um.... that problem was solved 20 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grOttsHuuzE

Ronaldo is first on any most famous athlete list and Lebron is second.

Not that any of that matters. Basketball markets individual superstars more than any sport. I'm not saying basketball isn't popular because I don't care. But having recognizable stars is not a gauge of how popular it is.

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Will you explain how the NBA isn't a "woke" league historically? You can't and that is why as usual you ducked it.

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The person arguing basketball's overall popularity based on how popular one superstar is, is the same guy who says that TV ratings for an off-season NFL event are not an accurate gauge of how popular off-season coverage of the NFL is to fans.

It goes against the notion that "no one cares" however. Its the 2nd most popular sport in this country currently.

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I don't think there's a more popular live sport in the country than baseball from top to bottom. Of course, that has a lot to do with the sheer inventory, but let's not declare baseball dead just because Steve Kerr says it's woke to shoot three-pointers or whatever.

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If the only thing you have is the NFL draft then you really don't have much. That however has never stopped you from commenting before.

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I don't think baseball is dead. I'd say just like the NBA it is now back on the upswing.

Nothing touches football in this country popularity wise though. Let's just be real.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yup. For sure.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

But the NFL is on its way down now that it's firmly aligned itself with MAGA. That will alienate too many people. The NBA can get away with alienating the MAGA chuds because they've never had the coast-to-coast base that the NFL has had -- once you get out of a team's orbit, it's pretty easy not to give a shit and to prefer the college game. I don't think the NFL can bear to turn away huge population bases and make do with the chuds.

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It won't alienate anyone. These issues are way overblown as to how they impact fan bases.

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The NFL just said it stands with police brutality against black people. That's not going to push people away?

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Even on it's way down it still has an enormous advantage over the other sports though. I just can't see a sports scene in the next 20 years where the NFL is not the most popular league.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The NFL said they have to stand for the national anthem. And no, it won't. Just like their kneeling didn't really turn anyone away either. People watch sports for the entertainment and gambling.

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They are definitely overstated and overblown but they also are certainly alienating some fans. I know several people that stopped following the NFL because of politics. Most were the MAGA dipshits but two of them stopped because they thought the league screwed over Kaepernick.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yep. Donald Sterling was a racist asshole and it still didn't prevent people from attending games.

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I had a couple vets tell me they stopped watching last year. I saw them a few weeks later and they were talking about their fantasy teams.

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My friends are more sincere and principled than yours apparently.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Probably true.

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Curious Goff checking in

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I think about it like this: The "MAGA chuds" who said they would stop (or had stopped) watching the NFL because of player protests were made fun of, because of course they're still watching—what reason do we have to believe that the same premise ("of course you're watching") doesn't apply to people who will virtue signal about the NFL "standing with police brutality"?

Last year you had both parties claiming not to watch and the Kaepernick crowd trying to shame anyone for watching the NFL or attending games because Kaepernick didn't have a job.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

What NBA players have knelt during the anthem outside of Abdul-Rauf like 20 years ago? The NBA apologists claim "well, the NBA doesn't impose fines"..... yet nobody kneels? Seems like there is some influence in the NBA leadership that is stopping players or highly discouraging them from kneeling during the anthem.

Years ago the NBA changed its dress code for injured players because the ticket buying (white) public found their style of dress appalling.

It isn't beyond the realm to think that an edict regarding the national anthem wasn't issued in likewise fashion.

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Exactly so Kerr is full of shit and so are the idiots that take the "bait" to anything he says.

I guess the difference is the players collectively bargained the anthem rule. The nfl just imposed it. Nba players would have a tougher time protesting a rule they collectively bargained.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Let an NBA player kneel during the anthem, without punitive action, and then Kerr can get on his soapbox.

Yeah he is full of shit. Jason Collins waited til he was on his way out the league to disclose the fact that he was gay. If he felt that the NBA was really progressive he would never have remained in the closet for so long.

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I remember having that debate here. It was all about the urban look. Now players come to games dressed like they're homeless or a homosexual stereotype and it's not an issue because they wear a sports coat on the bench.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

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