 For 40 years now, the NFL really took off in the 80s. It wasn't as popular in the 70s, but in the 80s it started taking off, and now we're almost 45 years into this thing where the NFL has continually gotten bigger and more powerful. They've grown into this mythical monster. At this point, they are like a classic sci-fi horror film from early Hollywood, The Blob, a jello-like monster that eats everything in its path.