Do We Need The NFL? (FROM A LIVETIME DEVOTED NFL FAN)

[DTRV]

I ask this question rhetorically but also literally. I love football but when you intellectually think about the function of football, it is not a necessary activity in our society. It does not cure cancer. It does not prevent COVID19. It is certainly not necessary to make you a better parent. At the end of the day the NFL is entertainment. Therefore, there may come a time where the physical consequences of football may outweigh it's socially constructed benefit. So I ask you those who have read this thread again the question is the NFL a need in our society. Could we live without it and still maintain the same level of psychological fulfillment.

[bearsfootball516]

1. I mean, we don't really NEED any professional sport.

They're wonderful entertainment and I would miss them. But there are certainly other things I could get interested in if they ceased to exist.

[NQAS]

5. I'm not a pro sports fan, so they could all go I wouldn't give it a second thought

The point re football, I guess, is that by playing the game many players are literally killing themselves slowly week after week during practice and during the season. Granted, it's their choice to play, and they have to be the best of the best to make it that far (in any sport, I suppose), but it doesn't seem a fair exchange. The owners start out or become billionaires, and the players burn out in their 30s and then many of them die early.

[Chainfire]

11. I don't care anything about pro sports either

For the longest time I followed College sports, but have lost interest in them as well. We waste far too many resources on playing games. Some universities seem to exist only as an excuse for sports. I have seen, up close and personally, how much more weight the football program carries than academics. I found it disgusting.

[MiHale]

2. As a Detroit Lions fan...

Heck no..no NFL , then we might see things going our way.

[getting old in mke]

19. Might.

[LakeArenal]

3. I believe we do. It's an outlet emotionally and physically.

It still is a role model for kids. Something to aspire to.

Do we really “need” Christmas? Halloween?
Valentines Day. No. But we like it. It’s how we express ourselves. It’s culture.

[jimfields33]

4. A lot of unemployed would be the result

From players coaches, medical, food genders, restaurants near stadiums, sports casters, newspaper advertisements would decrease causing a number of newspapers to fold. Not as simple as who cares about the NFL.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

9. There's also all the gambling, and fantasy football is a HUGE industry

As are the sales of jerseys and memorabilia.

[jimfields33]

10. Very true.

[SoCalDavidS]

6. Thought You Would Mention That Most Players Refuse To Get Vaccinated

They don't feel the need to do the right thing.

I guess I can hate NFL players as much as I hate Americans in general.

[Wounded Bear]

13. I believe saying "most" is vastly overstating how many players have not been vaxxed...nt

[SoCalDavidS]

14. You're Probably Right

I heard the % was very high. 50.1% would be considered a majority. Not sure that's "most," and I don't know what the % is, but like I said, I saw a thread here yesterday where someone said it's a large # of players, and sadly, I'm inclined to believe it.

[Wounded Bear]

15. I know one poster complained about the Bills...

and their supposed low percentage of vaxxed players. The coach of my favorite team is pretty upbeat about it and saying they'll have 70% or more by mid-July when training camp starts.

Unfortunately, it's not public information due to HIPAA and the league contract with the players Union, so we don't really know.

[Hoyt]

7. Most would be in trouble if anything that "is not a necessary activity in our society" were banned.

I could live without NFL, NBA, MLB, etc., but some folks really like it.

[-misanthroptimist]

8. Don't need it at all

I watched semi-religiously from the early 1960s until three or four years ago.* Then I stopped. I'm just as entertained as ever.

*I quit due to the horrific effects the game has on many players...and the NFL just isn't very entertaining any more, with replays and overtime and crappy penalties and crappier rules. I just said to hell with it.

[PoliticAverse]

12. It is entertainment and we don't "need" any specific form of entertainment.

Especially any specific sport to watch.

[rownesheck]

16. I freaking WORSHIPPED

the NFL from the age of 9 until about 41. I watched every game i could and never missed a super bowl. But, when the owners didn't stick up for their players when the orange dipshit was attacking them for exercising their right to kneel, i realized I didn't need to support that shit any more. They should have told him to shut his fucking cat anus mouth.

Since then, I've switched my allegiances to soccer and hockey, and I must say, it was a good decision. The games are faster and shorter. I can watch almost 2 full soccer matches in the time it takes for one nfl game to take place. I tried watching an nfl game last season and just had to turn it off. Every 5 seconds the clock stops and there's so much standing around. There are commercials every other minute it seems. It's annoying.

All in all though, these sports are just games. We really don't need any of them.

[rampartc]

17. even worse- the emphasis placed on college sports

even high school sports seems considerably over rated compared to benefit.

[GulfCoast66]

18. No, buts that a silly question.

Do we need peanut butter? Or Steak? We could get along fine without them. But people like them.

You could say the same about anything in our society.

Is it a representation of a healthy society? Not sure. The Europeans are as crazy about their football as many Americans are ours. Maybe more so. Perhaps it is an important outlet.