(10-26-2017 09:28 AM)stever20 Wrote: what kind of sticks out so far is last year there were 11 games overall that got over 8 million viewers. 6 of those games were by week 8.
Here we are this year- and we've had 2 games with over 8 million viewers.
I think it is probably a confluence of multiple factors: the inability to count streamers, the NFL anthem protest, the thuggery and rape at Baylor, the pedophilia of Penn State, the inability of the NCAA to punish systematic fraud and cheating at UNC, the payola at Ole Miss, the FBI investigations of hoops, and a season that started out looking like the usual suspects were going to make the CFP. and last but not least the over saturation of games now televised.
People love their country as a whole, despise violent crime, detest even more those who seem to get a pass for crimes committed, despise sleazy dealings (UNC), and want sport to be an escape from the world, not a platform for talking heads to further inflame or incite the political divide by dragging that crap into their escape.
If FOX wasn't incompetent they could exploit their advantage here because ESPN has gone over the top in dragging the worlds issues into our escapes. ESPN doesn't deserve an audience and I think Americans are telling them that.
So when you assume that most big name schools run sleazy programs because of the drumbeat of headlines indicating everything from pedophilia to rape, to scams, to pay for play, to fraudulent classes, and then watch the object of your sports escape disrespect the symbol of your freedom and nation at a time when domestic terrorism is front and center of the headlines then what the hell do you expect?
Toss in the rising cost of maintaining a system of overpaid, over-hyped and socially reprehensible jocks and coaches and mix that in with an economy where the average country loving decent human being is getting by with less and less and you have a classic recipe for our society to kick the whole damn business to the curb, and to rightfully do so.
It's time the conference commissioners got together and decided to put a fresh face on college sports and to consider not signing big money deals with any network that presents it as anything other than an American pass time and escape. If I can't watch a football game without the politics, sleaze, and possible assumption that so much gambling money is riding on the game that the final score is jobbed, then I'll go watch a good clean American Movie like the Godfather just to be reassured of less corrupt American values and ultimate justice! Sarcasm intended. My point being that our old version of corruption looks tame by comparison and not even Michael Corleone could have condoned the craptastic world of college sports today! College football talk and news has now become a subject that you have to keep away from the children. Think about that!