So, What You Are Saying Is...

That's right, as fans of the NFL, we do NOT care if the players get hurt.

We'll be there.

We do NOT care if the players use PEDs.

We'll be there.

We do NOT care if DirectTV's Sunday Ticket screws everyone this side of the NFL Network.

We'll be there.

Off the field arrests?

Ha! Less than half of us are bothered by players' personal conduct so...

We'll be there.

That's the conclusion from an ESPN.com SportsNation poll, answered by over 56,000 visitors...

Have off-field incidents and arrests in recent years involving NFL players made you less likely to follow the NFL?
80.3%	No
19.7%	Yes

So what this tells me is this... the issues the NFL thinks it has are really non-issues. The League is so entrenched in its fan base's psyche, I think Roger Goodell himself could be arrested, and the NFL's approval rating would soar. Actually, that's probably a bad example... I doubt fans even care what the Commish does or says. Maybe if, say Manning or Brady were arraigned on 1st degree manslaughter charges you might have a drop in ratings/viewership/sponsorships/retail revenue/etc.

Might.

In our society, has the NFL become that powerful?

Untouchable?

Omnipotent?

Is there even an adjective that can do justice describing the League's trance on the public?

Or has our value system just plummeted so low that you can physically injure yourself, take drugs, injure others both in competition and by deliberate criminal acts, and be arrested for any variety of reasons, but as long as you are an NFL player, "John Q. Public" will watch you, cheer for you, heck, even buy tickets to your games, purchase your damn jersey, bobble head doll, and a poster for a kids' room.

I wonder if Roger Goodell even needs to save his League's persona if that is the type of positive fan response the NFL gets in spite of itself.

Scary.