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If the audience isn\u2019t delivered consistently, they owe you what are called make-goods. They have to give you free commercials elsewhere during the broadcast day to equal the value that you\u2019ve paid for to reach the eyeballs that you\u2019ve missed. We\u2019re not there yet, but we\u2019re close. <\/p>\n
But my point is this. In all of the discussions that you\u2019ve heard about why the NFL is hemorrhaging audience, there\u2019s one thing nobody mentions: Colin Kaepernick and the other players protesting the flag, protesting during the national anthem before games. All of the, quote, unquote, smart people, “No, no, no, no, that has nothing to do with it! Get serious.” <\/p>\n
And the reasons that are offered instead, “Well, you know what? It\u2019s just overexposure. It\u2019s the Thursday night games, man. It\u2019s just too much football. It\u2019s not special anymore.” Wait a minute. The Thursday night games, this is the third or fourth year of that. Thursday night games are not new. They\u2019ve been around three or four years. I mean every Thursday night. There have always been Thursday night games, two or three during the season plus Thanksgiving; but now they\u2019re regular. But that\u2019s been the case two or three years. <\/p>\n
“Okay, well, you know, the matchups haven\u2019t been really that good.” Okay, now, there may be something to that. I mean, a Sunday night game between the Houston Texas and the Indianapolis Colts, yeah, maybe. And then they say there\u2019s a lack of stars. You know, Romo is not playing; Brady was suspended. Well, that is what they\u2019re saying. They are saying that a lack of stars and that — (interruption) Yeah, but he\u2019s not a big name yet. Dak Prescott, yeah, he\u2019s killing it, but he\u2019s not a nationwide name yet. He\u2019s on his way. <\/p>\n
But that obscures the fact, what do you mean? Who cares? The Cowboys are winning! That would make them a huge TV draw, as last Sunday against the Packers showed! And it didn\u2019t take Romo. Romo didn\u2019t have to play for that game to rate well. So we throw out the fact that the big names are on the bench. <\/p>\n
The NFL doesn\u2019t even want it in the list of possibilities. The broadcast networks don\u2019t even want it in the list of possibilities. That\u2019s why when they discuss this, “Well, you know, Rush there\u2019s just too much football out there. It\u2019s overexposed. Nobody wants to watch these Thursday games.” You know, I don\u2019t think overexposure is it. I think the way some games are broadcast is a turnoff. You got commentators that won\u2019t shut up. I mean, you\u2019ve got TV cameras designed to show us the action and they don\u2019t do that. They show us fans in the stands. They show us commercials, all these penalty flags flying, all these interruptions in play, all these replays. No rhythm. <\/p>\n![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/NFLLiberalismPenaltyPIX.jpg\"\/)