Football has been a staple in my home my entire life. Sunday afternoons and Monday nights, Dad and I sat in front of the television, watching Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, and Emmitt Smith make history. My son played in middle school, and recently, it’s been�� the common thread that kept us together when politics threatened to tear us apart.

The NFL brings fierce competition on the field with open sportsmanship after the game. Watching college ball gives us hope���that maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. At least for a few hours, anyway.

Yes, I love football.

And Disney knows it.

After ABC (owned by Disney) took Kimmel off the air, I lost faith in their brand. I know my pennies mean nothing to them, but they mean something to me. So I took the app off my television and decided to funnel my meager earnings into businesses that openly support democracy, not huge conglomerates that’ve decided to rip it apart.

Apparently, millions of people agreed with me. According to Snopes, after Kimmel’s suspension, Disney’s market capitalization fell by $1.4 billion overnight. By the end of the week, it had dropped $4.2 billion. The following week, the valuation had fallen by $6.4 billion.

What does any of this have to do with football?

Everything.

What does one do when they need to create a huge revenue stream to balance out mass losses?

Force the consumer to purchase thier product, that’s what.

Disney owns Hulu, a competitor of YouTube TV, which, I believe Disney is forcing football fans to ditch YouTube TV and switch to Hulu to watch their games.

“But Beth,” you say, “they’re offering a great package deal with Disney+, and it’s only an additional seven bucks a month. You don’t need Hulu.”

The point isn’t which streaming service you choose���it’s that you walk away from YouTube TV. And once that’s gone, we have no choice but Hulu or to be nickeled and dimed to death with a thousand different services.

Here’s the thing.

I love football. But I don’t need football.

And I hate what Disney has become.

So I won’t be switching services. If that means I don’t get to watch College GameDay anymore or Monday Night Football, so be it.

Because I’m sick of being a pawn in billionaires’ political games.

Football is about more than touchdowns and field goals. It’s about integrity, sportsmanship, and standing your ground when it matters. Those same principles apply off the field too. Disney is counting on fans like me to choose convenience over conviction, to sacrifice principle for a few hours of entertainment.

And that’s something I just won’t do.