The NFL has long been America's favorite sports league, with ratings far and above baseball (which used to be America's favorite sport) and basketball!
The NFL had it all! There was all the collisions, but also the strategies. There was finesse from the QBs and the ball carriers as they attempted to avoid getting tackled by really large guys coming at them at really high speeds.
NFL broadcasts were even the highest rated TV shows of the week, with the Super Bowl being the top-viewed show of the year (though, we have to be real about this: most of the viewers just watched it for the commercials).
But what comes up must come down.
The NFL has been declining the last 2 years.
Part of it was from fans who felt guilty about watching players taking brutal hits to the head, now that society is becoming more aware of what concussions have done to the players long after they retired.
Part of it was from fans tired of seeing players who were arrested for violent crimes coming back to the field and gain more athletic glory.
And then, Colin Kaepernick had his on-field protest against the national anthem. His kneeling did offend US Americans who feel that the national anthem is sacred. However, his protest did reflect how many African-Americans feel about how this country has mistreated them, and also that the very conservative fanbase might be cheering for African-Americans who make touchdowns for their team, but not cheering for them when they protest against abusive policing and other forms of anti-black racism.
The NFL does have a more politically conservative fanbase as compared to the NBA, but even the more liberal cities like Seattle and San Francisco has very rabid fanbases for their local teams. Among my facebook friends, the 49ers are the most popular team, and SeaHawks might be the most 2nd popular. There's no way those teams could ever have right-wing conservatives being the majority in their stadiums. I've known a few left-wing activists who are fans of those teams, wear their colors and even attend their road games.
Also, add to that, the Raiders have been a favorite among African-Americans and Latinos in the West Coast, and among them are some really hardcore activists against abusive policing, gentrification and other ills that affect their communities. The team might change host cities every other decade, but they'll probably never be a favorite of right-wing conservatives.
Even with such hardcore fanbases, California residents are tired of having their tax money being used to build stadiums for teams owned by billionaires. For a long time, LA survived without a NFL team after the Raiders left. After all, LA already had 2 major college teams USC and UCLA
LA politicians were able to get the Rams back from Saint Louis. The Raiders took their time to think through their options. Meanwhile, San Diego taxpayers didn't want their taxes used to build a new stadium for the Chargers, who then left for LA. Oakland residents also didn't want their taxes used to build a new stadium for their beloved Raiders so they are leaving for Las Vegas.
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I think the trend will be that more taxpayers will rebel against having their money being used to build stadiums for teams owned by billionaires.
Meanwhile, the general public have more entertainment options than they had a few decades ago. Football now has more competition for viewers.
And with more parents not allowing their children to play the game due to concussion concerns, there will be more high schools that won't have enough players for a team. For those attending such high schools, going to games is just not going to be a part of their high school experience.
With fewer kids playing or watching the game in high school, there will be fewer fans for football as those kids become adults. The decline will continue.
I don't think American football will ever go away completely. Baseball didn't go away even its popularity declined when the NFL became more popular. Boxing has declined in popularity over the last few decades, but it still has its devoted fans. However, most of the combat sports fans have moved on to mixed martial arts.
As the recent Olympics have shown, people love to watch Chloe Kim and Shaun White risk severe injury as they make their death-defying moves on their snowboards.
So I don't think we'll evolve away from daredevil sports anytime soon.
It's just that the NFL has hit its peak already.
