If Cheese Heads, The Black Hole or The Dawg Pound weren’t proof enough that Americans value football, then the recent debacle between the National Football League and the NFL Referee’s Association certainly was.
Rivaling the first shot of the American War for Independence, the “Touchception” and subsequent Twitter aftermath became the metaphorical “shot heard ‘round the world” that ultimately forced the NFL to resolve the lockout with the NFLRA.
For many sports enthusiasts, the resolution between these two sides was long overdue. For those outside the bubble, the drama and resolution surrounding the whole issue was a waste of everyone’s time.
Regardless of your politics or professional sport team affiliations, this is more than just a game. To contend that nothing can be gained from reading between the lines is a disservice to all those involved, and more importantly, those as indirectly involved, like you and me.
With most disagreements, the issue at hand revolved around money. Debates on who has to pay who, how much and for how long have been around as long as humans have been placing too much value on the money they have or don’t have.
For sport enthusiasts like me, though, this went beyond mere dollars and cents. This was a train wreck in a variety of ways; most notably in the way corporations view their customers.
It is dumbfounding that the self-described businessmen of the NFL would rather save a few bucks — literal pocket change by comparison — than give their ever-expanding customer base a high-quality end product.
In the 21st century, it appears that companies are skimping out on providing quality products to enjoy a wealth of profits. They would rather paint children’s toys with lead based paint. Pink slime is more cost effective than making an actual burger.
Many sport pundits filled dead air with their thoughts on the matter, even before the lockout was official. Of those, some of the more sensible points made came from ESPN’s First Take with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith.
Normally these two spend their show countering each another from different stances, but they agreed on one issue: The NFL, a multi-billion dollar enterprise, was sacrificing player safety, the integrity of the game and their fans for the sake of unadulterated profit.
The NFLRA wanted (and eventually got) the option for a 401K program. They wanted more referees hired on a full-time basis so that, if the situation arose, football games wouldn’t trump personal emergencies. They wanted fair treatment and a fair share for the time they were giving to the game.
Why can’t companies these days be concerned with their employees, even when customers are voicing their concerns for change?
The fiasco even made its way onto the campaign trail as both President Barack Obama and vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan offered their two cents on what they felt should have happened, and what they believed needed to happen next. Hilariously enough, they actually agreed with each other.
Clearly, unless the issue at hand is trending on Twitter, the voice and care of the people is not a priority.
Reach the columnist at jbfortne@asu.edu or follow him at @JOMOFO40.
