By Travis David V Whittaker

Halloween night could lead to many options. This year, hardcore football fans might be at the local bar or at home watching ESPN’s broadcast of Monday Night Football between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.

Entering the game for Monday, the Vikings hold an edge in the standings with an overall record of 5-1. The Bears have had a rough start to the season, and are currently at 1-6.

Monday night football has been around since the early 1970s. It’s rare for a game to occur on the holiday. This will be the seventh time it’s happened. The last time an NFL game was featured on Halloween was back in 2011, when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the San Diego Chargers in an AFC West matchup.

But with NFL ratings down, the question is, how many people will skip festivities to watch the game?

The NFL is seeing its ratings tumble in the same way that the Olympics, awards shows and other live events have, falling more than 10 percent for the first five weeks of the season compared with the first five weeks of last season,” wrote Drew Harwell of the Washington Post.

The NFL protests may be one cause of the lower ratings, as well as the league restricting support of events such as 9/11 and the Dallas Police Officers.

Ever since the NFL allowed these guys to protest but not let them remember 9/11 or the fallen police officers in Dallas, I quit watching football,” said Mark Siewert in a Facebook group post. “I have been a 49er fan my whole life, but as a veteran I love my country and our flag more than a game.”

On the other hand, fantasy football plays a role in the ratings as well. With the Vikings doing well, many people could be paying attention to their team hoping they can get the last game points for the week.

Some families with kids will be out trick or treating, and others may have to work. Mark Burgess is unable to watch because he is volunteering at a local haunted house.

“People have no clue how much fun Halloween and NFL can be,” Burgess said.

Bruce Gradisher said that he would be at home to watch the game and intends on passing out candy in the meantime.

I love seeing all the fans dress up in the different costumes. It’s kinda like watching a never-ending Oakland Raiders game,” Gradisher said.

If Halloween or work interferes with watching Monday Night Football, luckily today, fans have options. They can stream NFL via the ESPN application or set the DVR and watch it later.

This year on Halloween, whether at home, trick or treating, out with friends, working or doing homework, more people should consider watching the game. It doesn’t happen often, and it could add more fun to the night. Football, friends and family are always a good mix; why not on Halloween?