NFL (Next Forgotten League)

NFL (Next Forgotten League)

Been a while, but I’ve been out teaching about the tenants of nation socialism. Say what you will. Anyway, figured it’s about time to get back to the world of submitting my unwanted opinion and having almost nobody care. It’s better that way.

I just caught on espn.com that perennial pouter Jeremy Shockey got his trade to the New Orleans Saints today. Apparently, the Saints didn’t consider him important enough to drop one of their early draft (3rd and 6th) picks this season to acquire him, but were willing to sacrifice their 2009 picks (2nd and 5th) to get this specimen. Basically, telling the world that this year’s draft picks AND the Shockey pick-up will make those picks a lot less valuable next year. Good luck with that. I’ve always enjoyed Shockey as a competitor, but his personality leaves a fair amount to be desired. In and out of conflicts off the field, he sat back and pouted (while drinking Margs and beer in a suite as opposed to standing on the sidelines with his teammates) during the Super Bowl while a guy who had never played showed his colors and made Shockey completely disposable. The Saints need more than just a Tight End (anybody want to ask Reggie Bush when he might start to contribute offensively, maybe Reggie Bush can donate his knee cartilage to Deuce McAllister and then we’d be talking). As it is, we’re about 3 months from a public blow up between Drew Brees and Shockey when Brees misses him on a sideline out for 7 yards. Am I wrong, am I wrong?

This is just another example of an untimely step in a league which is deterring out of control. The implementation of a new collective bargaining agreement is what has brought prosperity to a league which had image problems. In the 1990s the issue was related to smaller markets being unable to compete with the larger markets with solid fan bases. Now, smaller markets have just as much spending power as the larger markets and it makes anybody feel like they have the right to hold their team hostage.

Chad Johnson is a great example of somebody who can’t stop dragging his (smaller franchised) team down. During the off season, he demanded a trade citing his team’s lack of appreciation for all of his “hard work”. What’s appreciation “take you in the back and suck your !@#$”? Here’s a suggestion for Chad Johnson, lead your team in important receiving categories and I’m sure you’ll get your appreciation. Don’t be the second best receiver on your team statistically and wonder why your team doesn’t go nuts when you make 5 receptions in a single game. I wonder how Bengals fans like that behavior after paying his salary with their over-priced tickets. Oh yeah, sorry we didn’t cheer louder when you caught that 7 yard slant, we were too busy paying attention to our 5-12 record. Was there any doubt? They were threatening castration…

The new crime fighter of the NFL isn’t helping things, either. Yeah, it’s great that you are trying to “clean up” the mean streets of the inner sanctum of the NFL, but at some point you are going to have to understand that we live in an on-demand age. I don’t know if you have noticed or not, but words and information are traveling pretty fast these days. Rarely can a well known personality go out in public without somebody snapping off a picture on their multimedia devices. Text messages are out before an athlete can be seated in a nice restaurant. In other words, the players in this league are under far more scrutiny than in years past when an altercation could occur and be quietly “taken care of” by the “local” PD. Back in the day, everything was he say-she say. Times are changing, “do-gooder”. Your new policies about behavior are just going to continue to handicap teams which don’t have appropriate denizens for players to retire to after games, practices and workouts. Most of these guys are in their 20s and want to have a good time. Usually the general public will find some way to interfere with that for the chance to be that guy who said that thing that sent -insert name here- over the edge.

And while we are at it, Do-gooder, if you are going to lay down the law, can you at least try to set some standards by which your punishments will fit the crimes. I find it very hard to believe that the Dallas Cowboys can be expecting Pacman Jones to return to play this year. With your relentless handling of the O’Dell Thurman suspension, for drunk driving (suspended for almost 2 full seasons), I can’t possibly see how Pacman could be eligible for reinstatement. Not knowing the full story (and having Thurman not make this look like a great case study by failing a subsequent drug test), I can only make assumptions (based on reports). But just because Jerry Jones can afford great baby sitters, doesn’t take away from the fact that Pacman has violated the law in a more frequent and severe manner (anyone reading this article should know the many instances which I am referring to). So if I can get this right, you play for the Bengals or Titans, prepare to deal with the long arm of the law. If you play for the Cowboys, we’ll make your iffy acquisitions work for you. In the end, the Do-Gooder may just want to leave legalities up to lawyers and judges and juries, maybe sit the next few plays out.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a proponent of a thug league, but you have to draw your line in the sand and pick your battles. Marshawn Lynch is really hoping you do.

All in all, I see bad times coming for the most popular professional sports league in the world. With bad financial times upon us, I can see people giving up those season tickets and PSLs for a break from the people behind these teams. Yeah, Dallas will have the biggest stadium in the NFL, but who’s paying for it and who is prospering from the sale of these over seating licenses? When will people get tired of the same old Sunday garbage and cancel those $300 Sunday Ticket subscriptions and accept what they are dealt from local television coverage. It seems like this league is heading towards the perfect storm with an impending 2011 work stoppage. Oh well, maybe the Do-Gooder will have learned something from the recent NHL debacle or maybe he won’t be around to mitigate the situation being what the current course of the NFL is. Until next time…

And a good day to you, sir.
Wally Sobchak