There's a slight possibility that the 1-2 punch of Super Bowl 35 (Referees stole that game) and THIS DISASTER did irreparable damage to my pro football fandom; but I'd like to think that I'm not that fickle. It's just that I have recently found myself to be less and less interested in the NFL. At the same time I'm just as, if not more so of a college football fan (Go Irish!?!?!), so it isn't an issue with the sport itself; it's an issue with the National Football League.
You're probably thinking I'm going to go into a rant about Terrell Owens being greedy (don't care), Chad Johnson showboating (I'm all for it), or Randy Moss publicizing his marijuana use (duh); but that isn't what this is about. I am fed up with the "Salary Cap Era". I remember a day when my team's draft picks were allowed to grow and develop into contributing members of a successful franchise and then actually STAY with that team until they decide that it's time to hang up the pads. Unless you're an absolute superstar, the chances of that happening in today's NFL are next to nil. I remember way back in 1994 (when I was first getting into pro football) seeing the headlines about the departure of Phil Simms from my hometown New York Giants. I didn't understand it back then; but Phil Simms, a Super Bowl winner, was forced into retirement for salary cap reasons. It certainly wasn't an issue of diminishing skills... in fact, Simms' 1993 was arguably the best regular season of his career. I also got to see the same thing happen to Jesse Armstead and Jason Sehorn in later years. These guys were all still contributing, wildly popular, and big presences in the community (well, it's New York; so as big of a presence as a pro athlete can be). They were dumped solely to get under the NFL's Salary Cap. This kind of thing isn't getting any better as the years go by either. Just this season, established, veteran players like Peter Boulware, Ike Hilliard, Darren Sharper, and Ty Law all changed teams NOT because their former squads had no use for them; but because they had to get under the cap.
So how exactly is the NFL ruining pro sports? Well, this system that they have set up (the one where connections between players and fans is nonexistent and the overall quality of play falls every season) is also incredibly successful for the owners of the franchises. NFL teams make A LOT of money EVERY season regardless of the team's on-field performance. This is all thanks to the utter failure that is the NFL Players Association (these guys can get cut at any time, for any reason and their contracts mean jack... and people wonder why players holdout for guaranteed money) and the massive media contracts that the NFL is able to wrangle out of ESPN/FOX/CBS/NBC. Everyone makes money and interest has never been higher... right? What's not to love? For the owners of franchises; nothing. For the fans; a lot. There are some things in play here that people enjoy overlooking:
1. NFL teams play once a week. Going on and on about NFL ratings in comparison to those of the NBA, NHL and MLB is a joke. How would you expect interest on a game-by-game basis in a sport where 8-9 wins gets you into the playoffs to ones where 44 and 90 are necessary? That's just reality; and as a result, the NFL is going to be able to demand far more in media contracts. A salary cap didn't magically make NBA Finals games pull 45 Nielsens; it won't do so for the Stanley Cup Finals, and it wouldn't for the World Series.
2. The NFL's dirty little (not so) secret is that interest in the sport is derived so greatly from gambling. You think injury reports are out there for the service of the casual fan? HA. They're in the newspapers all week to serve the needs of the bettor. Real fans aren't going to decide to "skip this one because Brady is Questionable"... but I WILL think twice about laying 6pts on the road with a banged-up signal caller. A salary cap doesn't make a sport any more inviting to Vegas. That comes from being a weekly affair rather than a daily one.
3. "Parity is great for the fans". Really? First of all, the term "parity" in relation to the NFL needs to be clarified. The playing field has certainly leveled-- because all the teams suck. I'm not even that old and I can pull the "I remember the good old days" thing. The 90s NFL Dynasties (Cowboys, Broncos... and kinda-sorta the Bills, Niners and Packers) were all FAR superior to the teams of today, with the possible exception of the two most recent New England championship teams (and that's why they kick everyone's ass). One-sided monsters like the Ravens, Bucs and Rams of recent history were not of the same caliber as those complete teams fielded in Denver and Dallas. I'm a Giants fan and I know that their most recent Super Bowl team was nothing special. The same thing is starting to bear its teeth in the other salary cap sport (NBA), as witnessed over the past two seasons with Detroit winning (come on... they were good, but not "defeat the team with two of the top 5 players of all time" good) and the quick turnarounds in Phoenix and Seattle last season. Franchises in Salary Capped leagues are incapable of putting together both star players and capable role-players (at least ones not based in New England or San Antonio). The NHL shut down for a full season to get their own salary cap... Do I really need to see both an extended hiatus and the end of ACTUAL great teams in Major League Baseball too? No.
Maybe this is the Yankee fan in me speaking; but:
I don't care if you think your team can't compete; they can. The Marlins won a championship with no fans and moderate payroll, the Twins and A's compete every season with low payrolls, and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning were in the bottom third of the league in that department... along with their finals opponent Calgary Flames.
I don't care whether billionaire owners make money on their teams.
You realize that owners aren't FORCED to push salaries to levels that they can't handle, right? They need to stop running their teams like 4 year olds that got into the cookie jar.
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