Mediation

The possibility of having the expanded schedule lies in this negotiating that is going on as we speak. To try and prevent a lockout both sides the player and the owners have agreed to use a federal mediator to establish sustained negotiations. This process basically entails using the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. However, these talks will not be binding, but this is allowing both sides to come to the table more regularly. I love watching football, but I also want the safety for the players to be considered too. I would rather see this expansion cut from these negotiations for this reason of player safety. There is a lot of ground to make up between the sides and the schedule expansion is just one thing among many others. If an agreement can’t be reached within the next two weeks there will be a lockout. I think a lockout for any extended period of time would be detrimental to the league. For the sake of all football fans I hope that the two sides can come together in the next few weeks and have formed some agreement. I just hope that there will be some decision made on this disagreement so that we can have an NFL season and evaluate this schedule change if it does occur.

Will there be a Super Bowl XLVI?

The Super Bowl being today has given me inspiration for this new post. The possibility of no football in 2011 is looming. With the collective bargaining agreement expiring in March, there could be a lockout and no Football. In the negotiations of the new collective bargaining agreement there is the idea of the 18 game regular season schedule change. Now some do not know what the collective bargaining agreement is. Well, it is a contract struck between the players union and the owners. This contract contains clauses about salary caps, which is a total amount a team can spend on paying players, how revenue is distributed between players and owners, along with other NFL policies. Now though there is a push for the addition of two regular season games. The sides have just started to meet for the first time with intensity to iron out an agreement. The goal is to get a deal done by March. If this can’t be done the owners will almost certainly lock the players out. The lockout means that games aren’t played and the players are sitting at home on Sundays without pay. The owners would do this to cut their losses and try to get the players, who may not have alternative sources of income, to sign an agreement. The NFL could lose billions if there is a lock out or some other work stoppage. The more time that passes without an agreement the more money that is lost especially if there are lost regular season games. Hopefully, for the sake of all football fans there will be some agreement signed. The addition of the two extra games will be a major source of discourse between the two sides though, especially since the owners are asking the players to play more games for less money. We can all enjoy this Super Bowl, but hopefully there will be more on the horizon.

A Few Words on Injuries

I thought I would bring some clarity on the injury issue from my experience with injuries. Football, as most know, is a contact sport and it is listed as one of the most dangerous sport someone can play. Now one of the major concerns with schedule expansion is that more players will get injured by playing more games. This of course will happen because every game players get hurt or injured. I have either had most of the common injuries or knew friends that did. The worst of the most common injuries are concussions and knee injuries. They are not the top two most common, but they are serious. I have personally had a concussion and it was miserable. The NFL has recently started to do studies on the affects of head trauma on former players. There is not much evidence yet, however in several years there is likely to be enough to draw a conclusion on the affect of football collisions and brain problems later in life. One can see from boxing how head trauma is serious so there probably are ill affects to football head injuries. The other major injury is a knee injury. I have had multiple friends who had serious season ending knee injuries. They sideline a player for months. They work to recover and rehab just hoping to get back to the same abilities they had before. Then there are the less serious injuries. I have experience in these along with everyone else that has played football. These are those just nagging pains or the stiffness that doesn’t go away, but you play through it every single day. These are the injuries that can really come to play in the postseason or late in the year. I remember making the playoffs in high school and the whole team, myself included, looked like zombies during that time. We were bruised, beaten, tired, and we just had lost a little spark in our legs. This is one of the main reasons when we made it to the region title game we ran out of gas. These are the injuries that take their toll. Everyone gets at least one and they play through it each year. This is why the guys want to retire, they mentally want to keep playing, but their bodies are falling apart from all of the hits they have piled up. I oppose the expansion on the basis that the players’ careers will be cut shorter due to more injuries from more contact. I don’t know if the increase in injuries will dull the post season but the best players will play fewer years in the league. I can almost guarantee that. It’s sad to see the greats exit the game, but we definitely don’t want to see them leaving earlier than normal. For the sake of the players’ health this expansion should not be done.