As has been the case with many of the organizations that have openly challenged or criticized President Trump, the NFL is suffering a massive backlash from fans who have abandoned the stadiums in protest of the player’s continued anthem protests
The NFL appears to have made a massive error in determining exactly who makes up the vast majority of their fan base. After capitulating to their players and refusing to take a stand against their anthem protests, fans have been quick to voice their dissatisfaction in the form of withholding their hard-earned money from the NFL. Pictures from stadiums around the country on Sunday made their way across social media, leading to an embarrassing day for the NFL, as President Trump refuses to let up and continues to call out the “kneelers” on twitter this morning.
Two dozen NFL players continue to kneel during the National Anthem, showing total disrespect to our Flag & Country. No leadership in NFL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2017
The San Francisco 49er’s have been hit particularly hard since the anthem protests started with one of their players, Colin Kaepernick, which has now kicked off a wave of kneelers across the NFL. On Sunday, as the 49er’s played a home game against the Dallas Cowboys, there were actually more visiting fans from Dallas than there were fans from the home team.
Sunday was no different. The stadium, reporters said, was emptier than usual. The Cowboys fans? A SportsDay reporter estimated 36 percent of fans were rooting for Dallas, while another from NBC pinned the breakdown at 30 percent Dallas, 40 percent San Francisco, 30 percent empty seats.
Attendees reported that cheers were louder for the Cowboys than they were for the 49er’s in San Francisco.
Plenty of empty seats at Levi’s Stadium …. and looks (and sounds) like many that are filled are filled by Cowboys fans. pic.twitter.com/EA1JCK9aUD
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) October 22, 2017
The 49er’s weren’t the only team facing empty seats on Sunday, as it appears “nobody cares” about the Jets versus Dolphins game either.
#NFL #NYJvsMIA RT @nsbbcom: Nobody cares about jet or dolphins @[me] pic.twitter.com/k6wPSlIRJG
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
Admittedly, most of the teams playing in at these empty stadiums are not known to be “good teams” or have a particularly diehard fan base. However, the decrease in the NFL’s merchandise sales, game attendance and even popularity among the country is undeniable, seeming to accelerate after President Trump criticized the anthem protests while calling for a boycott.
In fact, a recent poll has seen a dramatic shift in the NFL’s favorability. After the anthem protest in September spread throughout the league the brand’s favorability was quickly cut in half.
NFL’s Brand Favorability Drops To Lowest Point Since Morning Consult Started Tracking: The NFL’s net favorability has dropped from 30% on September 21 to 17% on September 28.
On September 21, 25% of Trump supporters said they had a very favorable view of the NFL and 11% had a very unfavorable view. As of Sept 28, those numbers have dramatically changed with 33% of Trump supporters say they have a very unfavorable view of the NFL and 16% report having a very favorable view.
Even CBS Sports was forced to admit that NFL games are “getting hard to watch” and “viewership is down and empty seats are up compared to the record ratings of a few years ago”. However, true to the disconnected nature of the mainstream media, they still refuse to admit that the exodus of fans from the NFL is due to backlash over the anthem protests.
Any camera angle that panned across the upper deck in any number of stadiums Sunday confirmed that fact. The issues with ratings are well-documented. It has become convenient to blame that phenomenon, at least in part, on the ongoing issues of player demonstrations but now, nearly a season-and-a-half since Colin Kaepernick first took a knee, I’m not buying it. There’s some protesting going on, without a doubt, but its fans protesting the product being put on the field, I believe, more than any pronounced reaction to a handful of players displaying their Constitutional rights before kickoff.
Despite the mainstream sports media being in complete denial as to fan sentiment, the fact remains that empty stadiums, falling ratings and decrease in merchandise sales are not going away from the NFL.
Awwwww sooo many empty seats…too bad NFL
…keep practicing that “kneeling” thing…you’ll need it when begging for forgiveness some day
pic.twitter.com/B1Xtymc2BV
— ERIKA
SO CAL
(@ErikaMcdougall) October 16, 2017
…keep practicing that “kneeling” thing…you’ll need it when begging for forgiveness some day 
SO CAL#NFL Anthem Protest Continues
Empty seats at today’s games following the Anthem#Dolphins #Browns #Jets #Titans #boycottNFL #BoycottESPN pic.twitter.com/JUuTq3lDgP
— FemalesForTrump
(@FemalesForTrump) October 22, 2017
(2/X) RT @lauriekor: Look at all the empty seats – #Bears #nfl #emptyseats #chi #CARvsCHI #unreal pic.twitter.com/C5CwhfDx9X
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
Tons of empty seats at kickoff…not surprising pic.twitter.com/Vt169eTv5y
— kim klika (@kimklika) October 22, 2017
Kickoff and empty seats in #NFL pic.twitter.com/FuRzahhpDb
— Bradley Wilson (@brad_gohornsbkw) October 15, 2017
Chicago #NFL #CARvsCHI RT @chrisbleck: lots of empty seats at kickoff pic.twitter.com/hrs7vXgj6Z
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
Cleveland #NFL #TENvsCLE RT @GLForumonSRA: @[me] Browns kickoff on the road to 0-7 pic.twitter.com/dkHzWEUUnF
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
And we are underway #Browns #Titans pic.twitter.com/dcrirhjo6r
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 22, 2017
Swaths of empty seats here post kickoff. pic.twitter.com/5hCHF89wkq
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) October 22, 2017
#NFL #NYJvsMIA RT @nsbbcom: Nobody cares about jet or dolphins @[me] pic.twitter.com/k6wPSlIRJG
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) October 22, 2017
Kickoff and empty seats in #NFL pic.twitter.com/FuRzahhpDb
— Bradley Wilson (@brad_gohornsbkw) October 15, 2017
Just has Hollywood is now imploding with the revelations of widespread sexual assault and horrifying treatment of women, the NFL is suffering its own cataclysm, ironically after both organizations publicly blasted President Donald Trump. Perhaps this is mere coincidence, but at least thus far every political group, media outlet and elite corporation that has attempted to diminish Trump’s support or oust him from office has not only failed, but incurred unprecedented suffering on their end.