The National Football League has gotten a lot of bad press recently – and deservedly so. But this blog is not about the wife-beaters, the child abuser, concussions, performance-enhancing drugs, or any other topics that are being discussed ad nauseam on sports stations – and just about everywhere else. It’s also not about the NFL’s mishandling (I’m trying to be polite) of these recent issues, nor is it about how I believe NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to lose his job.
I’m not even remotely attempting to downplay the current troubles in America’s most popular sport. They are many, and they are trying – especially to fans with a conscience. See, I like NFL football (a lot), but I also am finding it harder and harder to support a league in which so much is so very wrong. I am definitely a fan (Go Pats!), but in the recent weeks rooting for anything related to the NFL has been a real challenge.
There’s enough discussion about Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, among others, elsewhere and nearly everywhere. No, this is a birding blog, and this blog is about birds.
And the death thereof.
And it’s completely preventable.
The Minnesota Vikings are building a state-of-the-art new stadium in Minneapolis. It’s going to be beautiful, and no doubt it is going to offer an amazing fan experience. And, most likely, it is going to kill thousands of birds every year.
The volume of reflective glass and the stadium’s location near the Mississippi River will combine to make it a deathtrap for migratory birds. Collisions with glass are estimated to kill up to ONE BILLION BIRDS a year, and while the majority of them will occur one at a time at windows in residential homes, large commercial buildings can kill shocking numbers of birds. And the Viking’s stadium is destined to do so.
First, for those of you unfamiliar with the issue, let me send you to Sharon Stiteler’s excellent blog entry and this informative page from Minnesota Audubon. And for background on the bird collision issue, check out the American Bird Conservancy’s page on collisions and the Birds and Windows page from the Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College.
So yeah, this thing is bad news, but its impact could be drastically reduced by using different glass. One option is a fritted glass that was used in the Dallas Cowboy’s gargantuan new stadium. It would add a little cost to the overall project, but we’re talking an estimated 1.1 million dollars to a 1 BILLION dollar project. Oh, and for the record, almost half of that is coming from the taxpayers of Minnesota.
But let’s forget this pittance of a cost for the time being. When a dysfunctional commissioner receives $20million a year to destroy the reputation of the league and tarnish its brand repeatedly, what’s another 1.1 million to save countless birds’ lives?
Despite public outcry (granted nothing compared to the public outcry about the Vikings’ plan to suit-up a child-abuser for the next game), including a widely signed petition circulated by Minnesota Audubon
It seems so simple, as the petition says, “Change Glass, Save Birds.” But the Minnesota Vikings have refused. First it was because it was too expensive. Now, it is about the “aesthetics.” Apparently, a pile of dead birds in front of windows is more aesthetically-pleasing to the Minnesota Vikings.
A recent article in Wired by Gwen Pearson did a good job of summarizing the current situation. I urge you to give it a read.
To some it up, the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority and the Minnesota Vikings have refused to act, and have basically said that they don’t care. They expect their fans to come anyway, and pay for the tickets, and buy the beer and Adrian Peterson jerseys Matt Cassell jerseys(?)…and they probably will.
And there are unlikely to be enough people signing enough petitions to get them to change their mind. But back to Adrian Peterson for a moment. After the Vikings “activated” him for the coming weekend (I was so happy to watch my Pats crush the Minnesota Bird-Killers without Peterson last weekend!), public outcry rightly ensued. Yet little changed.
But then sponsors noticed, and some were not happy. Radisson hotels led the way, completely pulling their sponsorship of the Vikings. (Good job, Radisson!). And other sponsors are not happy either, including league-wide sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch.
And what happens? Adrian Peterson is suspended. Coincidence? No. Lesson to be learned? Most definitely.
Listen, the NFL doesn’t care what you or I think. They care about money. They care about corporate money in particular. So what does this horrific Adrian Peterson mess have to teach us? It’s time those who care about birds go after the sponsors of the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL. Money is the only language that the NFL understands.
First, there are the current sponsors. I found this site called “SponsorPitch” which is the largest list of corporate sponsors that I could find. Let them know what you think about their possible association with a bird death trap. And here are some of the companies the Vikings are offering promotions with. (Yet another reason for me to never give a cent to Verizon!)
And the big deal now – and perhaps a major contributing factor to the Peterson suspension – is that the Vikings are looking to sell the lucrative and prestigious naming rights to their new stadium, which could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year.
Few companies want to be associated with teams that employ a child-abuser. Do you think many companies want to spend a hundred million dollars to be associated with piles of dead birds? Probably not (OK, maybe the likes of ExxonMobil or First Wind don’t care). But they probably don’t even know about the controversey. Let’s change that.
First, start with signing the petition. It can’t hurt.
Secondly, let’s keep an eye on the efforts of Minnesota Audubon, and what they recommend.
Meanwhile, I think we need to get this out in more “mainstream” media. ESPN is perhaps the single biggest director of sports discourse in the country, for better or for worse. Their show “Outside the Lines” can bring incredible attention to the events and issues away from the playing field. I propose we begin a campaign to encourage them to do a story on the new stadium and its bird-killing glass. They show even makes it easy, with a simple online suggestion form. Fill it out. I did.
Next, we need to use the power of social media. Besides sharing this blog, links to Minnesota Audubon, and other articles and essays about the stadium, could you image the attention that would be brought if “Minnesota Vikings Kill Birds” showed up in that little “trending” topics box on your web browser? I am probably preaching to the choir here on a birding blog, but this needs wider attention. Therefore, next time(s) you have a moment, type “Minnesota Vikings Kill Birds” into your web browser and click on some links. If enough people do this, search engine algorithms will notice. I have no delusions of grandeur about the influence (or number of readers!) of my blog and my musings, but just for a moment imagine if every birder in the US searched for this phrase – and the attention that would receive as it snowballed with more and more people clicking on it as a trending topic. It has to start somewhere. #MNVikingsKillBirds
And most importantly, if rumors begin to swirl about what company is going to slap its name on this stadium, they need to hear from people immediately. “Company X Bird-Killing Stadium” won’t sound appealing.
This is what it comes down to: the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings have made some abhorrent mistakes lately. They need to correct this. The courts and the court of public opinion will deal with Adrian Peterson (and dealt with he should be, in my opinion). But at such a dark time in America’s favorite sport, a little good PR is needed. And action to save the lives of thousands of birds a year would provide just one glimmer of hope that the NFL actually cares about something more than just the bottom line. Let’s start here: “Change Glass, Save Birds.”
I thank you for your time and consideration.
Maine Birding Field Notes 