In a new editorial, a columnist not only disses football fans, but also pleads with them to drop their boycott of the National Football League.
For the Washington Examiner, columnist Siraj Hashmi, pleads with fans to root for his favorite team, the New England Patriots, because if they win the upcoming Super Bowl they will tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most number of Super Bowls won. But he also slams fans for their boycott of the league saying if they insist on continuing to avoid watching games on TV, then they are traitors that the league does not need.
Hashmi, claims that fans may be missing some exciting times as the playoffs wind their way to the Super Bowl. Not only do we have the possible record-setting Patriots, but we have several other teams in the running that have never won a Super Bowl — including the “laughingstock” of the league, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It’s the NFL playoffs, and the games have been wildly entertaining considering how putrid some matchups were during the regular season,” he wrote.
“If you at least caught Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ walk-off touchdown to beat the New Orleans Saints, the Jacksonville Jaguars upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, or an underdog Philadelphia Eagles team defeating the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons, then you know what I’m talking about,” Hashmi said.
But, while Hashmi touts the exciting aspects of the teams possibly headed to the big game, he also goes on to slam the fans for their boycott. If you still want to boycott, then good riddance, he says:
If you were hurt by players peacefully protesting during the national anthem to raise awareness for police brutality and racial inequality or NFL owners not hiring Kaepernick and want to continue boycotting the NFL, then that’s fine. The league doesn’t need you. Its product is getting better and better and will attract more fans as time goes by. And from what I’ve seen, player protests have gone down in frequency, probably because there are fewer games and players to see protest during the anthem. And Kaepernick is doing well in his new career as an activist. So, if you want to go back to boycotting the league during the 2018-19 regular season, by all means, go ahead.
“For now,” Hashmi concludes, “put some of that political animosity aside because you’re missing some phenomenal football.”
So, to sum up, if you still want to boycott due to the anti-American protests indulged by multi-millionaire players some of whom have said they cannot stand in honor of our flag, our history, and our country, Hashmi wants you to go away permanently.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.