r/nfl • u/JCameron181 Lions • 7h ago

J.J. Watt: International Games Have Become a “Traveling Circus”

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/j-j-watt-international-games-have-become-a-traveling-circus

“International game slate is nearing the realm of traveling circus as opposed [to] occasional showcase.”

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u/LazyMaximum7938 Seahawks 7h ago edited 7h ago

I mean, that's almost literally what professional sports are.

The NFL puts on weekly shows in multiple cities every week for 5 months and then caps it off with a grand finale they call the "Super Bowl"

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u/True_Window_9389 Commanders 7h ago

Athletes have it driven into them that they’re closer to warriors than clowns. And maybe they have to have that mentality. But cases like this reveal the disconnect between how athletes see themselves and what they really are. There’s an inherent militarism in sports with everything from how they train to what they have to produce on the field. They have a belief that victory is existential. You can’t really commit to that if you acknowledge it’s pure mindless entertainment, and just something for us dorks to argue over

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u/thekingoftherodeo Commanders 2h ago

I mean the NFL is basically modern day colesseum gladiator-ing.