COCK OF THE WALK
If we ever needed a reminder the National Football League reigns supreme in this country, we are seeing it this weekend.
Professional football is all over our television screens, even on Friday, a night that used to be sacred for high school football.
The made-for-television event that was the Eagles-Packers game in Brazil probably wasn’t all that fun for anybody involved other than the owners, who cashed million dollar checks. Due to a soccer feud, the Eagles weren’t allowed to wear green.
Next year, the league plays a game in Spain. If the Chiefs go, will they be forbidden to wear red? We think we take our football seriously in this country, sure, but there’s no mystery about intent: cold-blooded capitalism. Money drives all. We might spend hundreds of dollars on streaming services so we can watch the games, but other countries go to actual war over football.
This season, the NFL will be on all the networks as always. But four — yes four! — streaming services are now in the professional football business. Amazon has owned the Thursday night package for a few years. Peacock bought in last year and Netflix wrote a fat check to the league and will air games on Christmas and Wednesday nights. Instead of suffering through Buffalo and Eastern Michigan #MACAction, we get Patrick Mahomes — and no doubt updated versions of those mildly amusing State Farm ads — and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Maybe we’ll get to see Justin Fields miss open receivers in another uniform by then.
You have to admire the NFL’s mission. They have the best product in the world and they are going to squeeze every last cent out of that product. 17 game schedule? Nah, let’s bump that up to an even number. Wednesday night football? Friday night? F**k the colleges and high schools…we’re taking over both nights! How many Packers-themed soccer jerseys did they sell in Brazil this week? Or Jalen Hurts-branded gear?
I love the fact there’s more football. I’ll never complain about too much of that product. But this week serves as the latest reminder how the NFL is it’s own Ruling Class monolith, only one that we all consume without prejudice.
THE SIX
*one of the more intriguing storylines in the NFL this season is in media. Tom Brady, he the 7-time Super Bowl winner, will be Fox’s lead game analyst. Brady will be in the booth calling the Cowboys-Browns game Week 1. I’m fascinated by this development as we’ve never seen this in football. It’s happened in baseball and basketball (remember Magic Johnson doing Bulls games in the 90’s? Probably not because he was terrible) but never has an all-time great football player gone right into the No. 1 analyst chair. The Ringer with a really good piece on how it all came together.
*a terrible tragedy in Georgia this week with the latest mass shooting at a school. More shocking this time around is the age of the shooter — 14 years old. When these shootings happen, we have to endure the pandering from political leaders on the left who want to blame it all on access to guns. They conveniently ignore such truths as these young people have real problems irrespective of fire arms. The NY Post with details on the horrible home life of the shooter, who will be charged as an adult and his father, who also faces charges.
*this coming Tuesday night marks the first Trump-Harris debate. What can a likely audience of tens of millions expect? We won’t hear the candidates shouting over each other, as Politico reports on the muted mic controversy and other hot questions before the event.
*we all pretty much know by now what Trump believes. As he said at the Pennsylvania Town Hall this past week, “I can’t stand that guy but there’s no way I can vote for her” which may be an indictment on this election season, but is he all that wrong? Emotion drives much of the Trump angst. His “good vibes” opponent can’t ride into November on emotion alone, as new polls are revealing. Here’s hoping Tuesday night Harris is forced to explain policy positions and she gets exposed for the hollow mindless mannequin she truly is.
*an interesting article from Food Dive on gum consumption. Sales of gum fell quite a bit in 2020, by 22 percent to $2.5 billion. Sales popped 15 percent in 2022 and 2023, and currently are hanging around $3.4 billion. The increase is in spite of a decline in the gum-chewing population: In 2011, 178 million Americans chewed gum, while in 2024, that’s down to 157 million. What are gum manufactures doing to stimulate sales? Innovation! Goodbye Fruit Stripe, hello caffeine-infused flavors.
*and finally, keeping with a football-theme today. Couldn’t resist this hilarious old Simpsons clip that spoofs the wacky culture of the sport outside of the United States. The paella selling vendor gets me every time.
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