7:39 PM
Wind Flight
Greed... Hate... Envy... But most of all... Stupidity.
At the very peak of its popularity, The owners, players and Administration of the National Football League have all created a gigantic black-hole of a blunder. This outweighs any major NFL blooper ever. Worse than a fumble on the goalline, or even dare I say, Picking JaMarcus Russell 1st overall. The entire organization is a reenactment of Rome burning to the ground.
Key Contributors:
The Players
Their greed and misconception of their job has doomed them to be grouped as a whiny bunch of primadonnas. Do you know what every aspiring athlete would give to be paid even 1/100th of the Salary of these guys to play a professional sport for a living. I am in NO WAY demeaning how much time, effort and sacrifice is required, it is unmatchable. But, that is why they already make the big bucks. But, they are greedy, yes, the NFL doesn't work without its stars and blue collar employees, but you are shooting yourselves in the foot. Shut Up, take your paycheck and play... or go open a restaurant. Do you know what Bo Jackson would give to not have had his Hip destroyed? Grow up...
The Owners
"It's our money"... No... It's not the players either. It is our money, the fans. That we pour into season tickets and merchandise and Direct TV Packages and Chicken Wings and god know what else. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Greed has gotten the best of you. All you see is dollar signs, half of you probably don't even appreciate the art of the game (exceptions include those like the Rooney Family, Much Love). You are not only being greedy, but you think if you win litagation over the players you actually win? Guaranteed Ratings for the NFL will drop at least 5% or more next season. Ticket Sales in the basement, Jersey sales... probably still strong, because we love our players. You owners should've stayed in your luxury boxes sipping your $500 scotch or Martini. You are ruining the peoples game. We will find elsewhere to entertain ourselves, but we will NEVER, EVER forgive you, if you take this piece of our lives away.
The Victims
The Players claim to be the victims... so do The Owners. No, its definitely the overlooked, under-appreciated fans. Every year I, among millions of others wait for that light at the end of the "sports-draught tunnel" to appear (You know when all ESPN reports on is NASCAR, GOLF and TENNIS.. uggh). We the people look forward to our fantasy teams, our Weekly Pick'em Pools at work, Our team's training camps and draft choices, Our hopes that this will be our teams year. We look forward to the games we can enjoy with friends from our couches, criticizing our coaches and quarterbacks for their lack of production. We, the football fans, look forward to our NFL season as much as any other annual event in our lives, at times, some even live for it. Honestly, with nothing else but their team to root on, people live for football season. And the greed of those who give us this great pleasure is now forcing us to envision a year or more without our great love for the game... Shame on you.
One last note to the Head Honchos in the NFL:
These rule changes need to stop. These players are paid millions per year for the simple purpose that they are dedicating their lives to a dangerous, sometimes deadly sport. Sure, Protect someones blind side and don't allow cheap shots. But, if you take away James Harrison's ability to demolish a Quarterback or Devin Hester's ability to return a Kick to win a game, or even Peyton Manning RARE ability to take big hits and never miss a snap... You are ruining this game, and I care EVEN LESS that you are Locking Out OUR football season. The NFL is the Roman Empire, Burning to the ground, and all we as fans, lovers of this once great football nation, can do is watch with jaws dropped and tears streaming down our faces... And that makes us more Manly for the passion for the game, that some players and most owners, seem to be missing.
Posted in: 
About the Author
1 comments:
Completely agreed about the rule changes.
However, your assessment of the situation is a lot like most opinions on the matter; the rich and the richer are fighting like children. It's partly true, but there is a lot that needs to be sorted out, and this has been coming for years. The issues have just been ignored until now. Read this: http://obrag.org/?p=36652
There are plenty of points to look at it from. Players should have more insurance that they'll be fairly taken care of should football-related injuries cause harm/a career end/death. On the other hand, they're fighting an indisputable fact of business; the bosses make the rules and the employees follow them (would you ever walk up to your boss and ask to see the books? I mean, I get it, but come on...). Then again, most owners are riding the success of their predecessors and often have little respect for the game or anything aside from money. It goes on and on.
Where I CAN see your point is that neither side is making the effort to end it, since they only meet when mandated by court, and zero things get accomplished when they do...in that sense, they really are all acting like morons. If I were an intelligent being travelling through space and saw an overall abundantly successful money-making industry like the NFL possibly being brought to a halt over this, I'd keep on going to the next life-bearing planet. Because, honestly, if that's how dumb the people running that industry are, I wouldn't want to get to know the locals.
I agree that the fans are the 'victims' and that it will hurt the industry. They are already feeling the hit from the fans, since viewership of the draft was down by roughly 4 million this year. It will continue. No one is going to pay the ridiculous price for tickets to watch teams that have, so far, done nothing in the way of OTAs.
Post a Comment