Q: How many Americans will be planted in front of their teevees September 8?

[blogslut]

A: A whole hell of a lot.

I'm just sayin'.

[Bluebear]

1. Football.

[Javaman]

25. +1. nt

[madrchsod]

2. 10%-15% of voter age

[michreject]

3. I have a IDPA match that day

But will be DVRing the Lions.

[taterguy]

4. The same # as on September 6, 7, 9, 10 or any other day

We Americans love our TV!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loHP2O8mb7Q

[Marrah_G]

5. What's September 8th?

[blogslut]

8. The first game of the NFL season

I don't much care for sports but I hear tell that for families across the nation, this a very special night. Approximately and hour before the big game, the president of the United States is going to speak before a joint session of Congress and while there's the possibility that NBC won't break into the middle of the glorious performances of Kid Rock or Lady Antebellum or the statistical histories extolled by sportscasters, just because the president is speaking live, they just might.

Alls I'm saying is, odds are good that a heck of a lot more Americans will be home, in front of their teevees, remotes in hand, perfectly willing to flip through the channels before the games starts.

[KharmaTrain]

6. The True Definition Of A Circle Jerk...

One one side you have people who say "It doesn't matter what he says, it won't do a damn thing"...yet they're "outraged" that he dare to speak, period. Then you have those who feel he's "caved" again as if each and every little thing that goes on in Washington is some strategic bloodsport where compromise or reason is seen as weakness. Either way this administration loses...and so do the American people.

The ugly truth is no matter what the President says there's little chance of anything he recommends will see the light of law. The toxic atmopshere inside the beltway guarantees total dysfunction through the end of this administration's term if not longer. But this is what the American people voted for when they thought that "divided" government was a good thing.

Will I be watching? Not sure. I may have a meeting to go to or some other distraction. Doesn't matter if I watch or not as I know we have a stagnant government that can't agree on what day of the week it is yet alone handle anything that would help the American working class.

[HappyMe]

23. Well said.

He's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.



I will watch the President. And football too.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Might depend on how many are aware

of the disgusting episode 9/11/73 and the aftermath following the USA's removal of a democratically elected President : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

Pinochet’s updated victim figures, a staggering 40,018 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=405&topic_id=55267

I believe the figure of over 40,000 somewhat exceeds those of the latter day's minor event on the same date.

[blogslut]

9. A terrible thing

But I'm talking about September 8, 2011.

[Fumesucker]

10. An astounding number of the football fans will think what Pinochet did was great..

And we should try it here in the USA

That is if they had a clue what happened, which damn few of them do.

[MADem]

11. Not me--I have somewhere to be. nt

[Vinca]

12. Many will be in front of their TVs. Maybe Obama can work his speech in around the game.

[blogslut]

13. The speech will be aired before the game

[mwb970]

14. Not me, though. /nt

[RebelOne]

15. Me neither. I'm not a football fan. I'll be watching Obama. n/t

[mwb970]

16. I've never seen a football game all the way through.

I am deeply uninterested in sports. Watching a bunch of bulky millionaires who work for billionaires throwing a ball around and crashing into each other is of no interest whatever to me. It amazes me that so many males appear to watch game after game after game every weekend, all winter long. On the other hand, I'm a musician and spend a lot of my time playing and listening to music with other musicians, which some may see as a total waste of time.

So, as always, to each his own.

ALVY
Hey, you wouldn't believe this. Two minutes ago, the Knicks are ahead fourteen points, and now... (Clears his throat) they're ahead two points.

ROBIN
Alvy, what is so fascinating about a group of pituitary cases trying to stuff a ball through a hoop?

ALVY
(Looking at Robin)
What's fascinating is that it's physical. You know, it's one thing about intellectuals, they prove that you can be absolutely brilliant and have no idea what's going on.

-- from "Annie Hall" (1977)

[nevergiveup]

17. I love sports

but for some reason never got much into football. I will watch the president.

[doc03]

18. Not me I don't care about football and I have given

up on anything substantial coming out of Obama. Here's my preview of Obama's speech: He will want to continue with the defunding of SS with his payroll tax cut. He will offer by-partisan BS to cut more regulations and taxes on big business and ask our (Republican friends for their support). He will offer up some more BS about green jobs and infrastructure. Then Boner will say it's DOA.

[Ruby the Liberal]

20. Add to that a hard push for more tree trade agreements (Korea and Panama)

to try to convince us that we will then be able to overcome their tariffs to export to them, no comments about lowering the value of the dollar to make it work; and the magic bullet that is "patent reform" that is going to solve all of our ills (like extending the patent on prescription drugs from 8 years to 12 to protect PHaRMA and keep generics out of the market longer).

Boty very double-plus bad ideas, but given his circle of advisors, we are lucky it wasn't worse.

[NightWatcher]

19. why bother? O's great at talking, but he'll give the pukes 98% of their demands

he's a great campaigner, but he'll start in with "bipartisan"... and it all goes out the window.

Big words, no action

[daa]

21. Not only that, the people he wants to hear him will be watching

the game.

[hifiguy]

22. I will be watching football.

I am sick of pretty words followed by utter capitulation. It is easier and less infuriating to read summaries on DU.

[MilesColtrane]

24. Maybe Obama will end his jobs speech by saying, "Are you ready for some football?!" and cueing...

that crappy Hank Williams, Jr. music.

:shrug:

[michreject]

30. Wrong channel

Hanks on ESPN.

[Recovered Repug]

26. How many are watching tv or how many are watching Obama?

The speech will be as easy to watch/avoid on the 8th as it would be on the 7th. Just saying.

[blogslut]

27. Possibly

But, broadcast television's reach has dropped dramatically in the last ten years. The common experience of sitting around the tube to watch a program - as it is aired - isn't so common anymore. If there's one program that will keep the average American at home, off the Internet, with the disks out of their DVD players, it's the first night of the football season. Football fans make plans, prepare snacks and invite friends over and the odds that more of them will catch our pre-game president this particular Thursday sound pretty good.

I could be wrong. I could be right. We'll have to see what the numbers say afterwards.

[Recovered Repug]

28. Two things:

ESPN and a remote control. Perhaps a speech by the president (any president) is your idea of a great pre-game for the 1st game of the season. I'd bet many will switch to ESPN in disgust until the speech is over.

[blogslut]

29. For those who can afford ESPN

I'd be willing to bet that there will be many poor folk who'll be just as disgusted by the pre-game stylings of Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum and Maroon Five - not to mention that bellowing of those sportscasters. I may not know much about football but I know a lot about the people that watch it and those pre-game shows are when all the channel-flipping happens.