Common Sense

It seems that the NFL lockout has caused many things to go out the window: free agency during the summer months, signing rookie draft picks for ungodly amounts, and a little bit of common sense.

The notion of there not being football next year is scary (it often haunts my dreams), but it seems that some people are using it as a basis for fundamental and political ideology debates. And the sad thing is: nobody seems to be catching on.

I didn't realize how bad the situation had become until receiving a tweet today from Kansas City radio host, Nick Wright. First he tweeted : "Brian Waters might be out in KC... Of course he will be! He's a union rep, ya'll... The Governor of Wisconsin nods approvingly at Clark Hunt." And then he asked for his viewers to send him pictures of Clark Hunt as Scrooge McDuck to use as his Twitter avatar.

If Nick Wright is just trying to be humorous and controversial to attract more viewers, then more power to Nick. But I believe that behind his sarcasm lies ideological motives; I believe that he is trying to use this NFL lockout as a discussion about a increasingly political topic: Capitalism.

And Nick Wright is not alone.

I have not spoken out for or against either side during this lockout. I simply want football back. I want the sides to resolve their differences, get their acts together, and get football rolling again. However, some people like Nick have been vehemently against Clark Hunt and the other team owners since the lockout went into effect. I feel like I should have my say now.

Why shouldn't they criticize? After all, this is a lockout and not a strike. It was the owners that forced this confrontation. It is the owners that bailed out of the previous 2006 agreement. Right?

The owners should absolutely be criticized by fans about the situation of the lockout, but not because of the morals of the lockout.

The NFL is a business. The owners are the bosses and the players the employees. DeMaurice Smith calling the owners and the players "business partners" is about as accurate of a statement as me saying that my boss and I are business partners. Which means not very accurate at all.

The NFL is a players sport. The fans worship the players of their favorite team, and because they watch them every Sunday and buy their jerseys, the fans feel a special connection to the players.

What goes unnoticed are the owners. It is the owners that make the NFL possible. It is the owners that allow your favorite team to stay in your city. It is the owners that run the business that is the NFL. Without the owners, there would be no players; without the boss, no employees (and if it wasn't for football, what would many of the players be doing with their careers?).

And maybe that's why it's easy to hate the owners, because they are bosses. I'm not that fond of my boss, just like most of you out there. However, at the end of the day, my boss is still my boss. They can make calls that I can't, they have privileges that I don't, they make more money than me. That's because they are the boss.

What people like Nick Wright are doing is smearing all of the owners as one giant lump of greedy and narcissistic individuals that only care about money. I do believe that owners care about money, but not in a greedy, Scrooge McDuck type sense; I believe they care about money just as much as any other boss would, as any other business owner would. Just because they have money doesn't mean they're Gordon Gekko (Wall Street reference).

To suggest that Brian Waters will not be coming back next season to the Chiefs solely because he is a union representative (and not because he is 34 years old, near the end of his career, would open up cap space, and we seemingly have his replacement ready) is feeding the fire of hatred towards the owners of this business. This is a popular thing to do when the economy is bad and people are looking for someone to blame for their financial woes.

When Roger Goodell stood on the stage to announce the 1st round of the 2011 draft, he was booed so viciously, that it was hard to even hear what he was saying. Why was he booed? Because he represents the NFL owners? Because he's responsible for the lockout? He is no more responsible for the current state of the lockout than DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL Players Association. Neither side could resolve their differences during negotiation and mediation, and yet it was Goodell who gets booed. Why?

I ask you to use some common sense. Blame whoever you want for the lockout, just know the reasons for why you're blaming them before you do, that's all I ask.