# Papa John's Blames NFL Controversy for Poor Sales. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430 "2017-11-01T20:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/61 "2017-11-02T20:49:59Z")
They can’t even make good pizza, how are they going to be able to make good salads? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/62 "2017-11-02T22:52:56Z")
Salads, made with fresh ingredients, are pretty hard to screw up. FWIW I like their pizza. We have a few pizza restaurants that are better. But, PJ is fine for home delivery. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/63 "2017-11-02T23:01:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Salads, **made with fresh ingredients** , are pretty hard to screw up. > > FWIW I like their pizza. We have a few pizza restaurants that are better. But, PJ is fine for home delivery. _collapses to floor with uncontrollable laughter_ ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/64 "2017-11-03T00:22:40Z")
Has Papa John’s been able to break down their sales day-by-day or even hour-by-hour? Seems the best comparison may be game time sales this year versus last. _If_ that shows a decrease from last year then a more solid argument can be made that their NFL ads are not paying off like they used to. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/65 "2017-11-03T00:40:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > NFL parties with beer and pizza have been a thing my entire life. > > Whoever has the biggest tv screen and reliable reception invites their friends over. I used to watch games regularly at friends homes. I always brought a six pack to contribute. > > The playoff season is when the parties really gain steam. It won’t this year. No one wants to watch these selfish, showboating millionaires anymore. > > NFL viewership is down. Of course that impacts sales of pizza, snacks and beer. Have heard probably 5 or 6 other pizza sellers today pointing out their sales/profits were up and essentially sticking to this Papa John company. Even the frozen pizza seller, DiGiorno was gigging this idiot pointing out their higher sales. And a question… Back when you attended those NFL watching parties at the friend with the\* reliable TV reception… \*did you remove your hat and stand with hand over heart when the anthem was played? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/66 "2017-11-03T00:44:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Salads, made with fresh ingredients, are pretty hard to screw up. > > FWIW I like their pizza. We have a few pizza restaurants that are better. But, PJ is fine for home delivery. Wow, you must have taste buds made out of rusted tin. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/67 "2017-11-03T01:21:48Z")
I can see it having to do with the NFL. But it would be due to Papa John’s making itself explicitly political. He’s narrowed his audience to the very same people who would boycott the NFL, and thus have fewer football parties. But that’s not a failure of the NFL. That’s just a predictable result of putting too many eggs in one basket. And now he’s making an appeal to those people who are boycotting the NFL, by once again signalling he is on their side. If you hate what the NFL is doing, then Papa John’s is the pizza for you! Just like his statement before: If you hate Obamacare, then Papa John’s is the pizza for you! His statement is a business strategy more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/68 "2017-11-03T02:16:46Z")
FWIW, Little Caesars sponsors the NHL, (the Ilitch family owns the Detroit Red Wings). > [@BigT](#): > > And now he’s making an appeal to those people who are boycotting the NFL, by once again signalling he is on their side. If you hate what the NFL is doing, then Papa John’s is the pizza for you! Just like his statement before: If you hate Obamacare, then Papa John’s is the pizza for you! > > His statement is a business strategy more than anything else. Well, that might work, providing those people haven’t tasted his pizza before. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/69 "2017-11-03T02:32:43Z")
Eh, I don’t know that I’d call Papa John’s pizza _bad_, per se. It’s tough to get truly bad pizza. But some pizza is a lot better than others, and PJ is one of the ones that’s not better. No reason to get it over, say, Georgio’s, which is also cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/70 "2017-11-03T02:52:13Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wow, you must have taste buds made out of rusted tin. Having read some of his other food posts, I’d take the rusted tin’s recommendations first. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/71 "2017-11-03T03:00:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s tough to get truly bad pizza. See, people keep saying this about pizza and sex, and I vehemently disagree about both. I’ve definitely had pizza and sex (though not at the same time) where at the end of it I wondered why I bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/72 "2017-11-03T03:23:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > See, people keep saying this about pizza and sex, and I vehemently disagree about both. I’ve definitely had pizza and sex (though not at the same time) where at the end of it I wondered why I bothered. I don’t like to eat pizza while having sex either. I usually eat the pizza first. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/73 "2017-11-03T04:09:49Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Has Papa John’s been able to break down their sales day-by-day or even hour-by-hour? Seems the best comparison may be game time sales this year versus last. I can pretty much guarantee you that they can (as can the other chains). That sort of info is something that they’d be very unlikely to share publicly, but I’m pretty certain that they can track orders / sales at that level. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/74 "2017-11-03T04:18:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, I don’t know that I’d call Papa John’s pizza _bad_, per se. It’s tough to get truly bad pizza. But some pizza is a lot better than others, and PJ is one of the ones that’s not better. No reason to get it over, say, Georgio’s, which is also cheaper. It is tough to get truly bad pizza. But Little Caesars is truly bad pizza. I don’t know what they did but I have tried it twice and both times the cheese on the pizza was just terrible. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/75 "2017-11-03T04:42:41Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > It is tough to get truly bad pizza. No, unfortunately, it’s really not. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/76 "2017-11-03T09:47:35Z")
its sad when you get trolled by frozen pizza [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/digiorno-trolls-papa-johns-after-pizza-companys-ceo-slammed-the-nfl/ar-AAun8ht) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/77 "2017-11-03T13:06:05Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > its sad when you get trolled by frozen pizza [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/digiorno-trolls-papa-johns-after-pizza-companys-ceo-slammed-the-nfl/ar-AAun8ht) Another story in that link: [Was Cowboys’ Jerry Jones behind Papa John’s NFL protest complaint?](http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/nfl-papa-johns-pizza-john-schnatter-jerry-jones-cowboys-conspiracy/ycs38cb50hp813ptr96vm33ph) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/78 "2017-11-03T13:30:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, I don’t know that I’d call Papa John’s pizza _bad_, per se. It’s tough to get truly bad pizza. But some pizza is a lot better than others, and PJ is one of the ones that’s not better. No reason to get it over, say, Georgio’s, which is also cheaper. I haven’t had PJ’s, but usually when I see/hear people say how something like this is “awful” they’re only saying it because they don’t like the person involved. like back in November, Jezebel posted an article about how the “terrible, sucky band” Three Doors Down was going to perform at the inauguration. I highly doubt she had ever once heard a Three Doors Down song in her life, but obviously their music sucks because Trump. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/79 "2017-11-03T13:42:03Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I haven’t had PJ’s, but usually when I see/hear people say how something like this is “awful” they’re only saying it because they don’t like the person involved. It’s certainly not personal here. Like, I love Chick-Fil-A. Their politics or whatnot doesn’t enter into the equation of where I eat and what I think of their food. Ok, maybe I’m a bit snobbish and picky about pizza, given that I think lots of bad pizza exists, but PJ’s is truly bad pizza _to my tastes_, even if it the company were owned by the saintliest and most socially progressive of owners. And if, I dunno, Trump can turn out a good pizza, I’ll eat it. I don’t really give a shit about politics when it comes to food. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430/80 "2017-11-03T14:19:03Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I haven’t had PJ’s, but usually when I see/hear people say how something like this is “awful” they’re only saying it because they don’t like the person involved. That may be true for some people but I had Papa John’s pizza well before I knew who Schnatter was or what his politics were. It is just bad pizza. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/papa-johns-blames-nfl-controversy-for-poor-sales/800430.md?page=5)