A Big Green Pie...to Go.

A couple of years ago, the NFL owners and Player's Union avoided labor turmoil by agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement. The players did well in this negotiation, carving out an increase in their share of total revenue. Some owners, however, felt that they gave the players too much dough and loudly voiced their displeasure. Of course, we feel sorry for them because they can't horde their extra millions at the expense of the players who chop years off of their lives to entertain us.

One provision in this agreement haunted the recent Super Bowl festivities. The owners can opt out of this contract for the 2009 season. That would force everyone back to the bargaining table. This is the talk around the NFL. This is bad. The owners want their money back while the players are exposing their rear ends for a kiss. Essentially, 2009 will be the last year with a salary cap and 2010 will be an uncapped year. In short, it means possible work stoppage...NO football.

The owners will take the heat and rightly so. This is a profitable, multi-billion dollar industry. No one is going out of business or losing money here. They are just greedy. The result of this stance will be that the players will decertify their union and strike. It also means that if they complete an uncapped year, the salary cap will be gone, forever. The players would never agree to bring it back. This ain't hockey, bitch. This would be death to the owners and would officially revoke the NFL's title as the best-maintained business model in all of sports.

What it means for me is very simple. Any work stoppage or NO football and I am out. For good, for life. No tickets, no games, no more Bears. I did it for baseball, and I will do it in football. Fuck these assholes. I will not tolerate another football strike, like 1982 and 1987. I cannot believe that anyone could be this stupid. I choose not to enable these idiots. I am sure they won't miss me. Everyone will come back. They're wrong to do that, but they will.

As for me, they play football over here at North Central College, Naperville North High School and at various colleges and universities around the country. I will watch plenty of football, just not the pro kind.

And you what? I won't miss it.