If the NFL skips 2011, will you be back whenever they return (2012 or beyond?)

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

I ask this because after the last baseball strike, I was really not interested in the game again until McGuire and Sosa went on the home run race in '98.

And after the NFL went on strike in '87, I still followed the Pats marginally, but was not really interested in the NFL game again until maybe '95 or '96, when the Pats made their Super Bowl run.

College football filled the void for me then.

And in '98-'99, when the NBA locked out, I never really got back into the game again until the Celtics made their run in 2008.

I am wondering how I am going to feel about the NFL if they lockout or strike or whatever in 2011.

It particularly irks me when these millionaires, on both sides, are so ungrateful that they will even consider taking away a national trust like pro football.

 

[Pat_the_Patriot]

I hear you.

The only professional sports league that I follow is the NFL. Don't get me wrong, I'll watch the Celts, the Sox, or the Bruins if they happen to be on at a bar or at a buddy's house... but I don't really care.

I really care about the Pats (like, presumably, every one of us here)... but I don't know if I will be able to stomach/swallow a strike/hold out situation...I mirror your thoughts/concerns...

these are very lucky/blessed men (all of them... owners and players alike) and I can't figure out how/why they can't get this thing done.

I am a union supporter in real life... but these men do NOT live a "real" life. I don't begrudge them making money... but going into a retracted situation makes me feel like a fool for being a fan... and THAT doesn't sit well with me.

I'll have to see.... which is how I think a lot of folks/fans feel... at least up here in NH.

Worst economy in 2 decades and this is what these guys do... messed up.

 

[IllegalContact]

it all depends on whether I come up with anything better to do on Sundays

unlike baseball......NFL happens once a week, so there is the buildup.

Its like sex, do it every Sunday, and you'll be looking forward to Sundays......but do it every day, and not so much

 

[upstater1]

Yes, and football will be better for it.

If they miss the entire year, it will mean that the players never caved in, and that owners didn't destroy the game.

Frankly, I'm starting to care less and less about the owners' balance sheets and their luxury boxes and their taxpayer provided stadiums.

Enough is enough.

Play the games, and screw the value of your franchise. Let the owners lose and let it be a lesson to them in asset management.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I'd miss wasting yet another year of my life sitting on my ass watching football instead of being outside doing something physical with family enjoying New England's beautiful fall. The real problem as a Patriots fan is that once more we'd piss away yet another of TFB's remaining few stellar years.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Yes, and I have no problem with both sides attempting to do better for
themselves. It's American as apple pie and Motherhood so relax, it will work
itself out. Are you suggesting that because there are conflicting and
acrimonious interests interfering with your enjoyment you are going to punish
yourself and not return to watching a game you purportedly love. Sounds like
self-flagellation to me and you are not a real fan of the game.

 

[ivanvamp]

I hear you.

The only professional sports league that I follow is the NFL. Don't get me wrong, I'll watch the Celts, the Sox, or the Bruins if they happen to be on at a bar or at a buddy's house... but I don't really care.

I really care about the Pats (like, presumably, every one of us here)... but I don't know if I will be able to stomach/swallow a strike/hold out situation...I mirror your thoughts/concerns...

these are very lucky/blessed men (all of them... owners and players alike) and I can't figure out how/why they can't get this thing done.

I am a union supporter in real life... but these men do NOT live a "real" life. I don't begrudge them making money... but going into a retracted situation makes me feel like a fool for being a fan... and THAT doesn't sit well with me.

I'll have to see.... which is how I think a lot of folks/fans feel... at least up here in NH.

Worst economy in 2 decades and this is what these guys do... messed up.

What's funny is that I tend to see these things from the side of management, not labor, and yet I fault the owners on this one! They are arguing about how to split up the massive financial pie that the NFL has become. Smaller market owners want more, bigger market owners want more, and they cannot agree amongst themselves how to divide up revenues. But all the owners want more money. How, then, can they get it? If larger market owners won't willingly part with some and neither will smaller market owners, then there's one place they can get it from: the players.

The players are content with keeping everything as it is right now. They're happy with the amount of money they've already agreed to (of course they'd like more, but they're not asking for more). It's the owners who want the players to take a pay cut (so far as I understand things). It's not the players demanding more money or benefits.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

I won't be "back," because that implies I left. I'll still check in on the news of the day, I'll still watch college football and dream I'm competent enough to scout players, and I'll still hope for a championship.

At this point, football is in my blood, regardless of what happens with the CBA.

 

[LiveShot]

With the financial climate spiraling out of control it's obscene that the owners and players both want more. I agree that there should be less money paid for unproven rookies and improved healthcare for football injuries.

 

[upstater1]

What's going on right now is similar to what has happened in the housing market. With the financial crunch, and there being less money to lend out, owners have seen the values of their franchises implode. Those values were given a premium because year-over-year NFL revenues were increasing. Now, with limits not only on the amount someone can borrow to buy a franchise, but limits on potential revenues, and furthermore a limit taxpayers subsidizing football wither directly (as in the case of Buffalo and Indianapolis and I'm sure countless other places) or through public bonds for stadiums, the owners realize that they have a cap over their heads and they don't like it. But these guys are actually raking in more money than they ever have before in their businesses and in their personal income--yet it's their net worth that they are concerned about (i.e. the value of their franchises).

So screw'em I say. Look at Ralph Wilson. Bought his franchise for $20k. One estimate says it's worth $700-800 million. So fine, well and good. That's his money. Congratulations Ralph, you parlayed a small investment into a vast fortune. But that doesn't mean I should sympathize with you as you try keep the value of your franchise inflated for its eventual resale.

I'm not sympathetic at all. In fact, I'm more concerned that you want to ruin the game with your 18 week seasons and other bogus rules just so you can get the next sucker to buy your bloated sense of your bloated self-worth. Ever think of giving back to the community Ralph? Why keep taking tens of millions from local taxpayers?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Excellent ponts with the housing mkt analogy. Owners' appetites for borrowing capacity are linked to a rapidly increasing value of their franchises. Thus the thirst for new untapped mkts (e.g. Europe, Mexico City). This is driving many bad decisions from a fan's standpoint. Unlike the housing mkt, I don't think there's a single owner under water in his franchise cost vs market, so it's the desire for more cash flow that's fueling their moves. There could be owners that without the increased cash flow would need to sell, perhaps at less than what they THOUGHT was mkt value but still far more than their purchase price plus additions to basis. Boo Hoo.

 

[mgteich]

what he said.

The nfl is a fine product. When the owners and players choose to provide it, I will watch.

I won't be "back," because that implies I left. I'll still check in on the news of the day, I'll still watch college football and dream I'm competent enough to scout players, and I'll still hope for a championship.

At this point, football is in my blood, regardless of what happens with the CBA.

 

[PittPatriot]

With the financial climate spiraling out of control it's obscene that the owners and players both want more. I agree that there should be less money paid for unproven rookies and improved healthcare for football injuries.

I can't disagree with anything you've said here.
Along with that, with American pride, economic standing, and world prestige at an all-time low, one of the greatest things we still have intact is the fabric of American culture. Football is a big part of that. We NEED Football and other sports. Places like Pittsburgh have a community that plans its life around "the game."
I am not a Socialist, but sometimes I wish the government would step in FORCE the Millionaires and Billionaires to reach a compromise by a deadline that would prevent missing any games.

 

[PittPatriot]

What's going on right now is similar to what has happened in the housing market...

I'm not sympathetic at all. In fact, I'm more concerned that you want to ruin the game with your 18 week seasons and other bogus rules just so you can get the next sucker to buy your bloated sense of your bloated self-worth. Ever think of giving back to the community Ralph? Why keep taking tens of millions from local taxpayers?

...Unlike the housing mkt, I don't think there's a single owner under water in his franchise cost vs market, so it's the desire for more cash flow that's fueling their moves. There could be owners that without the increased cash flow would need to sell, perhaps at less than what they THOUGHT was mkt value but still far more than their purchase price plus additions to basis. Boo Hoo.

Isn't Wall Street Greed a large cause of the housing market fall out? Finance guys have always been about the money...and so have many NFL owners. So his the NFLPA. Who loses in the end if there is a lockout or missed games or even a season? They do...but so do we. Again, I am not a governmentalist, but I wish our government would put the same zeal into preventing this from happening as they did with the Mitchell Report, Spy Gate (Arlen Arsehole), and talking about fixing the BCS.

 

[Jackson 2]

The instant they're back, I'll have put it all out of my mind and just be excited to get it going again. Of course, up until that point, I'll be BS, but I'll just be so grateful once it's over, that it's over.

 

[Deus Irae]

It depends upon the circumstances. I put up with the baseball shenanigans for years, despite getting more and more put off by it. When they took away the World Series on top of all the strikes, though, that was it for me.

 

[sieglo]

I am not a Socialist, but sometimes I wish the government would step in FORCE the Millionaires and Billionaires to reach a compromise by a deadline that would prevent missing any games.

Bread and circus FTW.

 

[Dufflebagz]

Miss a Pats game?

Never....haven't missed one in 12 years and I don't plan on ending that streak.

 

[BradyManny]

The real problem as a Patriots fan is that once more we'd piss away yet another of TFB's remaining few stellar years.

This. As Patriot fans, we walk around with an internal biological clock ticking away the remainder of Brady's career. Another year wasted of TFB's prime would be a kick in the groin, particularly considering the string of heart-wrenching losses that has deprived us of more championships since our last.

We're in a unique time. We'll never again have the greatest coach paired with the greatest QB. Be greedy as a fan, look for more rings - because it'll never be like this again. A lockout would blow.

 

[signbabybrady]

I dont find this question silly in general but I do find it a funny question for a messageboard about the Patriots. If your nerdy enough when it comes to football to frequent internet message boards then why would you ever consider not watching the games.

This is the only message board that I go to. And I can promise you if I find another message board I like it will be for something that is as important to me as football and I would never consider giving up that activity.