Back to Reality

7 thoughts on “Back to Reality”

1. Dear Drew,

   You asked how come I can remember the cartoons you drew 20+ years ago. The truth is when you first started with the Rocky I was getting the paper sent to me via mail to the Phillipines (I was in the navy there) When I saw your work I couldn’t wait for the next day to see what you drew.

   Of course I wasn’t your only fan then. The others where I worked looked forward to your take on things. I think my fandom for you became solid after a cartoon in your early years. Tom Jackson had been cut and you had a drawing of Dan Reeve’s talking to a line of reporter saying,”We’re cutting Tom Jackson. Pass it down.” Of course on the end WAS Tom Jackson himself. Since then I’ve been a big fan through the hilarious (Karlis’s “fork”), the sad (various deaths including the ones of Len Bias and Duk Koo Kim), and sometimes the ugly. You have produced so many funny cartoons over the years that many of them are simply unforgettable.

   NOW ON TO TODAY’s CARTOON

   There is a show on VH1 called “You’re Cut Off” where these multi-billionaire diva’s who have been living off their well off families (and in one case boyfriend) who have been cut off from their wealth, credit cards et al. Then these “princesses” have to learn how to live like “average people”. This is the ultimate fish out of water reality show.

   In many ways I could see many of the players and all the owners who could use such a dose of reality. I’d love to see Jerry Jones having to clean out the gutters of the house. Or other owners/players (like OchoCinco/Owens) working at a fast food restraunt. Personally I would be laughing myself sick. But this is one time I’d be hoping not to be cured from it.

   All the best (from a fan of close to 30 years)

   Louis

2. My thought is that owners and players should “man up” and cut their salaries on both sides of the table. Say, 10 20% maybe. Heck, they would still be multi-millionaires (sadly). Half of that should then go to the surviving old school/original former players for their medical care and retirement. The rest should be used through the reduction of ticket prices so that us “regular folk” can maybe experience a game in our lifetime. I know it probably will not happen. It is a nice thought, though. It is MY version of “fantasy football.”

3. Good Morning from Omaha,

   Your hammer hit all the nails on the head. The only way to get the NFL’s attention is to, and I don’t like using this word, boycott the advertisers.

   If schick , bud and coors, verizon and at&t see fewer people buying or using there products they won’t have the revenue to support the overly inflated TV contract offered by the networks to the NFL. Getting people to NOT drink bud or coors or use their cell phones…. I’ve got to be having trouble waking up this morning as I am still dreaming?

   You have read my epistle about stadiums being two thirds full and HDTV, recliners and pay per view NFL viewing from the comfort of your home. If you would want to watch a game you pay for it , watch it from home…no parking hassles no expensive concessions no dealing with drunk and rude fans. Will it happen in my lifetime, will all these monuments to greed and avarice sit empty on sunday afternoons while NFL games end up being televised from JeffCo stadium to a few thousand “fans”?

   If things don’t change over the next ten years by the time the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement ends the whole will be mute and maybe jay cutler will have to learn the line”would you like fries, with that?”

   I think I am waking up now and the reality is fools and there money are soon parted.

   Strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

4. well said Drew

5. The NFL is currently the dominant league on the American sports buffet…and it will be the last time any sport holds that singular distinction.

   We now have literally dozens of choices for our time and money on the sports front. To add to Drew’s list: NBA, NHL, Soccer, Tennis, MMA, Racing, Boxing, Olympics and Action Sports all have carved out a niche on the calendar. If the NFL doesn’t want to slip into the pile, they’ll wise up before it’s too late.

   Go back to the 1950’s and 60’s: The dominant sport was Baseball, far and away, with football, horse racing and boxing trailing far behind and other sports only whispered of. Strikes pushed baseball to the brink of irrelevancy: the sport will never return to where it was in the popular imagination, and is still in danger of falling further in popularity as its fanbase grows older. The NHL is only now recovering from its labor stoppages, kneecapping 20 years of growth. The NFL is currently on top, albeit in a crowded market.

   And what do all three have in common? You guessed it: they all have massive labor-managment impasses looming.

   I have little vitirol for either side: As I’ve said before, Players work and train extensively at high levels for their pay, and the Owners have produced an entertaining product that we can’t help but pay attention to. But what both sides need to learn is that there is only so much money to go around. As much as they’ve done on their ends to earn it, they must realize that a shutdown will threaten their bottom line for decades to come, if not permanently.

6. Screw ’em, I’ve had it, done, fed up.

7. It’s so hard for me to get blood and guts angry about this, but for me, football has always been a distant fourth in my sports lexicon. I’d rather watch baseball and hockey any day of the week, and in most cases I’d rather see a Mammoth or Outlaws game, meaning lacrosse has to be considered third.

   There is so much money being thrown around in football, and the face that we’re talking about a $1 billion dollar ownership expense exception is disturbing to me.

   $1,000,000,000.

   It’s such a large abstract number that it’s tough for people to even visualize it, and really understand what owners and players are talking about.

   Even thinking about this makes me want to go do some YouTube videos like the Political Math blogger does. Crazy.