I have an idea. Let’s cancel the entire NFL season.
That will never happen, of course. Too much money at stake. But short of that, the criticism being heaped on the league is a good thing, a very good thing in fact.
That’s because the league has lost its way, and maybe what’s going on will bring it to its senses.
That would mean admitting that it has forgotten the fact that football is a game, a simple game.
In the scheme of life, football doesn’t matter, not at all. There is nothing essential or indispensible about it, or any sport, for that matter.
The one thing (maybe the only thing) I appreciate about Terry Bradshaw who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl Championships is that he frequently says to the broadcast audience, “It’s a game, folks, just a game.”
That’s what the NFL has forgotten, the owners, the players, the league officials, and even many of the fans. Football is a game, which means the world would be fine without it. Life would go on without missing a step.
It doesn’t say much for the league that it was forced to do the right thing about Ray Rice, or the Minnesota Vikings regarding Adrian Peterson (kudos to Keith Olbermann for his national commentaries on both), but the reversal of their initial decisions shows the public can have enough influence to knock both of them off the pedestals they’ve been sitting on with disdain for anyone criticizing them. Maybe being humbled means there is some hope yet.
This much is for sure. The public outcry has helped all of us to stay focused on what is most important about these stories. A woman and a child were subjected to physical abuse by football players who never thought they would pay a price for their behavior.
They were wrong, and professional football might become better for it, if those who still coach and play and own the teams will understand once again that what they are engaged in is nothing but a game, a game fans can enjoy, but also live without.
