by\u00a0Brandon Morse
\nRedState<\/p>\n
Not understanding that we\u2019re just here to watch football and not get involved with political viewpoints, the NFL has once again been plagued with a rash of players kneeling during the National Anthem in order to protest \u2014 what these particular players believe \u2014 is this country\u2019s racism.<\/p>\n
In the midst of all the media hoopla, and political back and forth, the people have begun to tune it out both in the mental sense, and the very real sense.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Deadline Hollywood<\/a>, Sunday night\u2019s game was\u00a0a\u00a0whole ten percent down in the early game compared to the same numbers that were being brought in last year.<\/p>\n In metered market numbers, the primetime match-up between the 27-10 winning Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders snared an 11.6\/20.<\/p>\n The worst\u00a0SNF<\/em>\u00a0has performed this season so far, that\u2019s an 8% dip from the early numbers of\u00a0last week\u2019s Atlanta Falcon\u2019s 34-23 win over the Green Bay Packers<\/a>. Gaining cheers and boos from fans at FedEx Field in Maryland last night, the third week of\u00a0SNF<\/em>\u00a0for the 2017-2018 season declined 10% from early numbers of the comparable game of last year\u00a0on September 25, 2016.<\/a><\/p>\n Last night\u2019s\u00a0SNF<\/em>\u00a0peaked with a 12.5\/20 during the second quarter at 9 \u2013 9:30 PM ET. Not that such a number can feel good to the NFL with ratings down double-digits this season so far after taking a similar tackle last year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to Deadline, we\u2019ll not know if the results of last nights low viewership were part of the politically charged nature of the game, or if it was other factors, but the steady decline overall is somewhat telling.<\/p>\n Politicizing anything meant to be escapism results in a steady dip, and with some\u00a0players attempting to make activism and social justice an entire month of recognition for the NFL to endorse<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 in the same manner as breast cancer awareness \u2014 then the sport of football is likely to see a further decline in viewership if the league caves.<\/p>\n If you need to see what happens when entertainment becomes to political, look no further than this year\u2019s Emmy, which\u00a0continues to see viewership falling by the millions<\/a>\u00a0over the course of a few years.<\/p>\n