Up & Coming Weekly

October 03, 2017

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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4 UCW OCTOBER 4 - 10, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Paul Hall SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Erica Walls erica@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly wel- comes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Cover art designed with various elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Football Fans Take a Knee to NFL Games, Tickets and Merchandise: Go Fans! by BILL BOWMAN It makes no difference what your beef is: social injustice, political discourse, racial inequality, police brutality, Black Lives Matter — it doesn't make any difference. When an NFL player takes a knee and disrespects the nation and flag, that cause, no matter how passionate, is instantly invalidated by such an ugly, un-American and unpatriotic gesture. Sort of like John Hinckley Jr. trying to justify shooting President Ronald Regan by saying he was in love and trying to impress Jodi Foster. Nobody bought that either. I have never been a big football fan; how- ever, I can't help but be amazed at the way politics and self-serving righteousness has crept into the mighty world of NFL football. It was probably just a matter of time before our national Monday and Sunday night pastime became politicized. All that was needed was the right catalyst, and that was provided by now-free-agent Co- lin ("Oh, please help me, J. Cole") Kaeper- nick when he decided to "take a knee" for whatever reason during the playing of our nation's national anthem. at was when he was employed by the San Francisco 49ers. Now, he's unemployed and reduced to being nothing more than J. Cole's dependent. Lesson learned, Mr. Kaeper- nick. Disrespecting your country was not a smart move, regardless of your feelings and stance on the First Amendment. Nearly 75 percent of Americans inter- viewed felt Kaepernick's actions were disrespectful, unpatriotic and asinine. Un- fortunately, this situation could have been avoided if NFL management would have stepped in and taken control of its employ- ees and the situation, but they chose not to. Of course, managing a team with players (employees) making salaries of 10,15 and $20 million a year could prove to be a little delicate and a mite difficult. No doubt it was, and the NFL opted out. As a result, disrespecting the flag and nation became the NFL players' mantra, embraced for all the social/racial and political woes that ailed these mighty, mental midgets. So, now it looks like the NFL, as a busi- ness and corporation, may be forced to "take a knee" of its own. Football fans, consumers and corporate sponsors are not happy about the situation. ese constitu- ents feel passionate that America's value and virtue far exceed NFL player paychecks and personal social-political agendas. Yes, President Trump weighed in on the controversy, and that did intensify the situ- ation. But, remember, Trump is a president without filters, and he speaks his mind. Good or bad, like it or not, agree or disagree, once the words are out of his mouth, or once his tweet has left his Tweeter, it is what it is. e bell can't be unrung. And, the fact that NFL TV ratings are down nearly 20 percent, tickets sales are off by double digits, ardent football fans are canceling their NFL cable pack- ages and some are not only boycotting NFL purchases but are burning their NFL merchandise speaks volumes. Expect this decline to continue. In the end, although they will try, NFL management, players and the political left will not be able to pin the blame for this situation on the president. is time, it's the NFL versus America and the Star- Spangled Banner. I mean, who cares what J. Cole thinks or whether Colin Kaepernick ever gets a job or plays another day in an NFL uniform? He's collateral damage. And, J. Cole's boycott of the NFL only magnifies the hypocrisy of the entire situation and exposes and accentuates the lack of respect NFL management has for the players, their fans and the American people in general. In conclusion, let me offer up a little ad- vice to the NFL: fans are customers. And to be successful, you must keep customers happy by providing them a good product and great customer service. In return, you will gain their loyalty, their respect and their business. Become arrogant, demanding and self-righteous, and your customer base will deteriorate. In other words, pay attention to your fans. Don't disrespect them. eir message is loud and clear: Respect the flag, the nation and the national anthem. Honor our veterans and active military and stop pampering and patronizing those who don't know how to express and direct their feelings properly. Do these things and football will have a bright, peaceful and profitable future. Until then, America, support the new NFL: No Football Likely! ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. (910) 391-3859. Number 7 is unlucky for Colin Kaepernick. Now, J. Cole needs help finding him a job. HIGH 88 LOW 63 HIGH 86 HIGH 87 HIGH 85 HIGH 85 HIGH 84 LOW 61 LOW 65 LOW 65 LOW 67 LOW 64 OCTOBER 5 OCTOBER 6 OCTOBER 7 OCTOBER 8 OCTOBER 9 OCTOBER 10 Mostly Sunny Sunny Partly Cloudy Mostly Cloudy PM Showers Showers

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