The Battle For The NFL

The current fight between the owners could bring the NFL's run of success on and off the field to an end. Now I generally consider myself a capitailist but in this case I beleive that the big market teams might need to take one for the team. The current battle centers on the amount of money that the teams that market themselves against the teams that don't invest much in their product, i.e the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is the belief of the large market teams that they work and invest in the marketing of their brand and therefore should be allowed to keep a larger portion of the shared revenue, which is the American way. Now I lean in this direction somewhat because I know how much that Jerry Jones invests in his brand but there would be no brand if there is a lockout or shut down of play. Unlike European soccer teams, NFL teams have no other competition than themselves; the large market teams rely heavily on the small market teams to generate their income, i.e ticket sales and tv ratings.So what this current debate really boils down to is a battle between socialism vs capitailism. The purest form of marxism is practiced by the NFL and that is why the NFL works. So if the large market teams want to keep generating the money that they do then they might have to be the ones to give a little, if not they run the risk of being the next NHL or MLB.

Tough Times!

The period of the year that I like to call the winter of my discontent period has started. While I have been weened off of football slowly, I am beginning to go through withdrawl. In the past I have tried to substitute the Arena League but it's just not the same. It is like trying too substitute trail mix for M&M's. While trail mix is okay some of the time M&M's are awsome all of the time. I am a traditionalist when it comes to my sports. While the AFL, CFL, and XFL have and have had there place in the sports marketplace, there is no substitute for the real thing. There is no substitute for gameday in the South. The tailgating, frat boys in ties, travel bottles of Jack and Jim, the sense of community at a game, rivalries, the cheerleaders and bands, the color, and the smell of the grills in the parking lot. You can't find this anywhere else. Baseball doesn't have this, basketball doesn't have this and hockey will never have this.

There is no substitute for the physical ballet that is the NFL. While basketball has the dunk it will never have the beauty of a hand handed catch by Brandon Loyd, Barry Sanders ability to stop on a dime and change directions, watching Roy Williams hit someone, or watching Michael Vick, aka Ron Mexico, break one for a TD. There is no substitute for these types of experiences. With that said I guess I will be catching up on some reading but only after the Memphis Tigers basketball season is over.

That Was The Super Bowl?

If last night's game was meant to highlight the best that the NFL had to offer, then it missed it's mark. I am a die hard NFL fan and researcher and I found last night's game to be almost unbearable. First Aaron Neville and Areatha Franklin have lost their voice. I hate to say, because I really like the Neville Brothers, but that National Anthem was reallty bad as well as being an omen of things to come. The refs' calls were alittle off and they added to the idea that the game was rigged. I don't believe this but a jaded person could be convinced that this was true. I have heard mixed reviews about the Stones performance but: 1) they are in their sixties and 2) they are the Stones so who cares, they rock. I heard much commentary, on the commercials, from women today and they were not impressed. I didn't care because I don't care about the commercials. The networks steal money from these corporations. Steal! Companies pay $2 million dollars for a 30 second spot and the viewership of the Super Bowl is decreasing. I can see why the viewership is in decline after yesterday's game. In terms of the play on the field the game was boring. I had to fight my inner self not to channel surf. Three or four big plays and 56 minutes of watching grass grow. I tell who should have been the MVP, the punters: Tom Rouhen and Chris Gardocki. I swear the announcers were searching for things to talk about. Did you know that Gardocki has never had a punt blocked? Well that was what things boiled down to last night, talking about the career of a punter during the Super Bowl. The season went out on a whimper instead of a bang unless you like the Steelers and their style of play.

The Super Bowl, Do Fans Care?

Before I start this post I want to say that I hate all of the commentary about the Super Bowl commercials. I have heard almost as much about the commercials than I have about the actual game, with the outcome being talked about ad nassium. It is everywhere CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if the Disney Channel didn't have pundents discussing the Super Bowl ads. Now I would watch Goofy tell us his opinion of the GODaddy.com ad, that would make good tv.

With this said, this year's Super Bowl just doesn't have the excitement that the last 39 have had, maybe it is the fact that it is in Detroit. The media has been trying to create storylines but no matter how much Joey Porter talks it just isn't going to happen. The Seahawks and the Steelers, a little boring to the average fan and I doubt these teams deserve the hype that they have been given. Or in the Seahawks case maybe not enough. I can't remember a team that has been given less hype than the Seahawks. People think that the because that Jerome Bettis is playing in his hometown, the Steelers will win. What a lame storyline! This has been the drama of this years Super Bowl, The Bus being sent to the scrap heap in Detroit. I don't care how many times the media pushes this people don't care. He might be the 5th best running back in the NFL history, he hasn't had the national following that the other 4 have had. Emmitt, Payton, Jim Brown, or even Curtis Martin. These guys played in the Super Bowl earlier in their careers and were afforded the luxury of building upon their reputations over a longer period while it has taken Bettis till potentially his last game to get to this stage. Some people might say that this creates a greater storyline line but he is not the player that he once was. Now you could say this if he rushes for 3 td's and 200 yards but the likelyhood of that happening is pretty slim.

As to who I am rooting for today I am going with the Seahawks because they are the NFC representative and because they are the underdog but I am doing this because I feel I should root for one of these teams.

By the way that is the worst National Anthem I have heard since Carl Lewis. Shame on you NFL.