Storyline: It would take a herd of elephants to stop the juggernaut that the NFL has become. Having said that, it would be nice if the NFL would hire folks to address the many issues facing the game and League.
The 5oth Super Bowl will take place Sunday in Santa Clara, California. And on this Golden Anniversary of the biggest sporting and entertainment event in the world we need to look at the state of the NFL–according to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
By his account, things couldn’t be better. The League is making more money and is as popular as it has ever been. This is a far cry from Super Bowl I when there were empty seats at the game between the Packers and Chiefs. Ticket prices now are astronomical, too, but the two-week buildup to the game has become comical and mundane. How many ways can you ask the same questions of players and coaches?
There’s much to say about Goodell and his rose-color glasses. It would take pages and pages to go through the issues never addressed, which need to be addressed, if the NFL is to have any credibility.
But it doesn’t seem to matter as long as the NFL continues to have record-breaking viewers on Sunday. Countless sponsors spend upwards of $5 million for a 30-second spot. Hollywood entertainers parade through northern California all weekend long.
Here’s a short list of things that are serious enough to talk about (but were not discussed) this weekend:
CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
The news this week about former Raiders’ star quarterback–and, hopefully, soon to be NFL Hall of Famer–Ken Stabler is disturbing, at the very least. The “Snake” died last July and his last words to his partner were: “I’m tired.” Add Stabler’s name to the list of former players who have endured traumatic brain injury from playing the sport they loved. That list includes Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, Frank Gifford, and most recently, former NY Giant Tyler Sash who, at a very young 27, had demons of his own because of the constant battering of helmet-to-helmet contact.
The paltry words of condolences and concussion-related protocol by the NFL amounts to nothing more than sweeping a serious, ongoing issue under the rug. Goodell and the owners wish this would go away. But the issue will be dragged out unless something serious is done to study, combat, and help fund those former and current players who suffer from CTE. If the status quo prevails, then a more depressing discussion awaits.
Rooney Rule
Courtesy: forbes.com
Did anyone really think that the announcement this week from Goodell–that the NFL would now invoke the Rooney Rule for women–is anything other than a PR stunt? How many women are NFL football-ready to coach a bunch of men? It’s not to say that they can’t do it, but there’s not a long line of female coaches at the ready to take those positions. Bravo to Bills coach Rex Ryan for hiring Kathryn Smith as an assistant; she is certainly qualified with stints with the Jets and now, Bills. But she is a diamond-in-the-rough at this point.
The Rooney Rule was established years ago to mandate that at least one minority would be interviewed for a NFL coaching or front-office position. Unfortunately, the rule was put into place to insure that the League didn’t look like its all lily-white owners. I think the latest move is an insult to women and minorities. Many teams have hired minorities and women in front-office jobs; and minority men are hired in coaching positions. To bring attention to this matter–during Super Bowl Week, no less–is rather bizarre.
Manning/Brady et al.
The focus of the NFL this Super Bowl go-round is to see if first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning took HGH during his neck surgery recovery in 2011. I doesn’t seem to matter that he’s playing in the year’s big game or that he has been a poster boy for the NFL over the last decade. The League, in its infinite wisdom, is doing due diligence on the accusations – from an Al Jazeera report that was refuted by the person who first came out with the allegations. Bravo.
This response is from the same League that spent millions of dollars, and time, determining whether another Hall of Fame QB, Tom Brady, deflated balls during last year’s Super Bowl run. It’s a good to see that the Commissioner, the owners, and the League have their priorities in order.
But this response is from the same commissioner who doesn’t seem to want to get into the Johnny Manziel issue, the Greg Hardy debacle, the alleged betting on games by former Cowboy Joseph Randle, or the outrageous play by Vontaze Burfict and Odell Beckham, Jr. (for launching themselves like missiles at opposing players to inflict as much physical damage as possible).
The NFL earns another Gold Star. (Not!)
Las Vegas/Los Angeles/St. Louis
The NFL goes out of its way to condemn legalizing sports betting in states that can truly use the money. But it doesn’t matter if League teams partner with DraftKings or FanDuel–as long as there’s millions in sponsor money or the owners sanction and own part of the fantasy operation.
Courtesy: stltoday.com
Now the talk is having a franchise in Las Vegas. It would be so NFL-like and hypocritical to move the Raiders or any other franchise to ‘Sin City’–and what Vegas is all about — gambling. It seemed easy for the Rams to move out of St. Louis, back to Los Angeles … and, with that, to allow the Chargers to leave San Diego and enter into a sweet stadium deal.
What about the fans in St. Louis? They spent hard-earned money on tickets, parking, concessions – not to mention the thousands who are now out of jobs; the businesses that counted on the games each week; and all the related money that came into the city because of the team and games. It ends up to be “too bad” for the good fans of the Gateway to the West.
While there’s so much more to talk about, it seems futile when the light is shining brightly on Super Bowl 50. This is, after all, the week to show “the great NFL” to the world. How many fans it has … how much attention it gets … how much money it can command. But looming in the background are all the problems, problems that are getting deeper and more widespread.
Goodell stated that he would certainly allow and encourage his son to play football. But he didn’t mention the potential health consequences or any of the other caveats about playing this ‘real man’s game.’ It certainly didn’t stop him from playing, getting a coaching gig, and becoming a puppet of the owners.
We all hope that Super Bowl 50 will be a tremendous game and event for football fans — with great commercials, halftime entertainment, and maybe even Peyton Manning going out as a winner. Realistically it would take a herd of elephants to stop the juggernaut that the NFL has become–here and throughout the world.
It would be nice, though, if the NFL hired folks who cared enough to address the issues we mentioned above. Color, gender, or age wouldn’t matter. Just get people who can do the job without thirty-two teams telling them what to do.
