Football and Militarism

grandpasknee said:
Seems a bit odd that some are against the government/military "advertising" out country during game, but are fine with Pepsi, Valentinos and Runza humping their wares during games.  Yes, it is advertising for recruiting at some level.  So what?   Call it jingo-ism if you like, but I much prefer ads that support our country than ads geared at random products.  And I love Pepsi and Vals....can't stand Runzas though.  
Click to expand...




I'm actually against all of that. Some places, like Michigan, have zero corporate advertisements in their stadium and during their games. And it's completely amazing.

 
Landlord said:
I'm actually against all of that. Some places, like Michigan, have zero corporate advertisements in their stadium and during their games. And it's completely amazing.
Click to expand...
I'd be ALL for that.  Besides, my section never wins a free pizza or pepsi anyway!  heh heh...and Michigan has been one of my "bucket list" games to visit, along with Army/Navy and Florida / Georgia.  Even more reason to go now.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
You made me look it up and I got it slightly wrong:


 


“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” - Samuel Johnson, 1775
Click to expand...
I looked it up to and found the Samuel Johnson quote, as well as some other fellow I'd never heard of.  The second fellow actually said the same thing 'Patriotism is the last refuge of the coward, as some one once said"...so he was requoting the unknown.

There is no doubt that scoundrels will hide behind patriotism and many other things.  It certainly does not, in any way, mean that all patriots are scoundrels.  At least it doesn't mean that to me.

 
It's just marketing. The same core base of people who enjoy football and NASCAR tend to be the most pro-military demographic as well. Football teams/leagues are pandering to their audience, trying to show how much they respect the military by allowing and encouraging all of these appreciation events and advertising. TBH, as a vet, I don't care one way or the other. Doesn't matter to me unless I'm getting free food, then my interest might be piqued. I do have to admit that I hate when people find out I'm a vet and scramble over each other to shake my hand and lick my butthole in feigned gratitude because they feel like it's what they are supposed to do. #pleasedontdothat #justsayhi

 
grandpasknee said:
There is no doubt that scoundrels will hide behind patriotism and many other things.  It certainly does not, in any way, mean that all patriots are scoundrels.  At least it doesn't mean that to me.
Click to expand...


Agree. I think  the "ism" part of the equation is the problem. You do the right thing for the right reason, and give credit to your country as desired, but as soon as you start selling your "ism" as a way to separate  good people from bad, it all goes south, 

 
Eisenhower was right.  The Military Industrial Complex exists and part of its strategy to make money is to keep Americans keyed up for war so that they can make boatloads of money.

I agree that it borders on jingoistic, and it makes me a bit uncomfortable.  However, it is over quickly and one can take it as an actual thank you to our veterans as well as what it likely is, which is a way to keep pushing people to vote for a bigger military budget, so I try to take it as the veterans thank you.  But we need to be cognizant of the fact that a strong part of this is to keep up support for our very large military budget.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
It is just marketing under the guise of appreciation.  Even with that said, I don't mind.  I am a proud veteran with a love of country and symbols that represent....... such as our flag and anthem.  

 
I love football, I love our country, and I have the utmost respect for anyone who is or has served in the military.  I see no problem with the military embedding itself into football.                USA!!! GBR!!!

 
ColoradoHusk said:
The NFL is currently having their "military appreciation" time of the season.  Yes, it's a great gesture to honor the military and all the sacrifices that our military members and their families have done.  However, the main reason they are doing it is to sell more NFL team gear.  I walked into d!(k's Sporting Goods this weekend, and the entire middle area of their floor was military-themed Broncos gear.  It's all a sales & marketing ploy.
Click to expand...


Do they do the same thing -- including the TV commercials -- around every Veterans Day?  Because I immediately took this as the NFL attempting a make good for all the anthem protests.

 
What bothers me about it, in addition to it feeling 'forced' after a point, is that it starts to feel less like an appreciation event and more like a political event. That may not be the intent of those who organized it, but too much is too much.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Do they do the same thing -- including the TV commercials -- around every Veterans Day?  Because I immediately took this as the NFL attempting a make good for all the anthem protests.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they have done the same thing for the past few Novembers.  It's like the Pinktober the NFL would do to act like they care about breast cancer and they want to support women, but their actual donations to the Susan G Komen fund was minimal, as they sold "pink team gear" all month.

 
Back
Top