Could This Be What Goodell Really Wants?

[Wolfpack]

I don't think it's a question of a "boycott." That's where you're missing the point. It's more a matter of dimininishing interest based on a highly inferior product.

If they stop this nonsense fairly soon, there shouldn't be any lasting damage. If they don't, there will be. And that's not a guess.

There isn't even an inkling of short term damge, and yet you think there's a possibility of long term damage? Gimme a break.

The owners know they can do these things and we're all going to tune in and watch football like the addidcts we are.

 

[ausbacker]

The league didn't catch it. And that's a proven bias that was caught.

I never intimated it wasn't a problem especially since he was able to pass the screening test. I was making the point that the official wasn't able to influence the game because he was removed from the officiating crew beforehand.

The problem I have with the replacement officials is everything about their selection and training has been poor. The NFL knew a lock out could be on the table. In every way imaginable, the NFL has introduced amateur practice to the replacement officials "process".

 

[aluminum seats]

There isn't even an inkling of short term damge, and yet you think there's a possibility of long term damage? Gimme a break.

Yeah, you're right...things never change. The way things are now is the way they'll always be.

Wow.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Yeah, you're right...things never change. The way things are now is the way they'll always be.

It's not like there are going to be years of this refereeing. It's going to last at most to the end of this season.

There will either be a settlement during the season, or the NFL will fire all the existing refs and then take applications from the fired refs and NCAA Div 1 refs and start training whoever applies in February. Depending on who applies, things will be totally or mostly back to normal next season and definitely back to normal the season after that.

 

[aluminum seats]

It's not like there are going to be years of this refereeing. It's going to last at most to the end of this season.

There will either be a settlement during the season, or the NFL will fire all the existing refs and then take applications from the fired refs and NCAA Div 1 refs and start training whoever applies in February. Depending on who applies, things will be totally or mostly back to normal next season and definitely back to normal the season after that.

Well...yes. I assume it would be difficult for the NFL to maintain this level of horror in their officiating.

My point was directed more toward those who can't possibly envision the NFL not being as hugely popular as it is today. That's misguided, to say the least. And if the league shares that belief, watch out.

 

[1960Pats]

Unfortunately there's little that can be done. Tickets are sold, NFL Season Ticket is sold.

What am I going to do ? Not buy any Patriots stuff for 12 months. I wear almost all Patriots clothing, T-Shirts and Hoodies. A few are getting old and would normally be freshened up by my wife on December 25. This year ? I will tell her "no thanks", I'll go a year without new ones. At about $75 per hoodie, that and $30 per T-Shirt that's about $200. If a million fans did the same thing that would be $200 Million in merchandise not sold.

Join me if you like. Save some money and do your tiny little part to make a statement.

I think I'll join you and I might even take it a step further.

I normally take a little jaunt down to Patriot Place and stock up for Christmas, but I'm going to cancel that whether they bring back the real refs now or later. They need to be punished for this.

 

[1960Pats]

Well if being a consistent fan of the Pats since around 1962 to the present isn't enough of a dedication to avoid being considered a fair weather fan then I don't what to say in my defense.

I paid my dues over the years and this team should be continuing to provide an enjoyable experience as we watch a team full of very promising young players, established veteran greats, and a HOF HC get to compete and chase excellence and their place in NFL history; but elements not directly tied to the play on the field are seemingly conspiring to short circuit it.

For me, the 2007 season was the start of the downturn. I don't have a problem with what BB did in Spygate; it was drastically overblown, and punished far too severely.

All the Pats did that was year was to pound all comers into submission, but the constant drumbeat of media scorn and negativity made watching the most successful season a team has ever had in the history of the NFL, into a thoroughly unenjoyable experience. Then the bogus charge of taping the Rams' walk through gets leveled two days before the SB along with threatened congressional investigations, and by that point I just wanted the SB and season to be over.

I have compared the Pats attempt at going undefeated, to the scene in Caddyshack where Danny Noonan is putting, and the other caddies are saying "Miss!", and trying to otherwise distract him from making the putt. Rather than being given a chance to reach greatness, the Pats had to play while dealing with outside distractions not of their doing. As if the pressure of what they were attempting to do wasn't enough, the naysayers and obstructionists continued trying to hamstring the Pats right up to the opening kick off.

Remember the commercial right after the SB where there were 1972 Dolphins players celebrating that the new neighbor wouldn't be moving into their neighborhood after all? It didn't get much run time though; maybe even the naysayers thought the gloating was a bit much.

Then the media distortions and controlling of the narrative, combined with the uneven dispensation of justice by Goodell and the league office have been steadily diminishing the enjoyment for me.

A Pats team which should have been admired, has been consistently badmouthed and denegrated by yellow journalism media fueled scorn from opposing fans.

Now we have this officiating fiasco which is furthering dampening my enthusiasm and I'm getting to the point where this form of enjoyment just isn't worth the aggravation.


My point is that I don't like the direction that the NFL is going and when the Pats are again at the bottom working their way back up, I don't see enough of a payoff to follow them on their quest to try and become a top team again. The payoff used to be worth it......

Simply put, that post was the Gr8est and I had to re-post it. Thanks.

I'd also like to add that I read someone here call fans like myself "idiots" for thinking that we could change anything or that the NFL cares. It seems to me that rooting for and investing in a team or a league that is consistently telling you that you're not important, could actually be called idiotic.

 

[1960Pats]

The owners know they can do these things and we're all going to tune in and watch football like the addicts we are.

Wow! That's one huge brush you're carrying.

I thought I was addicted to the NBA. I dropped that after David Stern made the same callous remarks about the NBA fans in the USA as Krafty did this off-season about NFL fans.

I thought that I could have been addicted even more to baseball. That lasted until the players and owners figured out that we were "just" fans and didn't know what it was like to be in that locker room. Right. All we knew how to do was pay for everything.

I also used to be addicted to hockey, and even though they may be out again, I can at least recognize that they really could be hurting financially. They also have some of the most appreciative players in pro sports, and even though I might not follow them as closely, I'd still take the NHL in a heartbeat over MLB or the NBA.

And then there is the NFL. To be continued...

 

[Joker]

Simply put, that post was the Gr8est and I had to re-post it. Thanks.

I'd also like to add that I read someone here call fans like myself "idiots" for thinking that we could change anything or that the NFL cares. It seems to me that rooting for and investing in a team or a league that is consistently telling you that you're not important, could actually be called idiotic.

don't let it bother you, 1960...there's a very vocal, downright nasty at times cadre of Goodell "Flat Earthers" here who insist the entire world exists only at the behest of the whims of Lord High Omissionecutioner, Lord Goodhell. I have questioned HIS decisions this year on numerous issues and have been subjected to the most vile, vicious personal attacks in response to my questions, as a fan of the NFL. I've had PM's laced with overt death threats, prayers for my imminent demise due to cancer,hopes I die in a fiery car crash with my family, and other vicious personal attacks. It comes with the territory. I suspect it's some form of Stockholm Syndrome. There are some people who just basically cannot deal with any questions directed at THEIR authority figures. For some reason they use the psychological phenomenon of transference to make any questions of this figure out to be direct personal attacks on THEM.

Look, ANYBODY who has ever been involved in business, even on the owner/operator level, KNOWS you need to have plans, both short term AND strategic...strategic planning for the NFL would have to include these SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) . Just take a look back this year, as an example, and anyone can see Goodell's SWOT and PEST analyses have been woeful. Right now I'm watching Letterman's opening monologue...when you have made yourself and your league the punching bag for a Letterman opener you truly have made it....national joke.

You are NOT an idiot, 1960....you are what makes this league the best enterprise in the world...a loyal fan. Don't let the Goebbels,Speers and Goerings of this board get you down...in the end, their little Hitlers always meet their demise...just as Goodell will meet his.

 

[Wolfpack]

Yeah, you're right...things never change. The way things are now is the way they'll always be.

Don't be silly. Things change all the time; change is the only constant.

But, despite what you seem to think, the referee lockout situation is not hurting the NFL. It is clearly not hurting the NFL in the short term, so it is riduclous to suggest it will hurt the NFL in the long term.

 

[Wolfpack]

Wow! That's one huge brush you're carrying.

Anyone wanna bet NFL ratings are as high this weekend as usual?

 

[aluminum seats]

It is clearly not hurting the NFL in the short term, so it is riduclous to suggest it will hurt the NFL in the long term.

"The rising waters are clearly not hurting the levee in the short term, so it is ridiculous to suggest it will hurt the levee in the long term."

 

[Kontradiction]

Don't be silly. Things change all the time; change is the only constant.

But, despite what you seem to think, the referee lockout situation is not hurting the NFL. It is clearly not hurting the NFL in the short term, so it is riduclous to suggest it will hurt the NFL in the long term.

It will if it stays the same...

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

All cute analogies aside the owners have made the risk reward assessment that a season of chaos is worth the result of total ref control in their 11 figure business in the long run. I'm sure they never expected it to be quite this bad and are somewhat nervous but it has not reached the point where they need to cave. They're simply planning to plug their ears for another 4 1/2 months and then fire everyone, hire and train Div 1 replacements and tout their having "fixed the problem".

Personally I feel they should have agreed to grandfather the present refs pensions and changed to the sustainable 401K model for newbies, but that's why I'm not a billionaire among other reasons and it's not my money.