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Title: ‘Goodbye Pittsburgh Steelers, Burn In Hell’: Angry Fans Burn Gear Over National Anthem Protest
Source:
CBS Pittsburgh
URL Source: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017 ... urn-gear-over-national-anthem/
Published: Sep 25, 2017
Author: staff
Post Date: 2017-09-25 16:34:46 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 9745
Comments: 57
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh Steelers fans are taking to social media to show how upset they are that the team stayed inside during the national anthem. Fans have posted numerous videos on social media of themselves burning their Steelers gear. “I’m a lifelong Steelers fan, not anymore. Not a fan of you, the NFL, any of it,” says Jim Heaney on YouTube. Heaney posted the video of himself setting all of his Steelers gear on fire following the team’s decision to decide to stay inside the locker room/tunnel during the national anthem. “And I hope all your ignorance burns too,” Heaney says as he throws his Steelers gear on the fire. Heaney ends his video by saying, “there you go, goodbye Pittsburgh Steelers, burn in hell, Semper Fi.” In another video posted to YouTube, Robert Williams of Texas posted a video of himself burning hundreds of dollars in Steelers gear. “We have morals in this country. We stand for this country. My great uncle’s bones are lying in the bottom of Pearl Harbor. For this country, for the flag, for your freedom to play in the NFL and to say whatever you want to say. But you do not disrespect the flag and the country and the Constitution. So watch this stuff burn,” Williams says. — Starving1 (@ArvinGibbs) September 24, 2017 In a video posted to Twitter, and shared more than 15,000 times, Arvin Gibbs is seen on video burning a Steelers sweatshirt and hat, while holding an American flag. “Super Bowl right? As if I care, what I care about is this country, what I care about is freedom, and it’s all about those stars and stripes,” Williams says. “Never again will waste one minute of my life following the NFL or the Pittsburgh Steelers,” another YouTube video user says. “I am no longer am a Steelers fan or of anyone that will not stand for our anthem no matter your political views or color of your skin. I hope your sport goes up in flames like my shirt did,” says Christos Kallas. “Today after 30 years of loving the Pittsburgh Steelers I’m going burn my Steelers jersey . They have taken a great American sport that people use to forget there problems with and turned it into a political circus that disrespects our Country and our Military that gave there lives for your freedom,” posted YouTube user Michael Hesson. The protest was also the main topic of discussion on 93-7 The Fan Monday morning. “They announced that the Steelers previously weren’t going to come on the field for the national anthem. When they came on the field, the whole bar booed, the whole single bar,” said one caller. “I actually got up and left I was so upset.” Head coach Mike Tomlin, who stood on the sideline without his team, said the team made the decision during a meeting on Saturday. Lisa Washington’s Report: Some fans believe the Steelers’ organization will suffer because of the action. “I don’t think the Steelers are going take a long-term hit,” said another caller. “I think it will be temporary hit, maybe the next couple of games. I think people will talk about it, but if they start winning, if they start producing, it will blow over, because as we know in this country, winning cures all.” Some fans said they supported Alejandro Villanueva, Steelers offensive tackle and a former U.S. Army Ranger. He stood near the tunnel Sunday during the National Anthem, with his hand over his heart. His teammates stood behind him. “Al Villanueva, he knows the real meaning of teamwork because he led men in combat,” said one caller. “He’s probably saying to himself, what am I doing with this group of people?” . . . Poster Comment: At least one famous Steelers fan is swearing off the team: Rush Limbaugh, a huge Steelers fan for decades. The mystique is gone. That actually started vanishing a while ago. The larger-than-life aspect of it is gone. The belief, the wish, the desire that the people in the game were the best and brightest and special, and that’s why they were there, that’s gone. And it’s been politicized. It has been politicized and corrupted, and it didn’t start this weekend. It started years ago. And if I wanted to, I could go back and get the transcripts from a few years ago on this program where I first sensed that this was happening and was going to happen. Of course, years ago I couldn’t predict this specific event, but my sadness actually began years ago when all of the attention focused on the danger and the supposed attempt to hide all of that, not specifically just the concussions. The whole aura that that created. The sports media began to criticize that which they report on. It just became politicized. It simply just became politicized. And the people politicizing it, since we’re talking about politics, the people that politicized it are people on the left. And when that happens, things change. It’s just over.
I have been a Steelers fan since 1966, but no more. pic.twitter.com/9W4oMl1EhF
(1 image)
The comments section is very angry stuff. But who knows how many actual Steelers fans will take the pledge. Even so, that is brutal reporting for a team like Steelers to see in a local TV station. But if you’ll permit me first, I was personally saddened. I did not watch the National Football League yesterday, and it was the first time in 45 years that I made an active decision not to watch, including my team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was not a decision made in anger. It was genuine sadness. I realized that I can no longer look at this game and watch this game and study this game and pretend, you know, fantasize, everything a fan does. This whole thing has removed for me the ingredients that are in the recipe that make up a fan.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 16.
#6. To: Tooconservative, Justified (#0)
Author: WCNC Staff ORHCARD PARK, N.Y. – Several Bills players knelt during the national anthem. Others locked arms. [...] Stadium worker Erich Nikischer quit his job at New Era Field after almost 30 years. “I waited until the National Anthem ended, I took off my shirt, threw my Bills hat on the ground, walked out,” Nikischer said in a sit-down interview with Channel 2 at his West Seneca home. Nikischer says he has no problem with players protesting before the National Anthem. It's when the kneeling continued into the song that strong feelings took over. [...] “I will never step foot in the that place again, I will never watch an NFL football game again until this ends,” Nikischer said.
The anecdotes are interesting as are the burnings of the Steelers gear and other NFL gear. But it's the YouTube era so everyone is getting their 15 minutes of fame and it can make these things look like a movement when they're only a tiny tiny sliver of the public.
Then again, by John Nolte [excerpt] You would think that this firestorm would have resulted in record ratings for Sunday Night Football, or at least a ratings boost. Unfortunately for the anti-American NFL, the exact opposite proved true with an 8 percent drop in viewership, compared to last week. This is a new season low. Compared to this time last year, the ratings decline was in the double-digits, a full 10 percent. How big is a sliver that equals 10% of the NFL Sunday tv audience?
Given the quality of the product, ~11 minutes of action in a 4-hour broadcast, you have to wonder how (or if) audience share can even be as high as they claim.
Baseball might be the same, give or take. But at least there is a lot more than 15 or 20 games per team per year.
#17. To: Pinguinite, nolu chan (#16)
Baseball is very different from a statist sport like the NFL. Baseball is supposed to be long and boring and kinda pointless. The NFL is supposed to be an action game, a metaphor for America conquering its enemies, loosely defined as the entire planet followed the rest of the solar system. : ) Baseball has lots of little teams and minor leagues and such. Football is a state-imposed monopoly with lots of taxpayer support at the local/state/federal level. nolu has written well about the real antitrust problems that the NFL has (or should have). I took the time to write a post on a fundamental problem with the anthem itself over on this thread. You might glance at it. I think that is the next step in the SJW assault on the anthem. You'll see the parallels that will likely be drawn to Confederate flags and statues.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest MAN QUITS NFL STADIUM JOB AFTER NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS ORHCARD PARK, N.Y.
Published: 09/25/17
#8. To: nolu chan (#6)
#12. To: Tooconservative (#8)
But it's the YouTube era so everyone is getting their 15 minutes of fame and it can make these things look like a movement when they're only a tiny tiny sliver of the public.
NFL Backlash: ‘Sunday Night Football’ Hit With Season-Low Ratings
Breitbart
25 Sep 2017
#14. To: nolu chan (#12)
How big is a sliver that equals 10% of the NFL Sunday tv audience?
#16. To: Tooconservative (#14)
Given the quality of the product, ~11 minutes of action in a 4-hour broadcast, you have to wonder how (or if) audience share can even be as high as they claim.
Replies to Comment # 16.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 16.
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