What's the deal with the NFL and the GOP?

[jeter]

Am I the only one who has noticed? Is it because FOX has the rights to the games?

Fat ass is commentating on ESPN.
Dennis Miller was on Monday Night Football.
Bush always is making some speech on Opening Night.

[jiacinto]

1. I never saw anything overtly political about the NFL

But I did notice how Fox had been subtly injecting politics by advertising its news channels and having pre-ganme shows from aircraft carriers.

However, I do think the NFL should not be involving itself in political issues/debates.

[rudeboy666]

2. He just resigned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't we have a little sympathy for the devil? ;-(

[dusty64]

3. NO!

x

[NashVegas]

4. Murdoch

Is in the process of taking control of DirectTV, which offers a distribution pipeline of nearly unlimited content for his 30 or so Fox Sportsnet channels.

ESPN has a small handful in comparison, but not owning a their own pipe means Murdoch has one up on them.

DirectTV will promote channels and specials on their service in time periods where no one has bought commercial time, that's free promotion for Murdoch. ESPN is going to have one hell of a competition on their hands.

As for MNF, Miller and Rush were both competing for that gig.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. "What's the deal with the NFL and the GOP?"

You said:
"Am I the only one who has noticed?"

No. Remember the schlockfest on the Mall?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8649-2003Aug31.html

>>
In May, Tagliabue met at the Pentagon with Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to pitch the plan for the kickoff event and salute to the troops, according to league and Pentagon officials.

Myers apparently liked what he heard. In keeping with its rules against commercial involvement, the Pentagon does not endorse the league or its sponsors, and it has no role in putting on the party, but the Pentagon did agree to fold the NFL kickoff bash into a new project called Operation Tribute to Freedom. That's a program "to demonstrate public appreciation for American men and women in uniform and reinforce the bond between the citizenry and the military," according to the program's Web site.

Several pages of that Pentagon site (http://www.ima.army.mil/events.asp) display the red-white-and-blue logo of the event: "NFL Kickoff Live. Washington D.C. Pepsi Vanilla."
<<

Pepsi has long been aligned with the Republican Party. Recall the link between them and Nixon. Google for "kendall nixon pepsi".

http://pw1.netcom.com/~fubar4/jfk4.html

>>
Nixon behaved suspiciously in Dallas on 11/22/63. He denied being in Dallas when questioned by the FBI, but then changed the story to being that he was there for board meeting of Pepsico. There is no such meeting on record.

Also, Pepsico's advertising was handled by the same firm that worked to sell the Pentagon's "peace" campaign. Nixon and Pepsi president Kendall were longtime friends, and Nixon, according to the Justice Department, eliminated all red-tape so that Pepsico could open up in the Soviet Union. It was Kendall who formed the Save the Presidency Committee during Watergate. Cartha DeLoach, the FBI liaison between Hoover and LBJ later joined Pepsi-Cola.
<<

http://www.tni.org/letelier/docs/timeline.htm

>>
Summer 1975, Washington DC
In committee hearings before the US Senate, the Central Intelligence Agency acknowledges receiving a budget of $11 million to destabilize the Allende government (which the CIA turns into $40 million by dealings on the Chilean black market). It is also revealed that in the fall of 1970, after consulting with President Nixon, Pepsi-Cola Board Chairman Donald Kendall had arranged a meeting between Agustín Edwards, owner of El Mercurio, Santiago's leading right-wing daily and top US officials. These officials included CIA Director Richard Helms, John Mitchell and Henry Kissinger. Later in the same day, these same American officials meet at the White House with the President; after the meeting Richard Helms quips to reporters, I have just been given the marshal's baton. The Senate committee says: All CIA officials stated that they interpreted President Nixon's September 15 instruction as a directive to promote a military coup in Chile ... Nixon tells Helms that to be successful, any effort to defeat Mr. Allende would have to be supported by the military factions in Chile. Henry Kissinger tells the 40 Committee, which oversees US intelligence operations, that a Marxist president in Chile would be incompatible with US security.
<<

[newyawker99]

10. Hi mahatmakanejeeves!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. Take a look at who owns the NFL teams, and then take a look at...

...who owns the media. That should answer your question pretty quickly.

[RummyTheDummy]

7. The NFL has nothing to do with the GOP

Take off the tin foil hat, puh-leeeze!

[leesa]

9. Sold out to corporate interests long ago

They are just the superwealthy which 99.9% of the time makes them repugs and as we know, Repugs always stick together and always promote political propaganda. You don't remember the crap after 9-11? I think their job for the Repugs is to so mesmerize Americans (males especially) that they have stopped participating in their government...keeps them child-like.

[leesa]

8. Huge corporation/big time money

NFL long ago sold out to corporate interests. They are one of the trance-inducers for American males so corporate America can rob us blind.

[youngred]

11. Dennis Miller was on

but not because of his politics, and he was so universally hated he didn't last long. Limbaugh has now resigned, and his hiring was a mystery except that he used to be a sports journalist and is an enthusiast. When you have the fame and name that Limbaugh does you can get those kind of things for yourself. And yes, Bush made a speech opening night, but it interefered with the marquee Sunday night matchup. Not exactly something the NFL enjoyed. Fox has rights to less than half of the games shown on TV, and its Fox entertainment, not Faux News.

Football (and indeed all sports) have a certain element of patriotism inherently involved. The SuperBowl in '91 was a huge Red, White and Blue Affair, Baseball still sings God Bless America in the 7th inning stretch 2 years after September 11th. Other sports such as Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, and Hockey have always had strong nationalistic tendencies, esp when they're played internationally. This does not make them bad.

So yeah there is a connection, but its no great conspiracy