A ThirteenFox.com Exclusive Article

By John Cylc

August 16, 2020

“Fly, Eagles, Fly, on the road to victory,

Fight, Eagles, Fight, but this year without me.”

I was born in Philadelphia, growing up loving my Birds and hating the damned Cowboys. My wife is just as avid a fan as me, both of our families the same. That is what Philadelphia natives do. It is who we are. We “bleed green”.

However, there are things that, like many other NFL fans, I love more than my team.

I love my God.

I love my country.

I love my family.

I love my freedom.

I will stand up to anything for them.

The NFL has now left me no choice. I have tolerated them allowing anthem protests, but actual submission or support of these leftist movements has crossed a line.

My interest in the NFL is higher than that of many others. Since 2002, I have had the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket programming package, paying up over $300 some years to watch all the games that interested my wife and me.

I have also been involved in fantasy football since 2001. I also started a league and was commissioner for a group of family and friends since 2005. Every year, all of us would meet in Jacksonville Beach, Florida for our in-person draft. It would always be on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. It was the best day of the year to some of us. We made it an eventful weekend with food, alcohol, poker, and other activities or games!

Football has always been a fun time for Americans. It was an escape from “real life”. We forgot about work problems. We did not have to think about politics. For those who follow just their team, it was a weekly three-hour period that provided pure entertainment…sometimes euphoria, sometimes disappointment.

During the past couple of years, we have all seen the anthem protests of Kaepernick and other NFL players. Many NFL fans were upset that the networks seemed to be going out of their way to show the few people kneeling while the anthem played. We figured that these demonstrations would lessen or go away. It seemed to happen less frequently during the 2019 season. I believe the NFL discouraged networks from focusing on them.

Now, Black Lives Matter has had a resurgence due to the killing of George Floyd. Almost every American was outraged by that event. The problem is that BLM has exposed itself as not really being about black lives.

I have yet to see one statement from BLM about the millions of aborted black lives.

I have yet to see BLM call out black fathers who do nothing to involve themselves in their own children’s’ black lives.

I have yet to see BLM protesting in Chicago to call for an end to blacks taking other black lives.

I have yet to see BLM support any black life that happens to be Republican or conservative.

BLM is merely about bringing Marxism to our Republic. Black lives just happen to be the pretext to spread their message and agenda.

The NFL has now yielded to BLM in an attempt to placate them. There will be no live performances of the National Anthem at games this year. There is also a plan to sing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” apparently called the “Black Anthem” during week one. I guess no one in the NFL front office realized that by playing a “Black Anthem”, the “Star Spangled Banner”, by default, now becomes the “White Anthem”.

Pro football will also stop using Police or military color guards to present the U.S. flag. They are using Covid-19 as an excuse for this new policy. Evidently, 22 players piling up on each other, with sweat and blood flying is okay, but 3-5 people marching side by side, even if wearing a mask, is absolutely unacceptable.

The National Football League has grown to the largest sport in America, partially by tying itself to America and patriotism. They use military aircraft for flyovers. In-game cutaways show our troops stationed in remote and dangerous places watching the games. Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders tour overseas bases during the Christmas season.  Returning combat veterans surprise their families on field during pre-game or halftime ceremonies. Their logo is red, white and blue.

Now, patriotism is being rejected by a small, but vocal, percentage of our country. They use social media to threaten boycotts to many businesses. Despite examples of successful pushbacks (Chick-Fil-A and Goya Foods), the supposedly masculine NFL is folding like a lawn chair. I do not think they understand how this will affect their income.

I am done buying any NFL gear. No longer will I participate in fantasy football leagues. I also will not be paying for the NFL Sunday Ticket package. I am not alone in taking these actions.

The NFL has screwed up. Those of us who love our country must sacrifice the entertainment it provides to let them feel it in their pockets. They must remember where their bread is buttered. It is by the silent majority of this country.

Listen up, Goodell.

There is only one National Anthem. There is only one American flag. We stand to honor both.

Kneeling is submitting.

The NFL may submit.

Americans do not.