Some people would say that I love football, notably the NFL and more so, the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is incorrect. I love my family and my friends. I am passionate about Pittsburgh's major sports franchises, namely the Pirates, Penguins and the aforementioned, Steelers. But it seems that, lately, my relationship with the NFL is waning.
No, it's not because the Steelers are off to an unimpressive start for a third consecutive season (that's an article for another day). No, the reason I'm losing my passion and my interest in the NFL is because of what it's become. It's no longer the National Football League. It has turned into the No Fault League, the National Felons League or the Not our Fault League.
Every day is seems that more and more players are making headlines not for their play on the field but for their reprehensible behavior off it. On of my favorite sports websites, ProFootballTalk.com long ago added an application on their website called "police blotter". At first it was mildly amusing, to say the least. Typically during the offseason, players would get into minor transgressions due to their enormous amount of free time and money. They'd get busted for misdemeanors such as public intoxication or disturbing the peace. But at some point, a disturbing trend began to develop: Players names were turning up more and more in the police report, for more felonious charges. What were once minor offenses became more violent and life-threatening. The letters DUI became synonymous with NFL. And the violent actions on the field were seeping into players lives off it. Words such as assault, domestic violence and even murder became the norm.
It seems more and more that players are forgetting that it's a privilege and an honor to play in the NFL, to play for the Shield. Most of these players thinks it's their birthright. And why shouldn't they? The majority of these young men have been coddled since their teen years, sometimes even younger, because of their God-given ability to play a child's game. If a player didn't turn in a homework assignment or performed badly on a test, it was ok because of the way their performed on the gridiron. In college, they're afforded more luxuries than the common student. They are given an opportunity at a first rate education from some of the finest universities in the country with free room and board. Some of them even get rewarded, albeit under the table, away from the watchful eye of the NCAA, with cars, jewelry and money. And if/when the time comes that these athletes should make a mistake and go outside the law for infractions such as shoplifting, burglary, or sexual assault, they are normally let off with a slap on the wrist and a scolding and sent right back into the huddle.
True, everyone makes mistakes and is entitled to second, third, even fourth chances (Lawrence Phillips comes to mind). Everyone is also innocent until proven guilty and allowed due process. I also realize that there are many players out there that are upstanding citizens, contributing members of society with philanthropic endeavors. God bless them. Unfortunately they don't make front page news. They're not always on the TMZ website and the talk of every sports talk show in the nation.
And how can we expect the players to accept accountability for their actions when the owners and league commissioner do not. Recently, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was accused of sexual assault. Within the last year, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was charged with DUI and possession of a controlled substance. Even the grand poobah, commissioner Roger Godell has come under fire for the possible cover-up of video evidence in the Ray Rice assault incident.
Even my beloved Steelers are guilty (pun intended) of a laundry list of offenses. One example is from 2008 when former Steelers WR Cedric Wilson was arrested in a domestic dispute. He became a "former" Steeler not because of the arrest, but because of his lack of performance on the field. How do I know this? Because another Steeler was arrested for the same charge in 2008, that player was 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, LB James Harrison. The Steelers even went so far as to recently sign Harrison to a 1-day contract to allow him to retire as a Steeler. Is that really the message they want to send?
And what do we fans do? We continue to eat this up, myself included. We continue to watch their games, buy their merchandise and fill their stadiums. Every Sunday and Monday and now Thursday nights, too, we sit on the edge of our seats with our game jerseys on, drinking the official beer of the NFL and eating pizza from the official pizza maker of the NFL, watching, waiting and wondering.
The NFL loves it. It's no longer just watching a game. The league, the owners, the players and the networks have turned this into WWE meets As the World Turns. It has everything: suspense, intrigue and even a little football. "Who will Ben bang in the public restroom this week?" "Did Ray kill that man in the back of the limo?" "What blond will Jerry fondle this week?" There is even extortion. Because the owners will continue to blackmail the unwitting public week in and week out. If the taxpayers don't build us a new stadium, we'll move the team. If the fans won't sell out our games, they won't be able to watch them on local television. And we continue to pay for it.
The NFL is also called the No Fun League. That's just it, they've taken all the fun out of the game for us. Think about it. If X amount of people don't watch the networks shows every week, that show is canceled, banished from the airwaves, never to be seen again. What I'm wondering is "What if they had an NFL and no one came"? What if we, the hard-working public, decided that we've had enough of the drama and the bad behavior? Enough of watching entitled billionaires looking down on us from their luxury suites as they count their copious amounts of cash. What if we tired of watching entitled athletes continue to behave in manners that aren't fit for society? After all, we don't watch our favorite television shows when we think they've "jumped the shark". At what point do we all agree that the NFL has jumped their shark?
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