Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Capt. Obvious

(9,002 posts)
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:20 AM Dec 2013

Why not boycott the NFL?

....

When I think of the anti-consumerist movement, I think about white men. The notion of “not buying” on one particular day strikes me as something that’s fairly easy to do so long as you don’t need anything (food, diapers, whatever). Busy, overworked people — particularly those with families — may or may not have the luxury of picking the days upon which they spend money. It’s relevant to note, also, that for single mothers (and, really, mothers in general — single or not), this “consumption” will rest solely on their shoulders, whether it’s buying gifts for the kids or groceries for dinner. How nice that a bunch of “radical” white men have invented a form of activism that completely ignores the realities of many women’s lives. Women, I suppose, should feel guilty for perpetuating capitalism and consumer culture because they had to use their days off to do their Christmas/grocery shopping. If Kalle Lasn can avoid the mall, we all should!

Beyond the fact that Buy Nothing Day is both a classist and sexist invention, I find it interesting that certain factions of the left focus so much on Black Friday and on consumption around the holidays, but conveniently ignore the sexist, capitalist, violent, ridiculousness that is the Super Bowl — a decidedly male-centered celebration. Watching professional football is now a tradition intricately tied to American Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl, specifically, is basically a holiday for men.

I’m not anti-sport. Yes, I’d rather stare at the wall than watch sports on TV, but I understand that others enjoy watching, and that’s fine. But the NFL is not merely about sport. It’s about profit and it’s about advertisers. And it is, therefore, about consumption. And not just the consumption of products, but the consumption of women’s bodies.

....

So why does a violent, sexist, franchise that exists for men and is primarily about corporate profit get a pass while shopping doesn’t? Oh right. Dude culture.

It isn’t complicated. The Super Bowl is about celebrating masculine culture, corporate profit, and objectifying women. At least the holidays are for men and women.

I didn't see any new porn threads so...
52 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why not boycott the NFL? (Original Post) Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 OP
I haven't watched a Stupor Bowl in years. hobbit709 Dec 2013 #1
You can't possibly be serious badtoworse Dec 2013 #2
I won't be watching the Superbowl but this is a very silly argument el_bryanto Dec 2013 #3
It's not just men that enjoy the game... GETTINGTIRED Dec 2013 #8
nods - but that's clearly the argument - el_bryanto Dec 2013 #9
While I'm watching The Super Bowl I won't be seeing any advertisements for guns. In_The_Wind Dec 2013 #4
I do. CBGLuthier Dec 2013 #5
Wow aren't you all superior sharp_stick Dec 2013 #20
Very good response. LibertyLover Dec 2013 #29
+100. n/t obnoxiousdrunk Dec 2013 #33
That describes me closer than I'd like to admit tkmorris Dec 2013 #36
It describes me a bit too sharp_stick Dec 2013 #42
Awesome. zappaman Dec 2013 #45
Good job. Bring them to their knees! LordGlenconner Dec 2013 #26
#FOMOF GETTINGTIRED Dec 2013 #6
You want to boycott the business with the best-paid union workers in America? Scuba Dec 2013 #7
How will cities pay for the stadiums the public paid for without games? Omaha Steve Dec 2013 #10
ever been to a football game? there's tons of female fans thoroughly enjoying the game. dionysus Dec 2013 #11
You measure female fans by the ton? JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 2013 #12
to quote mitt, there are binders full of female fans! dionysus Dec 2013 #13
"Binders"! That's the word I was looking for ... JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 2013 #16
That's just the patriarchy speaking Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 #17
are you actually being serious here? dionysus Dec 2013 #18
Football is an evil metaphor for endless war!!!! JoePhilly Dec 2013 #14
I don't buy this particular angle, but I also don't understand why the NFL gets a pass Tanuki Dec 2013 #15
It's not just pipi_k Dec 2013 #22
Pretty much the same argument Walmart makes, isn't it? n/t Tanuki Dec 2013 #25
Not really. Sissyk Dec 2013 #37
I didn't say anything about boycotting the NFL. Tanuki Dec 2013 #43
I don't watch football. nt City Lights Dec 2013 #19
Neither does the organizer of the boycott Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 #21
Ironic, isn't it... pipi_k Dec 2013 #23
My favorite kind of boycotts Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 #24
Mine too sharp_stick Dec 2013 #38
Sometimes the 12th man is the 12th woman - LibertyLover Dec 2013 #27
Dont count them out yet RedstDem Dec 2013 #32
So true LibertyLover Dec 2013 #44
I wish some of the money and attention paid Ron Green Dec 2013 #28
I like football. I hate these kinds of lectures. cali Dec 2013 #30
That's just the patriarchy speaking Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 #39
i boycot the redskins RedstDem Dec 2013 #31
Buy Nothing Day is immeasurably pointless The2ndWheel Dec 2013 #34
Next you'll tell me Capt. Obvious Dec 2013 #35
with exception of 2-3 games a season, I've been boycotting Blue_Tires Dec 2013 #40
If you want to watch football, fine, knock yourself out. NuclearDem Dec 2013 #41
Been boycotting for years. Kingofalldems Dec 2013 #46
Racist, Sexist, Homophobic RandiFan1290 Dec 2013 #47
The majority of NFL players are nonwhite (nt) Nye Bevan Dec 2013 #48
Hey don't let facts get in the way of irrational hysteria LordGlenconner Dec 2013 #52
I'm thinking about boycotting football Jamaal510 Dec 2013 #49
That article makes no sense LittleBlue Dec 2013 #50
Enjoyed primarily by men, ergo evil and boycott it Kurska Dec 2013 #51
 

badtoworse

(5,957 posts)
2. You can't possibly be serious
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:25 AM
Dec 2013

I have season's tickets for the Jets (yeah, I know; we're having another crappy season) and there are large numbers of women there for every game. Have fun boycotting; I'll be at Sunday's game against the Raiders.

el_bryanto

(11,804 posts)
3. I won't be watching the Superbowl but this is a very silly argument
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:29 AM
Dec 2013

Should anything that men enjoy in our culture be boycotted?

el_bryanto

(11,804 posts)
9. nods - but that's clearly the argument -
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:43 AM
Dec 2013

Obviously they also want to make a consumerist point; but they could make that in any number of ways - the targeting of the Super Bowl is intended to attack men or the patriarchal order.

I can't speak for whoever wrote this, but if I were to hazard a guess, if presented with a woman who enjoyed the superbowl they'd comment on how she has bought too much into the patriarchal system.

Bryant

CBGLuthier

(12,723 posts)
5. I do.
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:32 AM
Dec 2013

I do not buy their merchandise, I do not watch their games. I also do not buy the weak, alleged beer sold by their major advertisers.

I view american football as a very artificial and boring sport and a league that allows one of its teams to use an ugly racist word for its name can kiss all of my ass.

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)
20. Wow aren't you all superior
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 10:54 AM
Dec 2013

and shit?

I mean there's nothing like watching a superior test match on the pitch hoping to catch a great googly around the wicket while drinking a triple IPA from some obscure little brewery founded in the basement of an old insane asylum to make it all hip and stuff.

Omaha Steve

(99,632 posts)
10. How will cities pay for the stadiums the public paid for without games?
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 09:46 AM
Dec 2013

There is a lot of public debt for the teams the 1%ers own!

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,340 posts)
12. You measure female fans by the ton?
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 10:23 AM
Dec 2013

I almost prefer measuring the fan count by "the notebook full".

There are plenty of female fans at baseball games. I measure those by the decibel. And there's lots.



(pro football games are a little outside my entertainment budget. but I grill bratwurst)

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,340 posts)
16. "Binders"! That's the word I was looking for ...
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 10:39 AM
Dec 2013

... "Notebooks" is just demeaning, and I apologize for it.

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)
15. I don't buy this particular angle, but I also don't understand why the NFL gets a pass
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 10:39 AM
Dec 2013

on its bizarre "nonprofit" status and the fact that the capitalization is heavily subsidized by taxpayers (who may or may not be fans---why the fuck am I paying for a football stadium when I have zero interest in the sport?) but the profits go to the owners. We are rightly outraged when Walmart does this. Why the willful blind spot for sports franchises?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)
22. It's not just
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 11:40 AM
Dec 2013

the NFL making money from the stadiums.

It's all the other local businesses as well, like hotels and restaurants and other stores and shops, whenever there's a home game.

People are working. People have jobs.

If a Superbowl is being played in a particular stadium, it could mean a whole week's worth of local economy boosting.

Granted, the locals aren't making the vulgar millions/billions the NFL is, but still, if one were to ask a local, I don't think too many of them would refuse extra cash based on principle.

You can't clothe or feed your family with principles. Try explaining principles to a hungry kid...



Sissyk

(12,665 posts)
37. Not really.
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 12:12 PM
Dec 2013

NFL is union. Walmart, not so much.

The reason for boycotting Walmart and the fast food industry is the poor working conditions for poor pay and no benefits. I don't think that applies to the NFL.

Tanuki

(14,918 posts)
43. I didn't say anything about boycotting the NFL.
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 01:00 PM
Dec 2013

As you can see from my post, I actually said "I don't buy this particular angle," but questioned why the NFL is given a pass on being a phony nonprofit and exploiting sweetheart tax subsidies. The reason I mentioned Walmart is that they try to deflect criticism by pointing out that they create jobs, which Pipi also did in defending the NFL. I am well aware of the fact that NFL players are unionized and that their star players are very well paid, but that doesn't absolve the owners of other issues of accountability to the taxpayers who heavily subsidize the owners' immense profits. Did you read the article from the Atlantic that I linked in my post? As for working conditions, I would wager that a higher proportion of NFL players have suffered life altering injuries on the job. Have you been following the coverage of concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy?
https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=nfl+concussion&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7TSNF_enUS461

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=ie7&q=cte+traumatic&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7TSNF_enUS461

LibertyLover

(4,788 posts)
27. Sometimes the 12th man is the 12th woman -
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 11:53 AM
Dec 2013

there are lots of women who appreciate a well-thrown pass, a well-executed pass rush or a clean tackle. I came late to my enjoyment of football but I most certainly will be watching the Superbowl, even if I don't think my beloved Ravens will make it all the way again this year. In fact, my family may very well be one of those buying a larger tv just before the game to watch it (only because our venerable, 8 year old, 50 inch Sony died a few weeks ago and fixing it would be more expensive than buying a newer, more energy efficient model).

Ron Green

(9,822 posts)
28. I wish some of the money and attention paid
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 11:54 AM
Dec 2013

to corporate sportsbiz could be in support of symphony orchestras around the country, but I often don't get my wish.

 

RedstDem

(1,239 posts)
31. i boycot the redskins
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 12:00 PM
Dec 2013

since they saw fit to invite Romney during the campaign, they canceled it, but damage done.

plus they have sucked since the boy king bought them...

Capt. Obvious

(9,002 posts)
35. Next you'll tell me
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 12:08 PM
Dec 2013

that the, "Don't buy gas for a day" boycotts don't actually cause the oil companies to choke on their spigots.

 

NuclearDem

(16,184 posts)
41. If you want to watch football, fine, knock yourself out.
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 12:49 PM
Dec 2013

America's gladiator games aren't my thing. I strongly prefer my sports to be TBI-free, or at least not directly engineered in a way that makes life-threatening injuries so possible.

 

LittleBlue

(10,362 posts)
50. That article makes no sense
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 03:19 PM
Dec 2013

All women must have diapers (they all have small children) to buy and apparently none of them watch football. Men apparently don't need food or water and don't have kids. It's like reading an article with assumptions straight from the 1940s.

Is the author on drugs or just dumb?

Kurska

(5,739 posts)
51. Enjoyed primarily by men, ergo evil and boycott it
Thu Dec 5, 2013, 03:22 PM
Dec 2013

Got it

Counterpoint: The author of this piece is a jerkoff

Gay anal sex is primarily enjoyed by men, better ban that too right?

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why not boycott the NFL?