NFL Lockout ends. Why don’t I feel excited?

8 thoughts on “NFL Lockout ends. Why don’t I feel excited?”

1. On target as usual

2. good Morning from Omaha

   great cartoon and sentiment, Drew. I just read that the KC Cheaps are the reason for a salary floor in the NFL and that the CHiefs owner, Clark Hunt, has decided that ticket takers will no longer be allowed to watch the game for which they are taking tickets. I guess he’ll have to pay these guys

   And Roger the dodger, has really been bone headed in how he has handled the owners and their ratification of the agreement. It turns out that they voted to approve “their” offer to the players but the players haven’t even had a chance to read it. SO its not over, as casey stengel used to say, until its over.

   Those people you mentioned are still caught in limbo and IF the players don’t ratify what they are being strong armed into approving the beat goes on.

   Have a great weekend, away from the NFL network.

   Strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

3. Dear Drew,

   You may have jumped the gun with this cartoon. As I understand it the players haven’t voted for it yet. Of course they haven’t voted against it yet either.

   What will my reaction be if it does get settled? For the time being *snore* ZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!

   All the best

   Louis

4. Looks like the fight is not out of the players yet, interesting.

   Game theory economists must be having a field day with the twists and turns this negotiation is taking. The players have the owners over a barrel for the 2011 season with their insurance policy which if alone, would certainly get at least one or two more incremental concessions. However, like the “prisoner’s dilemma” many individual players who make more than the league minimum have an individual self-interest to end the lock-out in order to make millions more than what the insurance policy offers. The issue for each individual is whether it is worth more to seek the concessions at the risk of losing millions, or just take the millions on the table.

   The negotiations at this point are more fun than the game…

   Mike

5. Thing is: if the players don’t certify it, we’re out of a season. The folks who depend on the NFL for their livelihood will be in dire straits, but they won’t get a bailout like the banks or car companies or airlines. They are small enough to fail.

   If Washington doesn’t get it’s act together, we could see the crash of our (and the world’s) economy. And that is really “too big to fail.” Perhaps we should wait; if they can’t solve the debt crisis, there might not be any football even if the new CBA is ratified. It’s hard to have an NFL season when there’s revolution in the streets.

   I’m hopeful though. I just printed off the 2011-2012 schedule and posted it on my cubicle wall. Hoping to get to watch Broncos football with my dad this season.

6. Drew–

   The breathless news updates on the NFL lockout are getting a HUGE yawn and a “Whoopty freakin doo” from me. I’ll believe the lockout is over when I see a game on the TV.

   I’m tired of the posturing, too.

   The start of college football will be a welcome diversion…

7. I won’t be watching this season. Or the next. Fretting over the problems of millionaires Vs. billionaires puts things in perspective – for me anyway. I’m enjoying time with my kids, marketing my new book and looking forward to free time away from the idiot box and the non-stop: buy, buy, BUY! I don’t know if I’ll ever “go back”. I think the very culture of the NFL has poisoned the well. It’s all so asinine when you consider actual, real-life problems.

   I’ll still be reading your comics though and I will still hold the Denver Post in contempt for not granting you rightful spot.

   -SJR

8. I don’t watch or not watch a sport because of the off-field problems/issues/debates. The great thing about sports is, more than anything else, is that it is the only true meritocracy that exists.

   Are the players and owners jerks? Of course they are! You don’t succeed in the world of athletics or business by being a nice person, at least most of the time. Both are highly competitive arenas where decency can be construed as a opening to exploit.

   However, I’m not watching Sunday afternoon because I care about the bottom lines of the Owners (In fact, I’m likely watching on TV and giving them the bare minimum contribution as a viewer for the ratings), or the paycheck of the Players (indeed, I’ll be rooting for the ruination of their dreams if they are not wearing a Chiefs or Bucs uniform): I’m tuning in to watch a game. If they’re making Godzillions in the process, more power to them: It’s not money forcibly taken from my pocket.

   If you like watching the game of American Football, the NFL features the best talent and the best entertainment. If the off-the-field financial debates are what you really care about, watch one of the business channels instead.

   Should nurses and cops and teachers (like me!) be paid more? Many would say yes. But the number of people that show up for my class every day is in the low double digits, and TV ratings for my class would be laughable. If I get paid more, that means someone’s taxes have to go up – which the Average Joe in the cartoon above would likely take issue with, as opposed to the mere annoyance he feels over the NFL Lockout.