I have been a die hard Dallas Cowboy fan for over 30 years. They were my team! I took every Cowboy victory with pride and felt like it was my own victory. And every Cowboy loss drained a little of my spirit for the upcoming week.

I can honestly say that those days are now over. While I still love watching NFL football, I feel less and less allegiance to a team and its players. NFL has now become just another option for entertainment.

I think my lack of allegiance has grown over the past few years due to the following.

Fantasy Sports

I love entering FanDuel and DraftKings contests each week. I think this has resulted in me cheering for specific players rather than teams. I don't really care if the Cowboys win, I just care about Dez Bryant scoring 40 points for my DraftKings entry.

I have Less in Common with the Players

When I was younger, I looked up to my team and the players in the team. I felt like we had something in common and shared the same goals.

Now that I am older, I see that the NFL is more about business than it is about winning and community- and that is okay. There is nothing wrong with making money and building a successful business. And the NFL has done so through convincing fans like me that we were in it together. I gained pleasure through seeing my team succeed. But I no longer feel like I have much in common with today's teams.

I am not sure if there are many people out there that agree with me, but the NFL may be in serious trouble if there are more like me. With all of the recent news about concussions, CTE, and the dangers of playing the game- there are less youth players playing the sport which means less potential future fans of the professional game. And as the NFL alienates much of their older fan base, the game has become nothing more than one of the multiple gambling and entertainment options rather than a sport that was driven by community, common goals, and tradition.

Thoughts?