rvan1 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I think the CBA conflict has taught fans a valuable lesson--- not even the NFL is untouchable. In the past, whenever baseball or hockey or whatever sport had a lockout, I'd turn my head and say "Well, that could never happen to the NFL... It happened in the 80s, but now the NFL is such a money maker, and the fans are so intense, the NFL is untouchable." However, recent events seriously question how long the NFL will be intact. A six-year extension is a start, but the last one was 12. In six years, there will be another scare, if not worse. And then what? The next "emergency" extension will be three years? Then two? If I've learned anything from this offseason, its that the NFL is perhaps more volitale than other sports, simply for the reason that there is so much money pumped into it, and teams/key players (not just on the field, but in the offices too) aren't as concerned with fans happiness as they are with standing ground. Sure, Paul Tagliabue came through this time, but if the deal they made causes disgruntlement around the league, which I suspect it will, the NFL will be worse off in 6 years than they are today. While I hope to be able to root for the Redskins when I'm 80, that possibility seems a lot more cloudy now. Lets hope that strong leadership continues to steer the NFL away from a lockout or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCliche21 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I'm kinda mixed on this. We're both in our early twenties, meaning we missed out on the strife of the '80s. Was it really that bad? I know, lockouts, strikes, whatever, but the NFL only got better after that. At first I was going to say that you were paranoid, but I'm not sure. I'd be really inrested to see what older members think, as they were actually there and history books never capture the accurate atmosphere of a period. Post script: If it makes you feel any better, didn't we win a couple Super Bowls during the lockout/strike years of '82 and '87? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidenreich Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 As one of the seven hockey fans remaining in the US, I'm not worried about football at all. The last extension wasn't 12 years. It was signed in 1993, then renewed twice. We just didn't know about it. I had no problem with this situation. The money the NFL makes has gone through the roof. They have a good system in place, it would have been a lot worse if they didn't extend when they did....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvan1 Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 As one of the seven hockey fans remaining in the US, I'm not worried about football at all. The last extension wasn't 12 years. It was signed in 1993, then renewed twice. We just didn't know about it. I had no problem with this situation. The money the NFL makes has gone through the roof. They have a good system in place, it would have been a lot worse if they didn't extend when they did....... its pretty apparent though, that the nfl commands the sports industry. look at hockey, for instance-- now that the lockout is over, the only place to watch hockey games are weird cable channels. i miss the ones on espn. if nfl had a lockout, which it was close to having for 2008, all the media contracts would be void, etc, which is a big problem for fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yahozna Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I heard Gene Upshaw talking about this just the other day. He said he and Paul Tagliabue had taken steps in the last contract to make certain both sides would be compelled to get a contract done. He referred to the salary cap and uncapped season in 2007 as the "poison pills" that were intentionally put into the last agreement to force this deal. I hope this new deal has similar language since niether of these guys could be around when the deal expires. Upshaw and Tagliabue have been able to work well together and the possibility that they may not be around to controll the negotiations is concerning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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