I love this paragraph:
It has become painfully obvious in recent years that the purpose of the mainstream media is to serve as what the late Joe Bageant used to call the “American Hologram,” distracting the masses from noticing how they are being robbed blind by the corporate and Wall Street elite who own that very same media. From celebrity spectacles, to reality shows, to official propaganda presented as “news,” hundreds of cable and satellite television channels are dedicated to pulling the wool over the eyes of the bovine herd whose minds have become as flabby as their waistlines.I don't quite agree with his blaming both athletes and owners for the impasse. Especially in relation to "professional" (commercial) American football, the former are workers who have invested so much of their lives into becoming top athletes and risk so much in terms of their health.
Once again, it is the system of capitalism which corrupts everything--even recreation that ordinary people used to enjoy. Sports has become too much of a commodity like most everything else: something to be paid for and consumed rather than something to participate in for fun and a healthy way to connect with one's neighbors.
