The NFL: Center-Right Perspectives

Kenneth Durden: "NFL's Pink Silliness"

The libertarian-conservative, on the NFL's embrace of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: "While thousands of men die every year from cancer, mostly from not getting screened for treatable prostate cancer and dectecting [sic] early stage colon cancer, the NFL is still using resources to promote breast cancer 'awareness.' As far as public health goes, breast cancer is far beyond the awareness phase. What is this really about? Is it just cynical marketing or an extension of the American obsession with breasts. I'm certainly not against efforts to save lives. I'm not saying that people within the NFL don't really care about women, but if they really want to save lives, they should speak to the largest segment of their audience, men. Men are notorious for not wanting to go to the doctor. The NFL is the perfect platform to break down some of those barriers. It's time for someone to figure out this simple fact."

Kyle Smith: "Obama's Fumbles On 'Monday Night Football'"

The conservative columnist for the New York Post argues that Obama propaganda is seeping into everything (hat tip: Black & Right): "Remember that time President Bush interrupted the Emmy telecast to tell people we should support reform of Social Security before it bankrupted the country? Neither do I. Yet when I tuned in to watch 'Monday Night Football' this week to check out the Miami Dolphins’ Wildcat offense, I didn’t expect to see President Obama taking the direct snap and trying to pound his political message into the end zone. Where’s the flag for illegal procedure? The president is popping up everywhere but Cialis commercials. How long before we have to watch him and Michelle holding hands in matching bathtubs as they lecture us about executive compensation schemes? With the full blessing of the media, Obama is still in election mode, and I say: If elections persist more than 24 months, it’s a problem. Especially when the networks are giving him free time to air what amount to campaign commercials. A pre-taped intro from Obama opened the Oct. 12 'MNF' telecast. This was at least his third appearance there in the last three years. That means he’s on more than the Arizona Cardinals."

He continues his commentary: "The ostensible purpose was to tell us it was Hispanic Heritage Month. I thought it was Columbus Day, thus more of an occasion to celebrate Italian heritage, but poor Columbus went unmentioned — by a man who graduated from a university named after him and currently lives in a district named after him. The real point of Obama’s cameo, though, was to slip in a little political appeal. Obama told us, 'Our nation faces extraordinary challenges right now, and our ability to tackle them will depend on our willingness to recognize that we’re all in this together, that we each have an obligation to give back to our communities, and we all have a stake in the future of this country. Because in the end todos somos Americanos — we are all Americans.' As National Review’s Jay Nordlinger put it, in a piece about sportswriters who make anti-Bush cracks, this was a 'Safe-Zone Violation.' Sports are supposed to be insulated from such intrusions of reality. Does the pigskin have to be turned into a political football? Do we have to pause and give our attention to a liberal president even during a red-state sport (to date, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have never lost a game to Wellesley)? Liberals don’t like safe-zone violations either, supposedly. Remember the outrage on the left in 2004, when Al Michaels made a joke at John Kerry’s expense?"

More commentary from Mr. Smith: "No, by 'our nation faces extraordinary challenges' and 'we’re all in this together' and 'we all have an obligation to give back' he was saying: Tough times mean we all need to march to the same tune, and it’s the one playing on my iPod. 'Please don’t blame me for the unemployment increases my stimulus was supposed to avert.' 'Please understand I know what’s best for you.' 'Please support my healthcare tax-and-spendapalooza.' Civic 'obligation' does not run from individuals to the 'community,' i.e., the government. If anything, the truth is the opposite: The government is supposed to provide you with things like security and freedom and order, and if it offers to 'provide' you with new things like a revamp of health care, you can ask whether you as an individual will come out better, not just blindly accept it for the supposed greater good of 'the community.' Obama is carrying the ball the wrong way down the field. Why does he expect us to cheer?"