Monday, September 25, 2017

The Political Page, T+248 - September 25, 2017

Updates

October 17, 2017: 'Monday Night Football' ratings drop to season low as Titans break Colts' streak.
It felt like a little bit of history was being made on Monday Night Football as the Tennessee Titans finally snapped their streak of 11 consecutive losses to the Indianapolis Colts. However, as social media sparked with ESPN not showing the playing of the national anthem, another type of history was also being made: Last night’s primetime broadcast of the Titans’ 36-22 victory stumbled to a season low with a 6.1 in metered market results.
In a season stained by overall ratings declines and political controversy, that NFL Week 6 rating is down 13% from the early numbers of the much tighter October 9 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. That MNF season low went on to deliver a 3.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a total viewership of 10.3 million. It’s worth noting that the peek of last week’s MNF came at halftime on the Disney-owned cabler when the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer debuted.
Year-to-year, last night’s MNF dipped just over 3% in the MM results from the Arizona Cardinals’ 28-3 demolition of the New York Jets on October 17, 2016. With a rating that matched the Jets score, that demo season low eventually landed with a 3.0 among the 18-49s and 8.4 million viewers, an almost audience bottom.
October 9, 2017, T+261: VP Pence walks out of home NFL game when players kneel.

October 8, 2017: NFL now least liked sport, core fans down 31%.
From the end of August to the end of September, the favorable ratings for the NFL have dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent, and it has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport, according to the Winston Group survey provided exclusively to Secrets.
From the end of August to the end of September, the favorable ratings for the NFL have dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent, and it has the highest unfavorable rating – 40 percent – of any big sport.
September 29, 2017: we now have African-American incumbents agreeing with the librarian who says Dr Seuss was a racist and his "Cat In The Hat" books are also racist And to think that both Michelle and Barack Obama recommended Dr Seuss to American adults (yes, adults) and school children.

September 29, 2017: a reader wrote to tell me that the Chicago Police Department has replaced all sirens with the National Anthem to force suspects to quit running and to "take a knee."

September 29, 2017:

September 27, 2017:

September 26, 2017 (an extra):



September 26, 2017: update on "Dallas takes a knee." I didn't see the entire segment until this morning. There's more to the story: The Dallas Cowboys all kneeled/arms linked before the anthem but once the anthem began, they all stood up, arms still linked. Interesting. 

September 25, 2017: for those of us whose "coming-of-age" years were during the Vietnam War, this "black grievance culture" is quite interesting. Even Michelle Obama was part of that culture: I remember her stating that she felt unwelcome in US art museums.

September 25, 2017: disappointing -- NFL more important than veterans from George Washington's revolution to US Civil War to WWI to WWII to Korean War to Vietnam War to Mideast wars ...



September 25, 2017: I find it interesting that only the Drudge Report was able to find this -- has this ever been reported by the television commentators who are always quick to tell us every rule? See comment: reader mentions that this rule, in the 2016 rule book, was removed from the 2017 rule book. Interesting.
The NFL rule book specifically requires both teams appear on the field for the playing of the anthem, standing, remaining quiet, and holding their helmets in their left hands. Failure to do so can result in fines, suspensions, and the loss of draft picks. The rules are found on pages A62-63 of the league’s game operations manual:
The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.
During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking.
The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country.
Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.
September 25, 2017: the NFL's #1 fan watched no NFL yesterday -- Sunday. He made a conscious decision not to watch. He says he was saddened. Not me. I felt liberated. (See below.)

September 25, 2017: Today, on CNBC it was reported that 19 or 20 NFL owners are now billionaires. Regarding all the outrage with regard to Trump's speech regarding disrespecting the flag no one in the mainstream media seemed to be very upset with this clip:


September 25, 2017: from The National Review, "The NFL House of Cards." By the way, based on television interviews and twitter tweets, Mark Cuban is in favor of disrespecting the flag; Jerry Jones is not. Both Texans. Both billionaires. Both owners of professional sports teams in the same city. And based on the clip above, neither impresses the former president.

September 25, 2017: wow, they simply can't let it go. Now, The American Prospect weighs in with a long, long article on how/why Hillary lost. Will this never end? It just reinforces everyone's view that everyone from Hillary to the mainstream media to late-night talks hosts were in one huge echo chamber.

September 25, 2017: so, with the NFL deciding it's more important than the flag, how did ratings turn out? From deadline.com:
On a day full of criticisms from Donald Trump, political protests, linked arms, players taking a knee or not coming on the field during the National Anthem and renewed pleas for unity from the league NBC and the NFL took a hit last night on Sunday Night Football. ["Unity" within the NFL appears to mean "taking a knee."]

In metered market numbers, the prime-time match-up between the 27-10 winning Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders snared an 11.6/20.

The worst SNF has performed this season so far, that’s an 8% dip from the early numbers of last week’s Atlanta Falcon’s 34-23 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Gaining cheers and boos from fans at FedEx Field in Maryland last night, the third week of SNF for the 2017-2018 season declined 10% from early numbers of the comparable game of last year on September 25, 2016.
September 25, 2017: The "Weiner" sentenced to 21 months in prison. Considered harsh penalty by some; gets "hard time." Could have received as much as 10 years. I assume he will have to register as a "sex offender" but I don't know.

Original Post

Item: David Ross Sorkin (CNBC), who does NOT drive, has apparently just bought his first (?) car.

Disrespecting the flag: this is just one of many problems I have with disrespecting the flag. This will trickle down to high schools. 

Liberated: wow, I've never felt so liberated. For the past several years I've always looked forward to SNF and MNF. It was becoming an obsession to watch the NFL. But no more. I have no desire to watch professional football any more. And last night I felt so incredibly liberated. It was really quite weird how liberated I felt. I actually had more time with Sophia because I did not watch the football game.

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