Oh please, let there be football
HONOLULU—National Football League experts on ESPN are still breaking down the upcoming draft. Radio talk show hosts are still predicting who will be in next year’s Super Bowl. Fantasy football magazines and NFL Network subscriptions are still being purchased.
Seems like business as usual in the NFL off-season, but something’s amiss. There still may not even be a season next year, despite U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson’s ruling to grant NFL players an injunction against the lockout imposed by the NFL owners.
Nelson wrote that she was convinced of the players’ argument that the lockout was irreparably harming their collective careers.
Not surprisingly, the NFL said it will appeal.
Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, told ESPN: “We do not intend to start the league year until we have had an opportunity to seek a stay.”
Although many girlfriends and wives across America might be rejoicing, diehard fans (present company included) are helplessly bracing for what could be an entire year without football.
For the casual fan, the lockout basically meant that the NFL (the league owners) and the NFLPA (the players union) weren’t able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which is a contract that dictates such items as player wages, hours and benefits.
One of the issues centered on revenue sharing and how much money should be split between the players and the owners. Another point of contention: the number of games played in a season. The owners are advocating for an increase from 16 to 18; something the players are against because it potentially means more injuries.
The lockout officially began when the old CBA expired on March 11. And although both sides continue to negotiate, a new agreement has yet to be reached.
To add insult to injury, the entire situation is getting uglier and it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a new deal anytime soon.
In a February meeting between league owners and a number of player agents, one agent, who wished to remain anonymous, sent a text to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
“Not close on one single issue,” said the text. “This WILL go into September.”
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who is among the 10 plaintiffs who sued the NFL, also addressed the labor situation on his Twitter account.
“To our fans—I give you my word that we as players are doing everything we can to negotiate with the NFL towards a fair deal ... Football is more than just a game for all of us. We will keep fighting ... always,” Brees tweeted.
On the other side of the coin, leading the charge for the owners is Roger Goodell, who in his time as NFL commissioner garnered the reputation of being a hard-nosed negotiator.
In a recent Sports Illustrated article, “The Man of the Hour,” sports writer Peter King described the beleaguered commissioner.
“Goodell, sandy-haired and fit at 51, is the steward of this multibillion-dollar juggernaut, having attained the job he dreamed about back in college ... make no mistake: This will be a deal the commissioner drives,” King wrote.
To cope with the work stoppage, players kept busy in a variety of ways—good and bad. Most notably, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco recently garnered a spot on the reserve team for the MLS club, Sporting Kansas City. While Adrian Peterson, Santonio Holmes, and Vernon Davis occupied some time doing charity work in Uganda, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was thrown out of a mall for sagging pants.
While players fill their season with fitness, charity work, and dress code violations, what are the fans to do?
No football means entire Sundays spent lumbering around the house with an empty feeling and the only sports on will be baseball, tape-delayed UH football games, and NASCAR. Mondays are going to be extra miserable.
As if dealing with the countless lawsuits, letters, and tweets weren’t enough, maybe the players and owners can hear this plea: Please come to an agreement soon, I don’t have time to learn a new hobby.