Football Is Back! It's a Shame, Isn't It?

Every fall, I feel a twinge of regret that once upon a time, we ditched my monstrous, bachelor-sized big-screen TV. I have fond memories of collapsing into my recliner on a Saturday to watch college football and repeating the move on Sunday for the NFL. 

As a native of southern Ohio, I have a nominal loyalty to the Bengals. They have been playing well of late, but have had a bit of a checkered past when it comes to the "W" column. My great-uncle played for the Packers under Lombardi, which has always been a source of pride and my primary reason for being a Packers fan. Of course, that is when the NFL was about football. I have no idea what it is now.

First, everyone "took a knee" during the National Anthem. Then the league added the Black National Anthem and DEI messages in the end zones. Then football was "gay." And, of course, there was the pop singer/perpetual high school sophomore who mattered more than the game itself last season.

THE NFL IS BACK! pic.twitter.com/xTwzUqaBdo

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 5, 2024

in terms of DEI, too much is never enough. According to Outkick, the Washington Commanders’ vice president of content, Rael Enteen, learned this the hard way when James O’Keefe caught him on video calling Jerry Jones and black players homophobic.

BREAKING: NFL Commanders VP of Content Labels Black Commanders Players "Homophobic" and NFL Players "Dumb As All Hell," Calls Fans "High School Educated Alcoholics"

During an undercover date with an @OKeefeMedia journalist, Rael Enteen (@RaelEnteen), Vice President of Content… pic.twitter.com/4MkCOGRlq9

— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) September 4, 2024

Enteen subsequently received an invitation to seek employment elsewhere. You have to admit that it must be hard to keep up with the leaderboard in the Oppression Standings. Now the league has gone and screwed around with the onside kick. Give the NFL another five years, and your average Sunday matchup will be less interesting than a game of "Red Rover, Red Rover."

There's always fantasy football, I suppose. When I was single, I was in two leagues. My approach to fantasy football was a little lax. I drafted a team and then pretty much let life take its course. In one league, the commissioner would call me up on Sunday mornings and yell at me that I had thirty minutes to make any starting roster changes. I replied that roster changes were important, but so was the hangover I was nursing and to get the hell off my phone. 

If you still want to join a fantasy league, ESPN, which I understand is a political channel with a peripheral connection to sports, offers one. However, as Outkick also notes, when it comes to team names, terms and conditions apply. For example, if one wanted to poke a little fun at the DEI movement or just make a point and name one's team "White Lives Matter," one would find that moniker on the prohibited list. On the other hand, "Black Lives Matter" is perfectly acceptable, as are "Jewish Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter." 

ESPN doesn't let you use "White Lives Matter" as a fantasy sports team name because it contains "banned words” but it's totally fine with "Black Lives Matter."

Care to explain @ESPN? pic.twitter.com/9kEIyWWzNQ

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 3, 2024

"Nazi" is also on the list of forbidden names, which is understandable. But do you know what is still permitted or at least not forbidden? "Hamas." Theoretically, It is perfectly acceptable to name a team after a terrorist group dedicated to exterminating the Jews and obliterating Western civilization. That's apparently okay, but "White Lives Matter" isn't. As reporter Dan Zaksheske wrote:

Assuming that the idea is that some fantasy football players on ESPN might be offended by the phrase "White Lives Matter," what must a Jewish fantasy football player think if they see a team named "Hamas Lives Matter"? 

 See, this is the problem when you start going down the slippery slope of banning speech. ESPN also bans many singular words, most that you probably could guess. 

Sigh. I could always go back to following rugby and cricket. Or if all else fails, I'll convince Mrs. Brown that we need to buy another TV and sign up for the Red Rover Sunday Ticket.