The fans of the NFL are voracious. The Oakland Raiders—who haven’t made the post-season since their Super Bowl loss to the Bucs and epically busted on 2007 first-round draft pick JaMarcus Russell—have legions of fans who still mob the Oakland Coliseum.
Their tenacity isn’t an anomaly. Across the country, the die-hards for the Miami Dolphins are still living in the glory days of Marino and currently have a quarterback that recently admitted he doesn’t know which teams go in which division.
The fans of the NFL are voracious. The Oakland Raiders—who haven’t made the post-season since their Super Bowl loss to the Bucs and epically busted on 2007 first-round draft pick JaMarcus Russell—have legions of fans who still mob the Oakland Coliseum.
Their tenacity isn’t an anomaly. Across the country, the die-hards for the Miami Dolphins are still living in the glory days of Marino and currently have a quarterback that recently admitted he doesn’t know which teams go in which division.
The history of wins and losses doesn’t seem to be a factor in fan enthusiasm, and an embarrassingly ineffectual offense or defense can still pack a house. If anything, fans just want to watch football.
At the heart of the game of gridiron lies the tradition of the sport—its set of fundamental rules. Like the United States Constitution, it can be amended (such as this year’s requirement to officially review all turnovers), but it exists to serve as the foundation for the ideas and actions displayed during each game. For it to have any real power, it must be upheld.
We, as fans and adherents of the sport, place this power in the hands of the officiating body of referees—the embodiment of judge, jury and executioner for the sake of maintaining the game as a well-oiled machine. We have put quite a great deal of trust in these veteran referees, so with the introduction of amateurs this year due to the NFL’s lockout of the members of the National Football League Referees Association and our trust a little shaken, will fans continue to flock to their TV sets on Sunday?
A week ago, on Monday Night Football, in an ESPN post-game analysis of the Denver-Atlanta game, Steve Young commented that, regardless of what the NFL does or changes, fans will still watch football because the demand for it is inelastic.
This statement was meant to be an acerbic criticism of the NFL’s current lockout as that night’s game was plagued with bad calls and missed penalties, but Young almost seemed to challenge the fans with his evaluation: As a fan, do you mindlessly demand football? More importantly, will you still watch the game even if its core is being eroded?
He mentioned player safety as a chief concern with the inexperienced referees, as countless late hits were going unchecked. (Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III recently stated that he was subjected to numerous “dirty” plays by the Rams defense that went unpunished.)
Additionally, the game resembled something more of a rusty jalopy than the smooth-running machine that we’re used to—with an 8:30 p.m. EST start time, the second half didn’t begin until 11 p.m., by which point the only East Coasters watching were insomniacs and the unemployed.
Regardless of whether or not you take the side of the referees association or the NFL, the game itself is imploding in front of our eyes. What we are witnessing now is not the same football we’ve seen in the past. The question is: How much of the upheaval will you watch before you turn away?
