Football season is winding down. The collegiate championship, or what seems to be the "semi-annual" Clemson-Alabama match-up, is behind us. Perhaps henceforth that championship will be played for the "golden hamburger" trophy. And Super Bowl LIII (53) is coming soon, one of the most starred and celebrated events of the year, a national holiday.
There are parallels and inter-connections between politics and sports, especially football. Politics, sports and television, intertwined with big money, are central factors in our culture.
Although football "season" is ending, and even if the fat lady sings, it never really ends, any more than political maneuvering and campaigning ever end in this era of the permanent campaign.
And, of course, politics and sports permeate television and here we see the significance of money flowing to the NFL, NCAA member schools, etc.
The overlap between football and politics was evident in the controversy about some players kneeling during the national anthem. There were strong objections to these symbolic protests. However, predictions that the dispute would result in a dramatic drop-off in fan interest have not been borne out. Yes, attendance and TV viewers have lagged somewhat. The issue has become, you might say, "a political football," spiced up by President Trump's overwrought bluster: "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired!'"
Remember, Donald Trump coveted and desperately sought to land an NFL franchise, first when he tried to buy the Baltimore Colts in 1981. Repeatedly rebuffed by NFL owners, he turned to the fledgling U.S. Football League with the New Jersey Generals, hoping that would result in his team being absorbed by the NFL. He pushed USFL owners to move to the fall to directly challenge the more popular league, over the objections of those favoring a steadier growth plan by playing a spring schedule. But the USFL folded, despite a lot of Trump-generated publicity and signing a few big-name players.
Although the "season" for football is fall and winter, big-time football really is year-round. Besides on-the-field activity, we have drafts (and recruiting at the collegiate level), free-agent signings, hiring and firing coaches, training camps, organized team activities (OTA), and 7-on-7 for younger players
Wild cards figure prominent in professional sports, as teams can qualify for playoffs without finishing first in their conference or division. Six wild-card teams have gone on to win the Super Bowl, the last being the Packers in 2010. Major League Baseball also has wild-card slots in post-season play as does the NHL. The NBA has 16 of its 30 teams in the playoffs, wild card and all -- something like the field of prospective contenders for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination.
Donald Trump personifies the wild card -- both in terms of his political style and his long-shot success in the 2016 election when the underdog overtook the primary field and then won the presidency. Trump aims his non-stop campaigning pep rallies at his "fan base" and argues that he should control the rules, including the boundary lines.
Football, more than other sports, has brought us video review -- as in "the previous play is under review." Although the video reviews may be welcome in some cases, particularly at critical moments of a game, there seems to be video overload.
While intended to assure accuracy and fairness of decisions made by officials on the field, too often this is a prolonged process, in some cases a veritable video filibuster, which can delay a game for more than a few minutes.
These constitute only a relatively small proportion of the interruptions that occur, in some cases unfairly braking momentum of a team. (Basketball has its own issues with media timeouts, etc.) TV controls the number and length of commercials during games, and, sometimes they seem interminable for those sitting in the stands.
Television began to feature pro football in the late 1950s. CBS signed a contract with the NFL in 1960 and the TV-football relationship blossomed rapidly. ABC helped underwrite the American Football League to compete with the long-established standing NFL, as did NBC. The success of the AFL was bolstered by the signing of quarterback Joe Namath to a lucrative contract in 1965 and the number of televised games. Later, Fox out-bid CBS in 1993 for NFL games, further notching up the multi-millions involved and the number of televised games. All the big networks got a piece of the action,
These days fans get a heavy dose of video replay of sports and politics -- what did Trump say and when did he say it. Football and political campaigns are both fought out on television and social media.
All this will be on display, along with an entertainment extravaganza and advertising bonanza, in and around the upcoming game. Cost of a 30-second TV ad slot is more than $5 million.
Indeed, the whole super bowl concept has been television-driven. Anticipated TV viewership for this year's game is around 111 million.
And we're bound to see more video replays, including many via social media. Who hasn't seen the terrible game-changing pass interference "no call" from the recent Saints-Rams NFC championship game? It was not subject to official replay and now we hear demands for more replays.
The ways we view sports and politics have become a part of the ethos -- distinguishing characteristics of our culture amidst national division and turmoil.
Commentary on 01/23/2019