Thank you to The Wall Street Journal's Nando di Fino and Jerry Watson, the owner of the Stadium View Grille in Green Bay, Wisconsin who let us know this morning about the winners and losers of the NFL labor agreement that ends the NFL lockout after about 136 days.
But sorry, Nando and Jerry, John and Celeste, I know I am in the minority but I wanted football to stay locked out.
I wanted owners to feel a bit of the pain. I wanted players to go finish their long-forgotten degrees, and fans to spend Sundays at church or maybe even throw the football around with their children. Instead of another year of football, maybe gamblers could save their money, instead of throwing it away at small-market teams that (besides the Green Bay Packers) have slim chances of ever winning. Imagine all the small business that could be started if we saved the money from obsessing over football every Sunday! For the sake of the economy and as an economic stimulus package, I wanted a year without football.
Instead, I wanted players to go back to their High School and College alma maters, to root for their teams from the sidelines and at halftime to go in the locker rooms and give the youth ra-ra speeches. Without the NFL perhaps sons and fathers could struggle and actually find something else to talk about besides stats, chances, and rumors of coach hiring and firings. They could hug one another because they love each other and maybe, they could even enjoy a good cry — not because their team lost another game — but because most men just need a good cry sometimes.
I know Nando and Jerry were pondering what this means for the small-market and big-market teams, what this means for small businesses all over the U.S., and John reminded us how this was a much-needed distraction from the horror of the headlines. But I wanted the solace of having a year free from Bud Light commercials, Sundays away from the screen, and off my iPhone scouring for scores.
Like Nando, John, and Jerry, I'm an addict. I am addicted to football. Now I am forced to ponder the status of the Giants offensive line, will they take back Ahmad Bradshaw will the Bills be able to compete with the second hardest schedule in the league? Will the Cleveland Browns show improvement? Can the Seattle Seahawks perfect mediocrity again and win their division without a winning record? Can the Detroit Lions get to a .500 record? Are the packers, Steelers, Patriots, Bears, Eagles still going to be the class of the league? Will Eli Manning play like Eli circa 2007 or Eli circa last year?
See? I am doomed! We are all doomed! Football is back!