So here’s the thing folks. And by “folks” I especially mean the NFL’s leadership and it’s “Kneelers”.
There are TWO points that you are missing about the National Anthem protests.
POINT #1 that you FOLKS are MISSING! Did you ever hear of the saying, “Don’t rain on my parade!” Or perhaps you’ve heard of the unwritten rule, “Don’t talk about religion or politics while out with friends or during a social event.” Why do you think that is, oh you geniuses of the NFL?
It’s because THEY DON’T MIX!
Of course you’ve heard of these things. But that didn’t matter. You did it anyway!
You see, to the fans (who are your clients by the way & I’ll get into that later), football is our escape from the daily grind. It’s that one time a week when we look forward to letting loose, hanging with friends and having a beer or two. For men like me it’s the time when you get to eat the pizza & wings you’ve been craving all week after trying to make the wife happy with the weekday kale specials for dinner. God help me if I ever find the person who introduced kale to the mainstream!
For thousands of Americans, football is our weekly vacation. It’s our “parade.”
And by kneeling during OUR football game (did you see what I did there folks), you rained on our parade! You ruined our vacation! You did the very thing you are not supposed to do! You mixed politics with pleasure! And as you might have noticed, it’s true…THEY DON’T MIX!
And as a result you have taken away from thousands of hard working and deserving fans the very reason they loved football to begin with, the break from our hectic lives. You took away their vacation!
You selfish f*****s!
It’s actually amazing to me that this has gone on for as long as it has. It is higher proof to me that perhaps the NFL leadership needs to go back to business school and revisit some of the very core fundamentals of doing business.
As a matter of fact, I’ll even fund a night course for the commissioner at my local community college for him if it’ll help. It’s the least I can do for everyone. Maybe he will take good enough notes during the class when they teach the very basic concept in business of “Find out what your client wants and then give it to them!”
So let’s apply this concept here. I think we can all agree that the NFL is a business, right?
We can break down the NFL population, so to speak, into 4 major areas. The leadership, the players, the sponsors and business that earn revenue in some way from football, and lastly the fans. We can then lump the leaders and players into the “business” side. Then lump the sponsors, businesses and fans into the “client” side.
So what do the clients want!?
The sponsors and businesses want to make money from the fans. But why do they want to make money? As there are many reasons to make the almighty dollar, as a military vet and now a business owner my main reason is to provide for my family. Period. And this will lead me into point #2 in a minute.
What about the fans? What do they want?
They want their freaking vacation back! That’s all!
And the NFL, it’s leadership, and it’s players don’t seem to have big enough “footballs” to selflessly put politics aside and give the fans back what they truly want.
POINT #2 that you FOLKS are MISSING! Let me introduce you to some of my friends you selfish f*****s! Everyone around me knows that I love going to a good bar. I love sitting at the bar with my friends, having a beer and eating something my wife doesn’t know about. Many of my friends are the bartenders, waiters and waitresses. My wife is a waitress. Recently, you’d have to be blind to not see that there aren’t as many people going out to watch the games at their local pubs. Especially on Monday nights. This has been confirmed to me this past Monday while out having a short rib sandwich and a delicious Samuel Adams Winter Lager. In conversation, my friends said there definitely are not as many people coming out to watch the games.
What you FOLKS are forgetting is that when less people go out to the bars, the bartenders, waitresses, busboys all don’t make as much money as they would’ve. And this is a real concern that you FOLKS are out of touch with.
Maybe while donating to the causes that are behind your protests, you can also donate to the families who have lost income because of your selfishness!
You see, I know you are not protesting the National Anthem, the flag or the military.
I get that.
I believe in your right to pursue causes that you believe in. All causes need a voice.
But did you have to do it during my vacation, during my parade?
And more importantly, did you have to do it so selfishly as to cause my friends to lose their means of providing for their families?
And whether you like it or not, that moment IS tied to the military. All of the uniforms on the field and military jet flyovers during the flag ceremony & anthem should’ve given that away. But I guess not!
So I’d like to challenge all of the “Kneelers” and the leadership who allowed this to happen.
Donate money to the families who have lost income as a result of your protests!
If you’ll do that, if you’ll match the lost wages, I’ll take back my claim of…
“The Kneelers are the most selfish men in America!”
Chris Galluccio, 21 years military service, Iraq & Afghanistan vet, Founder of www.ThoughtsWordsActions.com where he helps veterans transition to the civilian & entrepreneurial world.
