I agree. The only thing I can think of is that people use sports for entertainment to get away from politics. But the counter to that is that its not like the announcers are talking politics during the games. I'd be curious also to hear from someone who says they watch less football because of that.
But there is definitely SOMETHING here - the NFL has been king for decades. And then all of a sudden ratings are dropping substantially, there has to be reasons for that.
-- a conservative fan base who finds the anthem protests fundamentally disrespectful to the veterans and first-responders that, to them, it honors
-- economic and demographic decline of the "white working class" that formed the backbone of the NFL's fan base in the past (more so with NASCAR)
-- a relatively bland and monotonous style of play compared to college games, which feature far more diversity in schemes, particularly on offense
--- a much higher level of violence than the college game, too... amazing how much faster the game is, and how much bigger the hits, in the NFL
-- fatigue... it is hard to try to maintain that same level of intensity in the fall when football content is so omnipresent throughout the year now, which was not the case before
-- a shift towards experiencing football as fantasy instead of football as a game, which really reduces your incentive towards giving away those 3.5 hours
-- longer-and-longer games, more-and-more advertisements, shorter-and-shorter attention spans, and more competition for eyeballs, particularly from something like basketball, which gives more constant action, shorter games, and appeals to a cosmopolitan crowd
Just off the top of my head. My interest in the NFL is way lower now than 5-10 years ago, even as my interest in college sports and the NBA has increased greatly.
