The NFL Loses a Sports Fan

To say I was a diehard sports fan would be an understatement.  My first sports memories were of the 1984 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.  I rooted for Magic, Kareem, “Big Game” James and Showtime.  My dad did too.  My grandpa was a Celtics fan.  I remember the game in the old Boston Garden, Kareem with his oxygen mask, and the Celtics winning the championship.

I lived and died with the teams I rooted for, saw them win championships, and lose in heartbreaking fashion.  Sports, unlike almost anything else in life, brings out the best and worst in people.  And I believe never was that more clear than in the last few months of this NFL season.  So as millions across this country watched the lackluster Super Bowl on Sunday (and congrats to a great Seahawks team), I chose not to watch and am writing about why the NFL and its hypocrisy has pushed me to the sports edge.

The NFL is by far the most popular sport in this country.  60,000-70,000+ seat stadiums are sold out each week, millions play fantasy football, there are weekly survival and office pools - unlike other sports, the fact that there is one game a week for each team seems to really capture the modern short-term attention span of fans.  The NFL has reported revenues of about $10 billion a year, and league officials said this past week they hope to top $25 billion by 2027.  Big TV contracts, increases in ticket prices, possibly more weeknight games, possibly more playoff teams.  It’s big business.  But that’s part of the problem.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

I have no problems with owners trying to earn as much as they can; they are successful businessmen for that very reason.   Same goes for the players.  There is such a short time frame that they will be able to play in the NFL, that it’s understandable that they try to cash in when they can.  But the dirty little secret is, that’s all the NFL really cares about - it’s all about the money.  When Commissioner Roger Goodell talks, I tune out.  I know the networks can’t really bash the league, especially if they want to broadcast games in the future.  But he just seems like the ultimate swindler, throwing out these catchphrases and terms, all this hyperbole.  He’s done a great job from the owner’s standpoint (which is his job), building the league into a multi-billion dollar business.  TV contracts are immense, and growing bigger with each new deal.  The league has a presence in Europe, with annual games in London.  Ratings are huge on Thursday, Sunday and Monday.  But is the game really growing or going backwards?

I, like many, watched “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.”  It wasn’t quite as shocking to me as it was to some people, just because I’ve been reading about this problem for a few years now.  It was a great job of reporting on one of the most serious issues in sports.  Safety among athletes, especially in the NFL, really needs to be looked at.  It is a violent, brutal sport.  And while the players are never forced to play, for many, this is their dream and a way to set a financial foundation for their family for the rest of their lives.  What irks me about safety in the NFL is the blase attitude from league officials.  They have crunched the numbers and said there were less concussions this season than last, put in new protocols for testing for head injuries. But can we really believe any of this?  They have implemented weekly Thursday night games, so players have to play a mere 3-4 days after beating the crap out of each other on a Sunday.  There is talk of an 18 game season, and adding playoff teams.  They have refuted many studies linking concussions and head injuries to CTE.  But all in the name of safety right?  Players can’t get healthcare after they retire, putting their body on the line each week, but owners will happily pocket the money that those jerseys they sell bring in each year.  This is not about the money right?  With the technology that is available, shouldn’t we putting all these millions in revenue into developing better equipment, better helmets, more research into head injuries?  At this point, it’s fair to say we’re not only talking about a game, we’re talking about the lives of these athletes, and their future health.  Now, to look at the other side, not everyone who plays football ends up with debilitating brain injuries, not everyone suffers from injuries to their legs, back, shoulder, that leaves them hobble after their playing days are over.  But when I see former players on TV, or read about some of the more tragic cases, it makes me sad and wonder if something could be done to change things.

This is not to say that every professional league is problem-free.  The PED issues in Major League Baseball have plagued that sport going on 20 years.  The NHL has had frequent lockouts and still lacks a major television deal.  The NBA has long had an issue with the image of players, from Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson in the past to J.R. Smith in the present.  But the NFL is king and the problem in football is that this relates to the future health of players.  This is not an issue that is going to go away with resolution from a lawsuit.  There is a reason why the attitude of parents is changing in regards to letting their children play pee-wee football.  Are things getting better?  Yes, the protocols that are now in place, not allowing players back into games, having to pass tests throughout the week to be able to participate in games following a concussion - it is a start, but the NFL has to be honest with itself and not just settle for doing things okay, they owe more to the players on the field.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The other moment that made me laugh at the absurdity of sports over the past month was the Richard Sherman “incident.”  My first reaction when I saw highlights was okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly the classiest reaction, but let’s put it in some perspective.  This is an athlete who just competed on the field for 60 minutes, he made a huge play in the defining moment of a back-and-forth game against the Seahawks biggest rival, and all to go to his first Super Bowl. It was a genuine, natural, euphoric reaction after a game.  Could Sherman have handled it differently?  Of course, but it’s also nice to see the natural reaction of a competitor after a game, rather than the tired and drab standard answers we get from most athletes these days.  But what irked me the most was reaction from fans after the game.  We are in an age where reactions are instantaneous, via Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media.  Sports radio is a 24-7 business.  Something controversial happens, and watch social media explode.  So after Sherman’s comments, BOOM! Things exploded.  Sadly, the reaction is commonplace now, Sherman’s a thug, he’s classless, using derogatory racial terms.  Yup, that’s our society and that’s sports fans.  Have any of these fans actually met Richard Sherman, talked to him in person, gotten to know about him more than what he does on the field?  49er fans were more than happy to cheer for Aldon Smith, who is facing multiple charges.  They had no problem with quarterback Colin Kaepernick mocking Cam Newton’s celebration the week before in Carolina.  And this isn’t just a generalization of the 49er fan base, this goes for all teams in the NFL and really, all sports franchises.  If the shoe was on the other foot, I’m sure Seahawks fans would be the same way.  But this mentality amongst the general public to judge so quickly, oftentimes, it does more harm than good.  Fans, it’s just sports, it’s just a game, it is certainly not life-or-death if a team wins or loses.

I have become a bit numb to the ups and downs of the sports world.  I can’t remember the last time I watched an entire game, went to an event in person.  I still follow sports from afar, still play fantasy football with my longtime buddies, still root for the teams I grew up with.  Perhaps it’s too much cynicism, but that love for sports that I fondly look back to is slowly becoming a distant memory.