the NFL and tell them that?

Politics "has" invaded sports. It's invaded the NFL. It's now invaded our Rams.

Kind of hard not to talk about it when it's all over our sports shows, end zones, helmets, etc.

I hate it!

I'm with you brother.

 

[majrleaged]

That’s why I watch just about all sports tape delayed now. I just fast forward through all the bullshit. I just don’t watch pre game, post game, halftime, commercials anymore. I don’t need the useless fluff.

That is my MO as well. Only stop if a honey flashes by.

 

[Karate61]

NBA ratings being down is only partly due to the politics. ANother factor no one talks about is the schedule.

-It's an off year, schedule wise.

-The NBA has done it's best with the presentation, and it really is a good thing, but the atmosphere just isn't the same without real fans and it shows in the players at times.

-Many of the playoff games so far have been during the day; people are either working or the teams aren't exactly must see tv.

-All the games have been on BSPN or TNT. Cable cutting pre and post corana has affected that, too. Some of them have been on NBA TV lol.

-Prime time games are actually up:

NBA Playoff Ratings Slip As Fans Grumble That League Has Become ‘Too Political’

The Harris Poll found the NBA is more partisan than any other sport. Only 34% of Republicans say they “actively follow” the NBA, compared with 48% of Democrats.

www.forbes.com

NBA Playoffs up in primetime, but not enough to overcome day game deluge

NBA playoff ratings are a tale of two dayparts, with primetime viewership up double-digits and afternoon games low.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

But hey, headlines are what people read. Last nights Thunder/Rockets game 7 was awesome. Those who are tuning out missed on a great one.

I guess I missed out. Before the season, when I heard they were painting BLM on the court, I decided not to watch at all. Not even one minute of the NBA. And, to this day, I haven't!

 

[Mackeyser]

People always have the choice to tune out. Telling us about it, just shows that you're doing the exact same thing the NFL is doing. Protesting. Everyone has a right. What I don't like is that corporations have gotten into the mix as well. The second an entity becomes political no matter what side they're on, they are going to lose fans by the masses. Esp right now. People are very hardened in their stances on these issues. And that's fine and all but the NFL, NBA, and MLBA all have record number losses this year so far because their ratings have tanked at a rate that isn't sustainable. They're eventually going to have to answer for it to their share holders and people will be fired for it. In the end money talks and if the reason that their ratings tanked is because they became part of the woke mob then that's their problem, not mine.

The counter to that is that social scientists have discovered that millennials, xennials (those between millennials and zoomers) and zoomers are FAR, FAR more transactional and far, far less subject to recency bias than any other generation and you can trust that this has been discovered during umpteen market analyses.

Recency bias: A cognitive bias that favors recent events over historic ones.

Boomers and Gen X have favored incremental changes of current systems in just about every facet of life. Millennials and Zoomers... not so much. Much closer to not at all.

When one combines a nearly completely transactional outlook with a lack or recency bias, you have two generations now that don't care how it's being done now nor how it was done in the past. They'll chose based on what aligns with their... whatever...interest, moral framework, principles, ethics, economics or simple expedient want.

Thus "people" as you put it would be boomers and early Gen X and you'd be correct.

However, there are more Millennials and Zoomers of voting age than Boomers now and corporations understand the power that these younger generations wield.

Neither you or I could write a letter to the editor and get the CEO of a Fortune 500 company fired or completely change their business model, logistical framework or their entire supply chain.

But in 2020, a 14 year old can with a single tweet force a global corporation worth hundreds of billions of dollars to engage in truly massive change that even governments of a decade ago couldn't have dreamed.

The social media landscape has young people acting like a flock, independently but with an overall coherent governing basis for action.

All that to say that the changes that sports are making now aren't for you...or me.

They are to ensure that they survive and grow in the changing economy.

Rest assured that they are set to make much MUCH more money in the coming days than they ever made from us, but it'll look different and it'll drive many of us insane.

Just know that it's coming.

The example is that in the near future, the NFL is gonna embrace a much better monetization model and the cap is gonna JUMP when they do.

The old way of doing things is going away and in 20 years, it'll make the transition from 1980 to 2000 seem glacial in comparison and the transition from 2000 to 2020 seem like slow motion.

Buckle up friends... it's gonna be a real ride.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

The counter to that is that social scientists have discovered that millennials, xennials (those between millennials and zoomers) and zoomers are FAR, FAR more transactional and far, far less subject to recency bias than any other generation and you can trust that this has been discovered during umpteen market analyses.

Recency bias: A cognitive bias that favors recent events over historic ones.

Boomers and Gen X have favored incremental changes of current systems in just about every facet of life. Millennials and Zoomers... not so much. Much closer to not at all.

When one combines a nearly completely transactional outlook with a lack or recency bias, you have two generations now that don't care how it's being done now nor how it was done in the past. They'll chose based on what aligns with their... whatever...interest, moral framework, principles, ethics, economics or simple expedient want.

Thus "people" as you put it would be boomers and early Gen X and you'd be correct.

However, there are more Millennials and Zoomers of voting age than Boomers now and corporations understand the power that these younger generations wield.

Neither you or I could write a letter to the editor and get the CEO of a Fortune 500 company fired or completely change their business model, logistical framework or their entire supply chain.

But in 2020, a 14 year old can with a single tweet force a global corporation worth hundreds of billions of dollars to engage in truly massive change that even governments of a decade ago couldn't have dreamed.

The social media landscape has young people acting like a flock, independently but with an overall coherent governing basis for action.

All that to say that the changes that sports are making now aren't for you...or me.

They are to ensure that they survive and grow in the changing economy.

Rest assured that they are set to make much MUCH more money in the coming days than they ever made from us, but it'll look different and it'll drive many of us insane.

Just know that it's coming.

The example is that in the near future, the NFL is gonna embrace a much better monetization model and the cap is gonna JUMP when they do.

The old way of doing things is going away and in 20 years, it'll make the transition from 1980 to 2000 seem glacial in comparison and the transition from 2000 to 2020 seem like slow motion.

Buckle up friends... it's gonna be a real ride.

or not

Seems to me many, many under 25 couldn’t care less about sports as we know it

So here we are, the old guard being dismissed and marginalized...the irony

“Shirley“ one can see how this “stuff” is working out for the NBA, lol, NFL dutifully following in step

The NFL just may have finished its golden years run, and doesn’t even know it

 

[Mackeyser]

They'll figure it out or they won't, but that'll be a matter of appealing to the younger people.

Every generation dies out.

If the current major sports can't appeal to younger crowds going forward, maybe it does die.

I don't think it will, but that will depend on how they execute their business plans.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

They'll figure it out or they won't, but that'll be a matter of appealing to the younger people.

Every generation dies out.

If the current major sports can't appeal to younger crowds going forward, maybe it does die.

I don't think it will, but that will depend on how they execute their business plans.

I’m not so sure it has anything to with executing business plans

Times have changed, the number of children living for sports has been challenged by other forms of personal entertainment, of course there are still many playing outdoors, but from what I ve personally observed, video gamers have carved into God only knows what percentage.

Whatever that may be, I’d consider it very alarming for sports entertainment as we knew it.

 

[kurtfaulk]

I’m not so sure it has anything to with executing business plans

Times have changed, the number of children living for sports has been challenged by other forms of personal entertainment, of course there are still many playing outdoors, but from what I ve personally observed, video gamers have carved into God only knows what percentage.

Whatever that may be, I’d consider it very alarming for sports entertainment as we knew it.

this is why the nfl pushes the fantasy football angle. this is the easiest way to attract those people more into playing games than the actual sport. and then hopefully they will stick around after they get bored with fantasy.

.