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Is It Just Me OR Did The NFL Lose My Interest

Original post made by Main Street Jay Walker, Another Pleasanton neighborhood, on Aug 2, 2011

I am an avid NFL football fan. Not college football, not high school football, but the pros, the NFL. That is until now. It seems that when the NFL talks made headlines, and I read the demands of both sides I had trouble digesting the controversy. I was befuddled, disillusioned. Millionaires against billionaires. All this in the midst of people struggling against each other for benefits, taxes, their homes and their future. Regardless of where you stand on the social / economic / political continuum, it's been an earth shaking couple of years, and there's no end in site.

I started to wonder if my Sunday mornings, noon's and nights might be better spent talking with my kids, eating brunch with my wife or even taking a walk in the garden and smelling the roses. Now that the talks are over and the pre-season is heating up, for some reason I remain limp and unexcited about the fall debut of my favorite sport, the best sport in the entire universe. My question is simple: Is anyone else feeling this sense of apathy of the pending NFL season or is it just me?

Comments (12)

Posted by Fran
a resident of Country Fair
on Aug 3, 2011 at 8:29 am

Nothing limp about NFL as far as I'm concerned. What's better than downfield penetration on the way to scoring big time? Also, I do confess to getting excited when I'm lying in bed at night thinking about all the money the owners have.


Posted by Tennessee Jed
a resident of Jensen Tract
on Aug 3, 2011 at 8:33 am

I don't feel your sense of apathy on this one. I am just glad that the season is back on for this year and the labor disputes are behind us. Sunday football is an institution in this household, so no apathy here, just looking forward to watching the Bay Area teams, no matter how well they play, it is still football and a passion.

Even with our teams not contending for the last decade, you still get to see championship teams come in and play nonetheless. And like they say... on any Sunday... anyone can win.


Posted by sports fan
a resident of Downtown
on Aug 3, 2011 at 10:36 am

I love all sports. Yes looking forward to football season. Yes these guys make a lot of $$$, but they also work real hard at it. They're working out rigth now as I type this comment. I know. I'm a graduate of The University of Texas in Physical therapy. In 1994 I fortunately got a job as a Physical therapist for the Dallas Cowboys. They were all great guys. We had a saying about the off season. "There is no off season". We all work hard all year round, and the players worked harder than anybody else. At least I got a share of some of the $, and experience. I have a private practice now. Thank you Football.


Posted by ?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Aug 3, 2011 at 10:42 am

Was it EVER interesting?


Posted by D W
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Aug 3, 2011 at 11:40 am

Main Street Jay:

I hate to say it, but you're in the minority. Actually, I don't mind the sport of tackle football, as long as the headlines consists of well-respected winning teams and the game itself is treated like an artform. But the high-strung judgment-clouding passion? Passion is nice, unfortunately, it can be so extreme it's as if Planet Earth is not there at times. That can be very damaging to many valuable relationships, close and distant.

I'm all for having fun, yet can't we regain perspective once the Super Bowl is over? Can't we still build a better life for ourselves with our inner circle and other interests instead of sitting there, looking for shows or other activities to maintain the obsessive/compulsive mindset that often rules football fandom at all levels, especially in the Southeastern colleges?

From August to very early February, the NFL Experience can indeed be one of a kind. But please remember - it is only a game. It is NOT life-or-death! Pity the fools who believe otherwise! I used to be one of those fools as a kid. I'm glad I no longer ride that road; it can really eat you up inside; it's not worth a few ulcers (I'm lucky never had such symptoms).

Jay, if the NFL still turns you off, when you do talk to your kids, ask them what sports they enjoy most. If they love the more real football - soccer - then check out that sport at the college level. You'll be surprised at how exciting that game can be at times. Other than that, good luck pursuing other alternatives. You can find them.


Posted by Chris
a resident of Avignon
on Aug 3, 2011 at 1:02 pm

What's better than watching a big buck penetrating the defense despite stiff opposition? Limp? Hardly. In fact, highly arousing. And ya gotta love those uniforms!


Posted by Mike
a resident of Highland Oaks
on Aug 3, 2011 at 4:03 pm

Karl Marx said it best when he said, ""Der Sport ist das Opium des Volkes."

And like the Jumpin' Jive, when your team wins, "It makes you 9 feet tall when you're 4 foot 5."

So let's appreciate sports for what they are and what they do.


Posted by Bill Carman
a resident of Country Fair
on Aug 3, 2011 at 4:25 pm

My 90 year old mom would have perished without her beloved football. As for spending more time with family and getting off the couch; you should do that regardless of football!


Posted by Just Askin'
a resident of Civic Square
on Aug 3, 2011 at 7:42 pm

Dear Sports Fan,

You refer to your involvement with NFL. Did it at all bother you to be participating in an industry where the average pro baller lives ten years less than an average person? Did you ever converse with the players about the dangers inherent in playing professional football? How players average lifespan in the league is a little less than 3 years, yet the wear and tear on the body over that period almost certainly ensures a significantly shortened life?

Glad to hear football was good for you. Kind of like a vulture feeding on the soon-to-be corpse, don't you think?


Posted by Tango
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Aug 3, 2011 at 11:51 pm

I agree with Just Askin' I may be wrong but it is my understanding that when they are through playing football , that they do not get lifetime health insurance, Most come out of the game with some horrendous injuries that will always cause them much pain. Maybe the pay is over the top and maybe our fighting men and woman should get the same pay. They put their lives on the line everyday, but our fighting people don't have a union.





Posted by Two To Tango
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Aug 4, 2011 at 2:18 am

Tango makes a good point. I myself liken what the NFL is doing to that of the banks and realtors who were all too happy to help poor people of color purchase homes they could not afford. In this instance, it is mostly 20 year-old black kids, most of whom haven't graduated from college -- rather, were admitted only to be used (exploited) by the NCAA money-making operation -- and are naively pie-eyed about their prospects to become superstars in the NFL. They are not told of their actual prospects being that of likely suffering debilitating injuries that will hobble them for the rest of their seriously shortened lives.

It angers me that a major university like UT can offer such a mindless degree as physical therapy. Shucks, "Sports Fan" can't even spell properly his own major. And the ethical dimensions of his practice? Forget about it. Simply a mindless practitioner, with a mindless degree, who can only gush about the $$ players make. Pretty sad statement about the unfortunate direction our universities and colleges are taking in pursuit of the buck.


Posted by Jack
a resident of Downtown
on Aug 4, 2011 at 11:48 pm

It's just you...


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