On any given Sunday during the NFL season, the Dover American Legion is packed with as many as 40 to 50 raucous fans watching their favorite NFL teams.

This isn't a typical season. Protests by NFL players during the national anthem have turned many fans away from the games and hurt attendance at Walter L. Fox Post 2.

Mike Windows is in charge of prepping for what used to be a large crowd at the Legion post to watch the 12 televisions placed throughout the lounge area and two bars.

But in recent weeks, that crowd has gone from double digits to fewer than 10. Windows said there are more TVs than people now.

"This place used to be packed every week with the bar full and most of the tables occupied," said Windows, the 1st vice commander who proudly dons his Pittsburgh Steelers gear each week. "We're losing our tail each week and there is no coming back from this."

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Windows says the decrease in the number of people coming out on Sundays is hurting the Legion's bottom line.

Last Sunday, Windows arrived at the Legion around 12:30 p.m., a half-hour before games started, and the only people in the place were two bartenders, a cook and the janitor.

By kickoff, only two people had shown up to watch the games. Because of the low turnout, Windows had to lay off a bartender, a cook and even the janitor. He also had to close the downstairs club room, which is for members only.

"We do this to bring people in, but that hasn't happened in weeks," he said. "I get their (players) point, but there has to be a better way. Three people are getting hit in the mouth here. I feel awful, but I had to make the best decision for Post 2. Hopefully, things will take a turn for the best and I can bring them back."

Windows blames the drastic turnaround on the protests, where many players, and in some cases entire teams, have been showing their opposition to the treatment of minorities in America by taking a knee during the national anthem.

The original protest by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick occurred in August 2016 when he took a knee before a preseason game in protest of police violence against minorities.

President Donald Trump has fueled the fire with his admonishment of the NFL. Last week, he called on Americans to sign a petition asking the NFL to make it mandatory to stand. The NFL said players “should” stand.

These actions have triggered a fault line in America between those who defend their right to speak freely and those who think it is a travesty to disrespect the U.S. flag.

Windows said the American Legion is a veterans' organization and most of the members there see the NFL protests as disrespecting the country and the flag.

"Many of the members just aren't interested in seeing that played out each week," said Windows, a 22-year veteran of the United States Air Force who also works at Dover Air Force Base. "People are angry here and across the country. My passion is to help take care of veterans and I can't do that if they aren't coming in."

Dennis Suter was one of eight people watching the early games in the lounge on Sunday. He said he was there to support the club despite his feelings for what is happening across the NFL.

"Whether I agree or disagree with what's happening, I still think people are entitled to their opinions," said Suter, who has been a member of Sons of the American Legion for five years. "Personally, I still stand for the anthem whether I'm here or at home. It's a big deal."

Suter is concerned for the health of the club if protests continue across the NFL. He said he looks forward to coming to the Legion on Sundays to watch football with a mob of cheering fans. That's not happening in Dover, and from what he's been hearing, not at a lot of other American Legion posts.

Screens go blank at some posts

There are reports that attendance is down at American Legion and VFW posts across the country. Some posts have canceled the NFL Ticket, the package that allows them to show all of the games, or refused to turn on the televisions.

Some Delaware posts have followed suit.

In Laurel, members voted to ban watching the NFL in opposition to the player protests. Board president Richard Elliott said that so far, people haven't been too upset, though.

"We did have a group that wanted the hall for a cornhole tournament with the stipulation of having NFL games on the TVs and we had to tell them sorry," he said. "They canceled."

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Elliott said there was a little bit of moaning and groaning on Thursday night, the first time the TVs weren't tuned to the NFL after the decision.

"Thursday we packed the house but there was no NFL," he said. "Posts nationwide have been doing this and the reaction has been mixed. It wasn't that big of a deal here."

Harrington American Legion commander Steve Burge hasn't seen a big difference in the folks who show up on Sunday. He said that even though NFL is advertised on the marquee outside the post, he hasn't heard any complaints.

The American Legion in Dagsboro has experienced a noticeable drop in the number of people coming in on Sundays to watch the NFL.

Viewership is down nearly 8 percent over the first six weeks of the season compared to the same time period last season, according to Nielsen, the company that measures ratings for television programs.

Across all networks, 15 million people on average are tuning in to NFL games compared with 16.2 million people watching through Week 6 in 2016.

On the social media front, a Facebook group called “Boycott the NFL” is encouraging people to avoid watching football over Veterans Day weekend in an attempt to show support for the national anthem.

The group is urging people to turn off the National Football League on Nov. 12, the day after Veterans Day, to show solidarity with veterans around the country.

"Football players have continued to disrespect the national anthem, the American flag, and everything our nation stands for," read a statement on the page.

While Windows believes Americans fought and died for the right to protest injustices, he finds himself in the precarious position of doing all he can to keep Walter L. Fox Post 2 running.

"I don't know if we'll ever get all of the people back. It's really hurting us," he said. "We're in damage control right now and we're trying to offer different things to bring them back, but it's going to be an uphill battle."

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.