The NFL was a distraction. Some might say it still is. Trump is dismantling the Obama administration’s work piece by piece, but most of the Anti-Trump TV time is focused on the NFL. Many Americans who never cared about politics before spent their Sunday afternoons and Monday nights absorbed in the NFL. It was a “bread and circuses” entertainment model that centered around shoving its head in the sand where politics were concerned. When the NFL allowed their rules and their players to get political, the business violated its DNA and it was only ever going downhill from there.
Since, Americans have gotten more involved. Some have gone more Left, some more Right, but more good people are getting involved. The problem now is anger.
The nation is run by demagoguery and populist fads. Few understand critical thinking. Every idea is presumed to be part of an agenda, even at the coffee shop. Anti-Trumpists are feeling what Trumpists have felt for a long time: They aren’t getting what they want. After a few years, they might realize how much they have in common with the “other guy”. Many do already.
In the short run, America will see more and more hissy fits. But, eventually, they will talk to each other, see the results of policy and the consequences of election, and get their facts sorted out.
Strange as it sounds, American politics owe a great deal of gratitude to the NFL after all.