I'm not a big football fan, but I just read about that whole Cassel incident and Winston's comments on the whole ordeal, about how they aren't gladiators and they don't play in the Coliseum, etc..
Guess what? Athletes ARE modern-day gladiators. They're paid huge sums of money to go out and represent their city or state in competition. Families pay hundreds of dollars to go see ONE fucking game, and they want to see blood, big hits, and a WIN. People put their team's logo on the cars they drive to work everyday, and pay $200 for their favorite player's jersey. They buy miniature football-jersey onesies for their babies.
Team owners will drop tens of millions of dollars - more money than most people will ever see - for a few years' service from one player to put wins in the standings and fans in the seats. It's simple business for the owners and players, but not to the fans that live and die by every drive their team has. The players haven't come to grips with reality yet.
I actually like the bottle-tossing and cheering for injuries. It's like the veil is being pulled away and revealing what's been growing since free agency, 100+ million dollar contracts, sky-high ticket prices, and the show-me-the-money mentality of today's athletes started in the past few decades. It's not family entertainment anymore, why bother hiding it?