I know this post isn’t really about kink, but bear with me.

I’m a fan of the NFL. I really enjoy watching football during football season. I play fantasy football (regular, not daily, although I have dabbled in daily fantasy a few times over the years). I appreciate the skill it takes to play the sport.

But what I don’t appreciate is how deeply sports betting has gotten its hooks into things.

I know sports betting has been around for quite a while, but with the expansion of sites such as Draftkings and Fanduel from daily fantasy to actual gambling it’s like that’s all anyone cares about anymore, at least when it comes to the analysis and commercial aspects of the game. Sure, the in-game announcers aren’t talking about moneylines and such (yet!), but it’s a big part of ESPN, pregame shows, and websites that used to just be about the sport itself.

And I’m sick of it. I don’t like what it’s done to the game and to fans. It makes the game about money, instead of about the sport itself. It’s much more likely that people will care how their five-leg parley does than how their favorite team performs. It’s hard enough for me to pick against my team’s best interests in fantasy (I had Tom Brady the year he broke the TD record, and I’m a lifelong Dolphins fan), or to root against myself when I have, say, Jared Goff in one league and the opposing defense in the other. If I bet on the NFL, I’d lose my mind.

I did once consider placing a simple bet last season, but ultimately I gave up on it. It was too complex for me to figure out — it’s not hard, per se, but it’s not as simple as, say, changing your lineup in Yahoo Fantasy. It’s probably best that I didn’t place the bet, because I would have lost, and knowing me I would’ve chased my losses to try and get back to an even state. (This is why, when I go to Las Vegas, I set a gambling budget and stick to it by only bringing a certain amount of cash and never going to the ATM.)

It’s hard for me to watch sports broadcasts anymore because I just don’t care about sports betting. I know it’s a big business — otherwise how would the providers be spending so much money on ads and sponsorships — but it’s getting close to completely ruining the things I do like about sports.