First and foremost, the NFL is in the entertainment business, not the football business. Due to this, the changes that are made about the league are influenced by what feedback the public gives them. The NFL’s main concerns these days are reducing domestic violence and concussions (it is what you hear most about on TV), but why has the NFL cracked down on celebrations so much? With the NFL’s TV ratings at an all-time low right now, shouldn’t the league be promoting personality and not penalizing it?

It is curious to see how players react to this, but most just carry on, accepting the consequences on the field for their celebrations. One celebration, specifically, intrigued the public. Andrew Hawkins, a receiver for the Cleveland Browns, caught a TD pass in Week 5 vs. the Patriots. Almost everyone was expecting a dance or a spike of the ball but instead, he simply put the ball down and walked away. At that moment, the NFL season had been summed up, and what the future of the league would look like with it.

I can see the motive of the NFL for trying to stop excessive celebrations and taunting; wanting to keep the integrity of the game, but realistically, you can only limit it. Celebrating is part of the game. We all celebrate, whether we are playing a game or just living our life. Everyday we celebrate the things in our life: our family, kids, friends, pets, and we obviously don’t get penalized for it, so why should these men get penalized for celebrating the game they love?

Now, a lot of factors have contributed to the NFL’s low ratings this year, the biggest one would be the presidential election (many TV programs have dropped ratings during an election year). This has certainly been a year that viewers are not happy about. Obviously, no one wants to see a game end in a tie (we have already had 2) and when you play in “primetime,” most are expecting a real “prime” game (not a game that ends 6-6).

The future of the NFL is looking very cloudy, with many players, including Richard Sherman and Cam Newton, stating that the league is not enjoyable anymore; that they are being played by an organization that just wants money. If the solution to the problem is to take out the fun, it will affect future generations of the game. Everyone wants to see personality and passion in the game, not robots walking around the field. The viewer turns on the TV to be entertained, not to be drawn to boredom. If the NFL carries on being the “no fun league,” their biggest fear will be their main competition: disinterest.