Jersey Sales for Villanueva have skyrocketed

I'm wondering how this is going to affect the fan base moving forward. Life long steeler fans that i know are pissed and deciding not to attend any more games. Will this affect ticket sales? I don't think so. The waiting list is long enough to prevent that from happening.

 

A recent survey that was conducted on 1000 adults found that only 25% could name the 3 branches of government and 1/3 of those could not name ANY branch. So I would bet that most people that stand, sing, sit or kneel for the national anthem don't even know the history of it. If you have 10 minutes or so, watch this video on the history of the Star Spangled Banner. I give you the know it's up to you to understand.

"Any fool can know, the point is to understand"
- Albert Einstein

 

yet the threads are being locked over and over. Then it starts in another thread because people want to discuss it. I don't want to go to another forum somewhere else. This has to do with the PITTSBURGH STEELERS actions yesterday, and since this is the best board on the internet for the Steelers, that's where I'd like to discuss it. Rules are rules...you don't want it on the main forum, fine. But I still believe it should be SOMEWHERE on here to be able to discuss it without worrying about it being locked, or worse yet being banned.

 

Villanueva hasn't been that great, to be honest. I could see and justify buying his jersey if he was a perennial pro bowler. But to buy his jersey just because of something he did that was non-football related is beyond retarded.

I say the same thing about Kaepernick.

 

Still love ya man...but this whole topic has me more pissed off than anything since you created this masterpiece of a message board!

 

I'm not quite sure how to respond to that. I guess in your view a player's action off the field has no bearing what so ever on the popularity of said player. Rocky Bleier did not have hall of fame statistics but is still adorned as the man behind that uniform as well as much as a good football player.

 

And Tomlin wanted to force Al to not stand. That sounds like BS to me.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/24/steelers-coach-didnt-want-army-vet-to-stand-for-anthem-video/

 

See how silly all this is. Dude says he's cheering for the Ravens because they don't kneel then they all kneel a week later. The only unnecessary distraction was the one who left his teammates. Locking arms probably wasn't enough for the many who were going to kneel. The team decision was to stay in tunnel and everybody on the team did it except one person.

 

Its team sport and I support the players. Have no ill feelings toward Tomlin and players. .We are suppose to be playing football. We did that. Not very well but none the less it was a football game.

 

Yeah, so what? Other teams aren't caught up in this mess because they stood and linked arms.. Nobody thinks more or less of them because of that and it's not a distraction. Not a difficult solution to this whole ordeal. Keep trying to justify their foolish behavior.

This all stems from the piece of **** loser Colin Kaepernick. Him being treated as some kind of hero or martyr shows how ass backwards and messed up this country truly is. He's a dumb, authority hating, piece of ****, that's it. Have you seen some of the **** this fool has written and the warped stuff he believes in? Dude belongs on a terrorist watch list, not in the NFL.

 

You still fail to realize this is only an issue because AV decided to stand without his team. Titans did the same exact thing and got no criticism.

 

Doing whats right can sometimes be hard, especially when you are the only one doing it. I tip my hat off to AV for sticking with his convictions instead of conforming to the team's "safe space."

 

And this is why we can't have nice things.

 

So what did everyone do before 2009 when they didn't play the anthem? You realize they only do because the DoD cuts the NFL a check like many other sports. Do your research.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/na...ary-tributes-report-says/stories/201511060140

We were all unpatriotic for not taking part in the anthem before 2009.

 

That's a completely irrelevant argument. The mannerisms of 2008 do not dictate the procedure today. The NFL operation manual states:

"The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. "During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses."

 

I think AV has a right to do whatever he wants. He's unique to basically every other player in an NFL uniform. He obviously felt compelled to do what he did, given his background and life experiences. It's a moment for him to reflect and remember his fallen brethren and he didn't want to **** all over it like these primadonna players.

Standing for the playing of the National Anthem has always been synonymous with paying respects to the armed forces and authoritative figures who risk their lives for the American people. The military flyovers, the soliders on the field, the cut in shots of troops overseas, etc.. You can believe some of it is a recruiting gimmick all you want or whatever, but it is what it is... A simple, one or two minute show of gratitude to these people. Standing is simply a polite gesture... When you are introduced to someone while sitting, you stand up and greet them. It's a show of gratitude or good faith. If the National Anthem was always about politics, people would have been sitting over every little policy they disagree with in this country forever. Why weren't people sitting, kneeling, or protesting when Obama championed some of the policies many in America disagreed with? Why? Because there's a time and a place. There's been a select few isolated incidents of Anthem protest across sports over the years, but Kaepernick is the one who turned it on its head. You have the freedom of living in America and being able to choose to sit or stand, but it doesn't make it right. You have the right to do a lot of objectionable things in this country, but that doesn't make it morally right or respectable. If you become a political distraction in your workplace, there's a good chance you're going to get canned.

What I'd like to know is, when are NFL players going to start protesting the massive amount of inner-city black on black crime that is destroying the cities they live in or grew up in?

 

It's not irrelevant because people are acting like it's the end all be all. When they forget they use to watch the same sporting event when they never did the anthem. It's paid patriotism. Money rules the world and especially the NFL.

 

Your position is that patriotism only exists because the money supports it. You can not actually believe that. That would be very ignorant.