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It doesn't breed sympathy from me. It's somewhat off-putting considering football games are a form of entertainment that fans pay money to enjoy. There are many ways to show signs of unity in the labor battle against NFL owners, but this one seems out of place.
No, the point of it is to show the owners that they're all in this together, to form unity. I'm a teacher and during tough negotiation years, the union may ask all the teachers in the district to wear black shirts that Friday. We don't really do it to show ourselves we're all in it together it's more of a message to the owners and that group.
Try to imagine Albert Haynesworth doing that at some point this season.Now try not to vomit.Hopefully they don't devote all of their time to attaining public sympathy and actually look to solve some of the tough issues that BOTH sides are facing.I was pissed when I saw that for a number of reasons. I'm just curious if anyone was actually happy for the players and what they were doing?
it seems nice but the owners can hold out a lot longer and, as usual, the players will have no choice but to make concessions.
the owners are richer than the players. they are at worst billionaires. the players rely on their salaries to, well, make a living. the replaceable special teams guys make a couple hundred grand over a few seasons and the stars make at best 10s of millions over a few yrs. in an atmosphere of attrition, its pretty obv who will last longer.
I'm going to guess most of them realize how blessed they are.
Success!
we dont. boohoo you only made 58% of billions instead of 60% of billions. wrong economic climate to worry or care about them and their money
I think it is ridiculous and comical that millionaires feel the need to organize. Realistically any negative impact will only be felt by the fringe type players making six figures to work on the practice squad, as there are any number of players willing to do what they do for 20,000 a year. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees- will all get theirs. Obviously, as a teacher who has endured my share of solidarity efforts, including standing out in the 10 degree weather holding signs, wearing the same black shirt as every other teacher, etc..., I understand the symbolic gesture of the players. It really doesn't engage the slightest bit of sympathy. F..# em if they're not on my team.
But I would say that as a teacher:1) you don't have a very public job in that if you get caught driving drunk, while you will face professional repercussions, you will not wind on the news.2). Most people believe that teachers are indeed underpaid and have the benefit of public sympathy for the most part as it applies to their plight. With the exception of tenured teachers who cruise to retirement because they are protected by the system, I don't know many people who don't think they should earn more money given how hard and important the job is.Football players on the other hand? While I believe they earn their money, most would struggle to live/survive on a teachers salary. And while I recognize that they want to promote and enforce solidarity within their ranks, to do so prior to performing their job which is a very public endeavor and one followed for the purpose of enjoyment...to dampen that enjoyment potentially with such a display runs the risk of eroding any public support they have. Why not wear black arm/head bands to practice or media days? I just feel like if the players are going to remind us prior to every game that they are 'solid', people are going to get fed up with it extremely quickly and they'll suffer some sort of public backlash.
I think they have to let it ride, don't you? If the league cracks down on the "freedom of expression", it accomplishes two things for the union: (1) It raises the public profile of their gesture, and; (2) it portrays the owners/league as the superpowerful overlord beating down the little guy(s), which would certainly get more fan support for their cause.If the NFL ignores it, the average fan is going to say "who cares as long as I have football this weekend" and the players will ultimately look pretty foolish.
Yes, if I were Goodell, I'd let it ride. But this is a league that is built around controlling every single thing that goes into the broadcast from player tweets to socks being pulled up so it'll be interesting to see.J
I agree that the only move for the owners is to ignore it and it's quite possible that the players look foolish.Even though there is a risk for the players to look bad, I think it's a risk worth taking.For the owners, the fans' opinion is probably far more important than the players'. The fans are their livelihood.As of now, the fans largely are uninvolved and for most part, have no opinion on the matter. Is it in the best interest of the players to leave it that way? Personally, I don't think it is. Whether the fans are indifferent or whether the fans turn on the players really doesn't matter. In either case, big advantage to the owners. Their best hope of making headway is to get the fans on their side on the matter, as that's the only thing the owners really care about.If the players feel that the fans will view them favorably in this if they become more informed, then it makes total sense to get them involved. It's not something fans would do on their own. Most fans wouldn't care until a Sunday without football comes. For the players, that would be too late.
I think part of the reason it seems so off-key is that people hear many more numbers associated with player pay than numbers associated with owner earnings. The players union has to do a better job of managing the PR angle that represents their side.More NFL fans seem offended by the Millionaire players fighting for their share than by the Billionaire owners fighting for theirs. Yet the group that is actually sacrificing their well-being for the enjoyment of the fans is the players not the owners. The group that people can identify with as the true "work hard enough and you can succeed" embodiment of the American Dream is the players, not the owners (with a few exceptions in the owner's group).
Exactly.The players need to get the "Owners are going to take football away from you next year just because of the difference between X hundred million dollars and X+1 hundred million dollars" storyline out there - focusing on 1) how ridiculously wealthy the owners are compared to the players and 2) that the owners hold all the cards here - if there is no football next year, it will be their doing, not the players - a lockout is an owner action, not a player action.
Do you really think they are 'sacrificing their well-being' for the enjoyment of the fans and NOT the money that they know they can earn? I think they are doing it for the money, not for the fans.
This was posted in SPool yesterday? Pretty good.http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-l...questions090810
They can only earn that money because the fans show up to watch and pony up to buy the jerseys, etc, etc. Even if it is indirect, it is the players that are providing what we all want.
Are you saying that the players should be just as wealthy as the owners? Players work FOR the owners. Should all Microsoft employees be just as wealthy as Bill Gates?
Ugh, of course it was. The time spent on off-the-field stuff and the lack of on-the-field analysis has to a drastic decline in my sports show viewing and listening. I pretty much only watch games and some local postgame stuff that focuses directly on the game I just watched. There are some sports programs that focus more on the actual game, but, for the most part, sports news is mostly full of non-sports stuff.Don't get me wrong. I think the business side of sports and other areas have their place. I just wish they weren't part of most shows and that there would be a flip in how coverage is done. Outside the Lines is perfect for that. But, more and more, special shows are needed for on-the-field analysis since the main shows don't provide much of it. But that's on tv. Radio is just horrible. I can't remember the last time I heard more than 2 straight minutes of good on-the-field talk on the radio.
I think the thing is though that very few really identify with the players. They seem just as distant as the owners. If anything they seem more familiar than the owners as they can relate to the model of being offered a job for a certain amount of pay. To them, most have the perception it's an incredibly cool job that most would give anything to be able to do and they feel that they are paid an exorbitant amount of money to do it.I do agree it's fascinating.I think part of the reason it seems so off-key is that people hear many more numbers associated with player pay than numbers associated with owner earnings. The players union has to do a better job of managing the PR angle that represents their side.More NFL fans seem offended by the Millionaire players fighting for their share than by the Billionaire owners fighting for theirs. Yet the group that is actually sacrificing their well-being for the enjoyment of the fans is the players not the owners. The group that people can identify with as the true "work hard enough and you can succeed" embodiment of the American Dream is the players, not the owners (with a few exceptions in the owner's group).
very
No one is putting a gun to their head and making them 'sacrifice'. They don't think the benefits are worth the sacrifice? They can quit and sit behind a desk all day or drive a truck. Isn't their health more important than money?I think part of the reason it seems so off-key is that people hear many more numbers associated with player pay than numbers associated with owner earnings. The players union has to do a better job of managing the PR angle that represents their side.More NFL fans seem offended by the Millionaire players fighting for their share than by the Billionaire owners fighting for theirs. Yet the group that is actually sacrificing their well-being for the enjoyment of the fans is the players not the owners. The group that people can identify with as the true "work hard enough and you can succeed" embodiment of the American Dream is the players, not the owners (with a few exceptions in the owner's group).
very
That's a great question.It really is between the owners and players. Just like a contract negotiation is.But the fans do have an impact as they are the customers of the owner. And their opinion does factor in. Whether the two sides choose to bring that into the equation publicly is always a decision that has to be made. I personally think it's wiser leaving that component out of it publicly.J
Sorry, this is probably the wrong thread for my comments. Just a pet peeve of mine and one reason why I really love this site. The on-field to off-field ratio here is awesome and this thread is clearly a good place to discuss this story.
