The National Football League should rename itself as the National Foolish League. It's hard to root for a sympathetic figure among the greedy owners and the greedy players. They both truly deserve each other. One is as bad as the other.
Don't these mercenaries have any conception for the people who are being left out of these negotiations? The fans?
We fans just want to watch our hometown teams and favorite players. We don't care about all of the stuff — and that is the polite word for what I'm talking about. Sooner or later, the powers that be in the league and the players union will figure out that the fans are the bosses. The two sides arrogantly think they can play us for fools and continue to raise the prices on us.
Note to both sides: consult representatives of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League. Those pro leagues have all had lockouts and/or work stoppages by another name since 1987, the last time the NFL had to improvise because of labor strife.
Fans of the three leagues will remember that the public turned angrily on everyone involved. Attendance figures took a hit. TV ratings didn't climb. The goodwill was lost for many years.
If the NFL and the players are as greedy and foolish as they seem to be, they will follow suit. The people who love the sport will find other pursuits.
Football, despite what we may think,. is not as important as food, water, and clean air. It is something we do for fun. But it's no fun trying to find excitement in the endless labor negotiations.
Remember who the boss is: We are. The fans.
Jon Friedman writes the Media Web column for MarketWatch.com. Click here to read his latest column.
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