Coronavirus news

[Charles Austin]

Do sick athletes have any impact on the lives of millions and millions of Americans? Unless they are used as examples of the foolishness of not being vaccinated, I don't think so.

[Steven W Bohler]

Do sick athletes have any impact on the lives of millions and millions of Americans? Unless they are used as examples of the foolishness of not being vaccinated, I don't think so.

To your first question: yes.  Just think of the jobs dependent upon them.  The other night I was watching a replay of a Packer game from last year, when there were no fans allowed in the stands.  The announcer said the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce estimated the city lost $150 million dollars in revenue (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.) because of the lack of fan attendance.  That is a lot for any city, but for a city of about 100,000 that is HUGE.  We have heard your squealing about how much you missed your preferred forms of entertainment (jet-setting to foreign countries on vacation, attending Broadway plays, eating at luxury restaurants, etc.).  But, again, I guess that is different. Because it is you and what you like.

To your second question: if they WERE vaccinated (as I believe both Adams and Coach Barry were), does that serve as an example of the foolishness of being vaccinated?

[Dave Benke]

On a more hopeful note, LeFleur is 6-0 in games without Adams, and Rodgers actually has a slightly better QBR in those six games than in games with Adams. But the Packers will be without four all-pro starters, and could be without four other starters. Huge bummer.

Our David Bakhtiari bobblehead weeps in the den. 

On a way different football note during COVID (not to lose the thread), Peyton and Eli Manning's Football Watch Night is really entertaining.  They had Marshawn Lynch and Tom Brady as two of the guests, just watching the game sort of on ESPN 2.  Lynch's pre-game prep while playing turns out to have been 1 1/2 shots of Hennessy, which he stated he had doubled for his TV appearance.  Brady on quarterback sneaks saying that if you have 900 pounds of humans right in front of you moving forward, you should be able to get that needed yard.  He stayed up past his bedtime to be on the show.

Dave Benke

[Charles Austin]

Pastor Bohler:
To your first question: yes.  Just think of the jobs dependent upon them.  The other night I was watching a replay of a Packer game from last year, when there were no fans allowed in the stands.  The announcer said the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce estimated the city lost $150 million dollars in revenue (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.) because of the lack of fan attendance.  That is a lot for any city, but for a city of about 100,000 that is HUGE.
Me:
If the cult of sports including professional football were not present, Imagine what other possibly good things all that money might do.

Pastor Bohler
We have heard your squealing about how much you missed your preferred forms of entertainment (jet-setting to foreign countries on vacation, attending Broadway plays, eating at luxury restaurants, etc.).  But, again, I guess that is different. Because it is you and what you like.
Me:
Travel helps the economy of our country and other countries in a good way. The theater industry is nowhere near as massive as is the cult of professional sports. Ditto for “high end” restaurants. Nothing at all like the cult of professional sports, which dribbles down, and causes colleges to unnecessarily spend millions of dollars on sports.

[peter_speckhard]

Pastor Bohler:
To your first question: yes.  Just think of the jobs dependent upon them.  The other night I was watching a replay of a Packer game from last year, when there were no fans allowed in the stands.  The announcer said the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce estimated the city lost $150 million dollars in revenue (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.) because of the lack of fan attendance.  That is a lot for any city, but for a city of about 100,000 that is HUGE.
Me:
If the cult of sports including professional football were not present, Imagine what other possibly good things all that money might do.

Pastor Bohler
We have heard your squealing about how much you missed your preferred forms of entertainment (jet-setting to foreign countries on vacation, attending Broadway plays, eating at luxury restaurants, etc.).  But, again, I guess that is different. Because it is you and what you like.
Me:
Travel helps the economy of our country and other countries in a good way. The theater industry is nowhere near as massive as is the cult of professional sports. Ditto for “high end” restaurants. Nothing at all like the cult of professional sports, which dribbles down, and causes colleges to unnecessarily spend millions of dollars on sports.

Travel for what? People coming to Green Bay for games helps the economy in a good way. It seems to me that the only thing you resent about sports is the salaries paid to athletes. Which shows your zero-sum thinking, that money not spent here would be better spent somewhere else as though nothing is actually adding value. The pie is fixed in size and it is battle over what fractions of it go where. If you could be freed from that mindset you could think of things as adding value, as expanding the diameter of the pie, and then you'd realize that the people at the very top of any kind of pursuit that adds value should benefit proportionately. Tom Hanks makes millions because his movies make millions, and his movies make millions because people prefer them to other movies. 

[Steven W Bohler]

Pastor Bohler:
To your first question: yes.  Just think of the jobs dependent upon them.  The other night I was watching a replay of a Packer game from last year, when there were no fans allowed in the stands.  The announcer said the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce estimated the city lost $150 million dollars in revenue (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.) because of the lack of fan attendance.  That is a lot for any city, but for a city of about 100,000 that is HUGE.
Me:
If the cult of sports including professional football were not present, Imagine what other possibly good things all that money might do.

Pastor Bohler
We have heard your squealing about how much you missed your preferred forms of entertainment (jet-setting to foreign countries on vacation, attending Broadway plays, eating at luxury restaurants, etc.).  But, again, I guess that is different. Because it is you and what you like.
Me:
Travel helps the economy of our country and other countries in a good way. The theater industry is nowhere near as massive as is the cult of professional sports. Ditto for “high end” restaurants. Nothing at all like the cult of professional sports, which dribbles down, and causes colleges to unnecessarily spend millions of dollars on sports.

So, the money spent on sports is a waste.  But the money spent on YOUR past-times is worthwhile and beneficial.  And the thing is, I don't think you even see how hypocritical you are.

[Charles Austin]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

[Dave Benke]

So as a New Yorker, sports IS entertainment.  The opening of Broadway can be likened to the opening of (ugh) Yankee Stadium or CitiField.  At Citi, speaking with the ushers, the food vendors, etc. was to speak to people happy to have their job back and really happy to see us.  Same at Broadway.  And, not insubstantially, both of these produce people who stay at hotels, hang around and buy stuff - travel and tourism is a really big deal anyway, but the #1 tourist destination in the country was - New York City.  We did not like those crowds at Christmas, but they were an economic necessity.  And are in Green Bay.  Here the difference is that on Game Day NYC doesn't shut down (of course, we add that the football teams actually play in New Jersey, where the highways pretty much are shut-down), and the traffic for baseball or hoops is just a drop in the bucket. 

I've always thought of this as a combination of the same interests - to entertain, to take your mind off one thing and fill it with something else, to enjoy life, and to move around while doing so.  First Article, in terms of the creed.

As to the athletes and COVID, we actually had a protest group "break in" to Barclay's on Sunday during the Nets game in favor of Kyrie Irving.  I was not among them.  Get the vaccination, dude.  What in the world? 

But the anti-vaxxers and some of the unions opposed to mandatory vaccination (now that the mandates have been remarkably successful we're down to the core union opponents now - NYPD/FDNY) wanted to make their point.  It is, after all, New York City. 

Dave Benke

[Steven W Bohler]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

How much does it cost to go to NYC to attend a Broadway play?  Plane fare?  Hotel costs?  Theater tickets?  Restaurant?
How much does it cost to go to Mexico for that beach vacation?  Flight, hotel, meals, incidentals?

If I fly to NYC for a football game or a Broadway play, doesn't the plane ticket cost the same?  Does the hotel have a lower rate for those attending musicals than for those going to ballgames?  When I place my order at the restaurant, do they give a different menu (and price list) for theater-goers vs. sports fans?  Hypocrisy, again. 

[Donald_Kirchner]

Charles,

What in the name of (How do yo put it? Oh yeah...) Aunt Gertie's goat are you babbling about? Are you rejecting capitalism now? This certainly follows from your objection for one to choose unless it's the choice you would make. 

[Dave Benke]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

How much does it cost to go to NYC to attend a Broadway play?  Plane fare?  Hotel costs?  Theater tickets?  Restaurant?
How much does it cost to go to Mexico for that beach vacation?  Flight, hotel, meals, incidentals?

If I fly to NYC for a football game or a Broadway play, doesn't the plane ticket cost the same?  Does the hotel have a lower rate for those attending musicals than for those going to ballgames?  When I place my order at the restaurant, do they give a different menu (and price list) for theater-goers vs. sports fans?  Hypocrisy, again.

a) I thought you stated you had sworn off the Packers/NFL last year due to Black Lives Matter concerns.  Happy to hear you're back.  What changed?
b) $150 million for Green Bay is a ton of American dollars.  We had relatives (three generation season ticket holders) at the game Sunday and I think they deposited a few ducats in the local coffers.  What I remember is paying a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church $20 for parking about three blocks from the game when I went there awhile back.  MISSION MONEY through PACKERPARKING!!  Or at least a fund for repaving the parking lot in order to charge more money in the future.
c) for general information - from 2019 so before COVID - sports travel $:  https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-45-billion-spent-in-2019-on-sports-related-travel/.  I think it's nice that there's a magazine called Sports Travel.  I do that for Spring Training, so I'm a participant!

Dave Benke

[peter_speckhard]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

How much does it cost to go to NYC to attend a Broadway play?  Plane fare?  Hotel costs?  Theater tickets?  Restaurant?
How much does it cost to go to Mexico for that beach vacation?  Flight, hotel, meals, incidentals?

If I fly to NYC for a football game or a Broadway play, doesn't the plane ticket cost the same?  Does the hotel have a lower rate for those attending musicals than for those going to ballgames?  When I place my order at the restaurant, do they give a different menu (and price list) for theater-goers vs. sports fans?  Hypocrisy, again.

a) I thought you stated you had sworn off the Packers/NFL last year due to Black Lives Matter concerns.  Happy to hear you're back.  What changed?
b) $150 million for Green Bay is a ton of American dollars.  We had relatives (three generation season ticket holders) at the game Sunday and I think they deposited a few ducats in the local coffers.  What I remember is paying a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church $20 for parking about three blocks from the game when I went there awhile back.  MISSION MONEY through PACKERPARKING!!  Or at least a fund for repaving the parking lot in order to charge more money in the future.
c) for general information - from 2019 so before COVID - sports travel $:  https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-45-billion-spent-in-2019-on-sports-related-travel/.  I think it's nice that there's a magazine called Sports Travel.  I do that for Spring Training, so I'm a participant!

Dave Benke

My son and my brother and his wife were at the game. Probably worshipping as members of a cult. 

[Randy Bosch]

The way the whole (and very real) COVID debacle began, has spread, has been - is being - "managed" continues to drastically impact public policy and private lives to an almost surreal extent. It reminds me of Dino Buzzati's short story, "The Epidemic" (in "Catastrophe and Other Stories" by Dino Buzzati).

His story follows the gradually changing and spreading effects of a “State influenza” - Dystopia as public policy and required implementation.

Buzzati's epidemic targets those who disagree with the government.  Just like ours.
 

[Steven W Bohler]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

How much does it cost to go to NYC to attend a Broadway play?  Plane fare?  Hotel costs?  Theater tickets?  Restaurant?
How much does it cost to go to Mexico for that beach vacation?  Flight, hotel, meals, incidentals?

If I fly to NYC for a football game or a Broadway play, doesn't the plane ticket cost the same?  Does the hotel have a lower rate for those attending musicals than for those going to ballgames?  When I place my order at the restaurant, do they give a different menu (and price list) for theater-goers vs. sports fans?  Hypocrisy, again.

a) I thought you stated you had sworn off the Packers/NFL last year due to Black Lives Matter concerns.  Happy to hear you're back.  What changed?
b) $150 million for Green Bay is a ton of American dollars.  We had relatives (three generation season ticket holders) at the game Sunday and I think they deposited a few ducats in the local coffers.  What I remember is paying a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church $20 for parking about three blocks from the game when I went there awhile back.  MISSION MONEY through PACKERPARKING!!  Or at least a fund for repaving the parking lot in order to charge more money in the future.
c) for general information - from 2019 so before COVID - sports travel $:  https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-45-billion-spent-in-2019-on-sports-related-travel/.  I think it's nice that there's a magazine called Sports Travel.  I do that for Spring Training, so I'm a participant!

Dave Benke

What changed?  Well, the BLM stuff is a bit more tame and less in-your-face.  But, to be honest, I am weak.  I was raised a Packer fan.  It has always been part of my identity.  I must say, though, that I am more take-it-or-leave-it than I was a few years back so it wouldn't take much for me to switch it off again.

[Dave Benke]

I didn't say all money spent on sports is wasteful. But I believe the cult of professional (and some college) sports is wasteful and a bad influence on our society. Those of us who, a few of times a year, spend money on food, travel or theater, probably don't drop the cost of a season ticket to any pro team, or four or five games watched from the left-field bleachers.

How much does it cost to go to NYC to attend a Broadway play?  Plane fare?  Hotel costs?  Theater tickets?  Restaurant?
How much does it cost to go to Mexico for that beach vacation?  Flight, hotel, meals, incidentals?

If I fly to NYC for a football game or a Broadway play, doesn't the plane ticket cost the same?  Does the hotel have a lower rate for those attending musicals than for those going to ballgames?  When I place my order at the restaurant, do they give a different menu (and price list) for theater-goers vs. sports fans?  Hypocrisy, again.

a) I thought you stated you had sworn off the Packers/NFL last year due to Black Lives Matter concerns.  Happy to hear you're back.  What changed?
b) $150 million for Green Bay is a ton of American dollars.  We had relatives (three generation season ticket holders) at the game Sunday and I think they deposited a few ducats in the local coffers.  What I remember is paying a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church $20 for parking about three blocks from the game when I went there awhile back.  MISSION MONEY through PACKERPARKING!!  Or at least a fund for repaving the parking lot in order to charge more money in the future.
c) for general information - from 2019 so before COVID - sports travel $:  https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-45-billion-spent-in-2019-on-sports-related-travel/.  I think it's nice that there's a magazine called Sports Travel.  I do that for Spring Training, so I'm a participant!

Dave Benke

What changed?  Well, the BLM stuff is a bit more tame and less in-your-face.  But, to be honest, I am weak.  I was raised a Packer fan.  It has always been part of my identity.  I must say, though, that I am more take-it-or-leave-it than I was a few years back so it wouldn't take much for me to switch it off again.

Green and Gold 'Til I'm Dead and Cold. You're not weak.  You're just learning to understand the reality behind the mantra.  I'm a fervent Mets fan in the Yankee Universe.  That's tough, to be sure.  But if I moved to AZ, I might watch the D'Backs with interest.  It could happen.  However, there is an unshakeable reality at the base of Packer Fandom.  This means that we receive, each and every year, a postcard from Green Bay indicating our place in the Season Ticket line.  In thirty years, we've moved from 35,000 away to 31,000 away.  Our reaction - there's hope!

Dave Benke