I tuned into to NBC’s Sports Channel to watch NASCAR’s Foxwoods 301 which ran on July 18 in beautiful Loudon, N.H., but the race was temporarily rain-delayed. So I expertly deployed my remote control device and two clicks later found a Montreal Canadien hockey player checking a Tampa Bay Lightning player into the boards.
On July 18.
It was a replay of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, played on July 7. Tampa had the series edge, three games to one, and led 1-0 with 15 minutes to play. Ross Colton’s second-period score was the difference. The closing minutes were thrilling to watch. Tampa’s Russian goalkeeper, Andrei Vasilevskiy, made key saves down the stretch, including a big one in the closing moments after Montreal pulled its goaltender for an extra skater.
The Tampa crowd counted down the final seconds and soon Lightning players were skating around with the Stanley Cup as the team won its second straight NHL title. It’s always fun to watch a championship celebration.
It was also the first hockey game I watched all year.
On July 18. From Tampa, Florida.
It wasn’t quite as surreal as the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, which featured Tampa beating Dallas at the Rogers Arena in Edmonton last September 28. There was virtually no crowd there due to the COVID thing. The many victims of the Coronavirus include fans disoriented by the change in our annual sports cycles who subsequently redirected their attention and energy.
On July 20 the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns for the NBA title. A real basketball guy, I must confess that all of I saw of the league finals was part of Game 4 in an airport lounge on July 14. TV ratings for the NBA Finals were disappointing—partly due to the participants. Milwaukee and Phoenix are not exactly L.A. or Boston. But it could have been worse. Imagine a Sacramento/Memphis Final.
Still, there were other reasons for the lack of viewers. See above re: coronavirus casualties. Also, last year’s blatant NBA politicization pushed many of us away. Seeing Marxist BLM logos emblazoned on the NBA’s hardwood venues was horrifying.
Political advocacy is fine of course—such as in this opinion column which folks don‘t have to read. But not for captive audiences such as in public school classrooms, church pews, or NBA arenas. As woke as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is, he understood that the NBA’s horrific TV ratings cost the league many millions of dollars. So the BLM logos went away.
And yet now the NFL reportedly will have the Black National Anthem played before league games this fall. This will guarantee lower ratings and empty seats. It’s not because missing fans are racist. It’s because most fans want to come together to cheer for their teams—regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, or orientation. Playing a separate anthem based on race accentuates our differences and makes us look at others through ethnic prisms. It’s distracting and divisive.
And then there’s the USA Women’s Olympic soccer team, featuring members—led by Megan Rapinoe—taking knees during our national anthem. Not only does this cause viewers to turn away, it even makes some root AGAINST such a squad of misguided athletes wearing their country’s uniform.
So let us circle back to that NASCAR’s Foxwoods 301 to which my clicker returned me after I watched that Stanley Cup celebration in Tampa. Everyone stood for the anthem in Loudon. There were no political protests. Aric Almirola eventually triumphed in the Granite State dusk. His gracious and humble post-race remarks inspired. He paid homage to the New Hampshire venue and all race fans. It was a joy to watch. American flags waved freely.
Kind of like the NBA, the NFL, and USA Women’s Soccer used to be before they allowed progressive activists to brand their products with divisive political imagery.
US Womens Soccer Team takes a knee, goes on to lose 3-0 in Olympic opener https://t.co/Gh2ebsBpXX
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) July 22, 2021
Maybe someday the above organizations will return to less political approaches. At which time fans might return to support them as well.
State Representative Mike Moffett of Loudon is a former coach and sportswriter.
