Well when Brees retires before Brady and lets him take the records, It will be over for my watching anyway.

First off, I will preface this by saying I have have lost 99.9% of my interest in the NFL. Couldn't care less any longer. It's nothing more than Goodell's version of WWE.


I used to watch every minute of the draft and pregame shows and every other tidbit of NFL programming I could find. I was beyond hooked. But a number of people have turned the league into a pansy social experiment that is a mere shadow of its former self.




But I digress - on to why this season is sunk before it starts...


1) 2020 planet earth. Can anyone really focus on anything??? Covid, riots, weather, potential wars, food shortages, businesses failing. It all seems to be going to hell in a handbasket.

2) Covid - how will it affect the players and coaches themselves? Will we lose star players (we always have crap luck on that) due to the virus - either out sick or quarantined?

3) Drew Brees (pre apology tour) - his last year. his 20th year. Can he still play at his HOF level? Will it matter (it hasn't got us over the hump since 2009). Is he dreaming of sitting in a NBC booth already?

4) Drew Brees (present day) - oh brother... He's pissed off most of the nation at this point and is entering a Twitter war with Trump. Can you say distracted? He has bought into the notion that you can't protest racial injustice and be patriotic at the same time. Here's a thought - don't sit/kneel/etc during the anthem, come out of the lockerroom at the half and do so for 5 minutes. Most people watching at home aren't watching the anthem anyway - at best they hear it while in the kitchen getting a beer or something to snack on.

5) Locker room is poisoned. Probably the most concerning for the 2020 campaign for fans left. Players will say they accept Drew's apology but will they really? Jenkins went on a tirade - something tells me he's not satisfied with a Tweet and an Instagram post. Maybe some of the linemen let Brees get ran over and injured. Maybe MT and others have the dropsies until Brees is benched in lieu of Winston. By whatever means necessary to get the out of touch Brees out of the game.

6) Malcontents. Leave aside all of the chaos of the past couple of weeks, I think the Saints screwed up with the signing of Winston and Jenkins. Winston was a train wreck in Tampa and my most vivid memories of Jenkins are him getting abused in the secondary on crucial plays. Payton knows the window is almost closed and is desperate to make something happen and is reaching with these 2 guys.

7) Sean Payton. Seems to have "ate the cheese" on himself. Thinks he's the crossfit champion, celebrity playboy, and world leader coach. Somebody find his ex-wife and put her in charge because he was a hell of a lot better coach when married to her. And riding Brees HOF coattails hasn't hurt either. I suspect he'll retire shortly after Brees and replace Bob Costas as the narcassistic political commentator for SNF.


I could go on and on but I probably have put some of you to sleep and made some others of you angry. Neither was my intent...

I part with this - as I doubt I will be around much with my work, worldly concerns, and my loss of interest in the NFL:


* You folks here are great - there was never a better group of loyal and intense fans that could support a team that often underachieved or disappointed. And I have never found a better Saints fan site to visit.

* I hope that if you continue to watch the Saints or the NFL in general that you can find some enjoyment from it. I don't any longer, and life is too short to waste leisure time on something you don't enjoy.

* I wish you all well - hope that everyone stays safe!

Last season was the first season I watched as not a die hard Saints fan but a football fan (fantasy football). I still pulled for the saints , its hard not too but as the season wore on, I watched games based on fantasy football (the NFL network Red Zone is like fantasy football porn by the way).
I will continue to watch the game itself for just fantasy football purposes, I watch them like a person that bets on horses watches a horse race. I could care less about their personal story. Just put up the stats that I need to win that week.

You are part of a quickly growing number of fans consuming the game in new ways and for new reasons. For every fan that claims to have stopped watching games there are five that now watch and follow multiple games per day on different platforms while playing fantasy football or engaging in daily online betting. The game has never been more popular and continues to grow around the world.

Ratings declined 10% in 2018 and only increased 5% last year.

I suspect the ratings will plummet this year. I know at least 1 viewer who will stop watching if those a-holes kneel during the anthem. I'm hoping there are millions more.

FTK - F*** The Kneelers

Ratings declined across all of "measured" viewing, not only NFL or other sports, and have since the advent of all the other sources of viewing the same content on other platforms. I have seen numbers as high as 20% of NFL fans that have moved to, or at least used at times, other means of watching their games. Many claim but cannot stop watching the game they still love.I would venture to guess that the actual percentage of those that have totally given up watching the NFL because of any sort of protest is under 1%.

Another major factor is the emergence of sports bars and restaurants. These establishment have exploded over the past few years and they just count as a single viewer even if the place is packed with 200 people. Another factor is The Red Zone that has become extremely popular among fantasy players and gamblers. It is not counted toward the viewership of individual games which is what the ratings you have mentioned are based upon.

I accept and respect your feelings and attitude, but the NFL is FAR bigger than this tiny objection from a vocal minority.

Oh, and I'll put up $20 that this year's ratings will set records if the season takes place because it is the only game in town. That is easy money for me. Take that bet, Danno, my friend?