Doesn't look like this bush-league zebras are going anywhere. |
We've been hearing it since Adam Schefter first reported it back in early August. We've been hearing it since Week 1 on of the preseason. We've been hearing it, every minute of the last two Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. The replacement refs are an absolute joke, a travesty to America's finest league. It's one of the worst things that ever could happen to a violent, dangerous and damn exciting game, except of course if there was a lockout. But we know this, we understand this. We see it in every game. It's painstakingly obvious, but complaining about it probably won't solve anything.
The NFL runs the American sports world and there is no doubt about it. No one can stand up to the National Football League, not when the league's worst franchise (Jacksonsville) still rakes in $238 million annually. Compare that to other franchises in other sports? I'm not even sure if the bottom 20 teams in the NHL make any money. Half of the NBA teams are most likely bleeding cash and the MLB is on another weird, salary cap-less planet that doesn't make any sense. The NFL is about a $9 billion dollar-a-year venture and it's going absolutely nowhere.
And boom, we have our primary problem. There is no reason for the NFL to crack a deal with the real refs, that is until the league starts hemorrhaging money. Realistically as much as we're going to complain about these refs, it's still the most exciting sport in the country and after Week 2's shipment of epic surprises, I'm not sure any fan is going anywhere. The NFL is still going to rack in the dough no matter how hysterically bad these refs are or how embarrassing of a reflection this is on the league. People are still going to watch, still going to buy tickets, still going to buy merchandise, still going to have fantasy teams, still going to pour every ounce of care that they have in their Sundays. I'd go as far as to say that it's America's best entertainment product (with that consistent revenue it'd be hard to argue otherwise).
Really the only way the league will cave this season is we all just start boycotting Sundays (as if that'll ever happen). Does anyone realistically think the ratings are going to drop or the merchandise is going to slow down because of a bunch of refs ruining the game? As much as that sounds like a travesty, Roger Goodell and the owners are blinded by the green. Sadly enough, in this economy, I understand their actions. There is, at this point, absolutely no reason for them to budge. Unless they start feeling as embarrassed about their product as we fans, analysts, players and coaches are starting to feel. But, you can't complain when you're bottom feeders are making more than $200 million dollars a year in these fledgling fiscal times.
The problem here comes down to the NFL owners and Roger Goodell's own sentiment. If they actually care about the product they're displaying then they'll crack a deal with the real refs before these bush-league refs destroy the entire season. I might be pessimistic but I see no silver lining in this issue, no light at the end of the tunnel. Guess we're all just going to have to either man-up and stop complaining or avoid our 60" HD TVs on Sundays.
It's just hard for me to believe the latter is realistic.
0 comments:
Post a Comment