Regarding Roy Exum's article about "No More NFL for Me" and its included quote from an article by Steve Shelton, the rap and Hip-Hop influence isn't just the province of the NFL; it is at the college also.
We attended the Vanderbilt-K-State game in Nashville last weekend and judging from the "music" blaring from the P.A. and the images on the end zone screen it appears that the thug influence is taking over there as well. I would have expected better, particularly from Vanderbilt.
Like Mr. Exum, no more National Felons League, a.k.a. Professional Thugball, for me.
Paul Burch
Hixson
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Mr. Burch,
We all read you loud and clear when you use terms like "hip hop influence" and "thug". You might as well be standing on a soapbox with a bullhorn crying over the fact that n------s have taken over your game and it's not a safe space for white people anymore.
You can change the words, but you can't hide the hate.
Ray Ingraham
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Mr. Ingraham,
When white people leave their “safe spaces” their money will follow them. Who will support college athletics and scholarship funds then? Oh, my bad, I’m sure the hip hop culture will step up. A smart dog won’t bite the hand that feeds it.
Larry Frye
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Mr. Frye,
Whenever you're examining something, it's much smarter to look at the data instead of going off of anecdotes and emotion. The data simply doesn't support your assertion that money is leaving college football. While it is true that attendance overall is down, revenue is up. The Big 12 made $40 million more than the previous year, and the SEC made $110 million more. This shift simply reflects that people are choosing to watch games on their HDTV with access to wi-fi and computers instead of going to the stadium.
Hip Hop was invented in the 80s so the phenomenon is not new. The music has been used in sporting events for decades. Mr. Ingraham is right that Mr. Burch's letter is a not-very-thinly-veiled racist diatribe against "thugs" which is a commonly used term to refer to blacks.
If Mr. Burch, Mr. Frye, and even Mr. Exum want to stop watching football that's fine. They're welcome to take their views and direct them elsewhere. Fortunately their views are not in the majority and the data proves that out.
R.J. Mitchell
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Mr. Ingraham,
If you would put aside your liberal tendencies to segregate everyone into white, black, male, female, straight, gay, etc (so that they can be pitted against each other)... and look at all people as human beings, you would realize that blacks have been dominating professional football for a long time. It was not until somewhat recently that the hip-hop culture has entered into the game to the extent it has. Hip-hop is not exclusive to any race, and by your words, I would guess you think it's a 'black' thing that 'whites' don't like.
The players haven't changed Mr. Ingraham, the atmosphere and music has. They have changed to something some of the fans don't like. Now the NFL and NCAA will have to determine if their changes have been good for them, or bad.
Please don't keep looking at people as black or white, gay or straight, and no one will need these imaginary safe spaces. All safe spaces are good for is artificially insulating our kids from the opportunity to develop socially, and learning how to go out into life and interact with the various types of individuals they will no doubt encounter in their journey.
Stan Conner
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Mr Ingraham, I have spent my entire life performing many different kinds of music, from a very young age on the stage of the Brainerd Theater on Saturdaymornings, a a child on community stages wherever my dad was directing musical performances to Chattanooga High School Band and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Marching Band under Barry Jones. I have played professionally off and on since my first gig in 1964. I have played for famous performers who have come to Chattanooga performing at the Memorial Auditorium or the Tivoli. Red Skelton, Liberace and Stevie Wonder were a few of the famous celebs I have had the privilege to back in the orchestra of locals and road musicians. I have played on the road myself with a pickup band, jazz combos, German Oompah bands and Dixieland jazz groups as well as being a high school and middle band director for 16 years of my career.
I don't like hip hop music at football games. Call me out of touch or old school but don't call me racist because I don't like it. Why does everything with some people have to boil down to race? If someone doesn't like my music they don't have to hire me and I accept they don't like jazz. I wouldn't like jazz at football games blaring over the monster speakers either. But I don't consider someone as bigoted because they wouldn't like my kind of music.
Marching bands work hundreds of hours to prepare live shows for the entertainment of audiences at halftime and to pep up the crowd during the game. Just because someone doesn't want to hear "gangstas" repeating the same thumping over and over doesn't have anything to do with anything except musical taste for me and I suspect a lot of others.
I wouldn't like to hear Al Capone's thug music or John Dillinger gangster music either.
Ralph Miller