SloMotion

I see we're all agreed, .

Hey, most Vets would just appreciate a decent seat, maybe a dog, beer and/or popcorn and would agree to appearing on the jumbotron so said NFL team(s) could get a little positive P.R. out of it ... why all the extravagance? I guess if there's a special occasion/holiday like Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, et ... where a military connection can be made, #shrug, but open up a section for Vets & give 'em free refreshments for a game or two each season (at a team's own expense) & I'll be impressed, .

That is all.

burningmetal

Ceremonies are meaningless. If I were a veteran I wouldn't have any interest in people pretending to care about me. People who give a damn will come up to you and personally shake your hand and say thank you. People in the stands who are cheering might genuinely care and appreciate what the moment is about, but everyone knows the people who put these things together are just trying to make themselves look good.

If you're going to spend our tax dollars, just give it to the vets for their own personal use, instead of wasting it on a ceremony.

Now I'm not saying don't give them any publicity. You can have vets walk out onto the field and get a standing ovation all day long, for free. There's no need to spend money on it at all.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.

Rugby Saint II

I have mixed emotions on this subject. I don't think we need to pay millionaires and Billionaires to let them host the event. The NFL should have a lottery and whoever wins would get to host and pay for an event to host the military. Heck we could even make it tax deductible.

I remember when politicians were trying to make war acceptable to the American public. Too many people were against the cost of war.......the next thing you know the tax payers are unknowingly paying millions of dollars to host the veterans at an NFL game. The politicians have done a nice job of protecting their investment in the military contracts.

Now we all love war and support the troops. I realize the American public in general may not really support the war but we accept it while we support our troops. This was a great job of advertising by the politicians.

Don't get me wrong I respect and admire our military personnel. I just hate that we have to pay rich people a ton of money to honor the vets. That money could be better spent elsewhere taking care of our veterans.jmo
Rant Over!

Beastmode

It is also a marketing tool for the military, another wrench it. They use these venues to honor those in uniform but also, to sign more up which is not easy to do in war time. I'm on the fence on this because the DOD also pays money for commercial air time on TV and radio. So do they also give the military a pass? I don't think so. These people are trying to make money at the end of the day. Maybe a good discounted rate would make the most sense.

Foot Stomper

BUT when I see a commercial on Radio or TV I have never thought it was a free airtime. I was under the thought the NFL was doing this out of generosity. Maybe that was just me. If during the celebration they noted somewhere on screen the NFL was compensated for it I would then feel better about not being taking advantage of (emotionally speaking). I just feel ripped off by the NFL yet again.

SloMotion

It is kind of a recruiting tool, I agree, but I don't think they're having too hard a time filling quotas in this economy.

Danno

The US Government spends millions on studying freaking cow farts. Some of you are concerned about spending money on this? Seriously?

burningmetal

Relax, all those other things have been complained about before. This information is a little new to some of us. We don't need a lecture on how much the Government screws up.

jeanpierre

It is because we the people are apathetic and complacent, failing to challenge each and every instance of corruption, incompetence that we are in this state of affairs...

And it's disingenuous for NFL announcers to say the NFL is proud to honor when in fact unaccountable government bureaucrats paid for what the NFL tries to pass off as something they sacrificed to make happen...