[Speed Gibson,
Friday October 16, 2009 at 4:39pm]
Upon Further Review
I've heard callers on several talk shows say they've canceled their satellite / cable NFL packages because of the NFL wimping out on Rush Limbaugh - again. I'm not that level of fan, not even for the Vikings, good as they've been this year. But on further review, even my limited NFL viewing must be called into question.
I'm thinking back to when Paul Tagliabue was made NFL Commissioner. Then a lawyer for the NFL, he beat out the late Jim Finks among others for the job. I remember thinking that nothing good could come of this, putting a lawyer, not a football man in charge. He was a wuss on camera, had his good days and bad days, but somehow the NFL wasn't quite the Sunday ticket anymore. Some say over-expansion took its toll on quality.
I'm thinking back to Rush's short career on ESPN. I was a devoted fan of "NFL Prime Time" with Chris Berman and Tom Jackson, both of whom soiled themselves rather than "lose touch" with the NFL, ostensibly the players in particular. I never watched it or them since, whom I now saw more on par with pro wrestling announcers. You know, maybe not always forthcoming, a little less than honest lest they offend their masters?
And now this, with Commissioner Goodell himself joining the fray. Goodell was an athlete, then did public relations. Maybe I was wrong about lawyers in high places. But once again, the damage was done, a good man slandered, and for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with the business of professional football.
Well, there is one political link, the NFL's clever strategy to get taxpayers to build them stadiums. They're actively at it again, in fact, taunting with a new Los Angeles facility as a possible new home for seven markets whose locals not yet "supporting" their teams, including our own Minnesota Vikings. And, curiously, the St. Louis Rams. Maybe that script has already been written, the Rams' triumphal return to their original home in LA. We wouldn't want a "divisive" owner to mess this up. Or one with deep family roots in Missouri who wouldn't want to move the team.
I have always opposed publicly financed stadiums. My Hennepin County Commissioner, my Legislators, and my Governor managed to swindle me and the rest of Hennepin County into buying the Twins their new home next to a beautifully landscaped garbage burner facility, by taking the ballots out of our hands. Don't get me wrong. I like garbage burners. We should build more of them, not windmills.
But as for professional football, I'm all but done. Like KTLK's Chris Baker, I'll stay with the Vikings, and even there, I'm going to listen to Paul Allen on the radio, not his Roller Derby counterparts on TV. Maybe it's time to rediscover college football, that I used to watch in the 1970's. And, of course, there's NASCAR.
Meanwhile, my favorite sport remains baseball, and I'll be watching tonight to see if the Angels can knock off those damned Yankees.
I'm thinking back to when Paul Tagliabue was made NFL Commissioner. Then a lawyer for the NFL, he beat out the late Jim Finks among others for the job. I remember thinking that nothing good could come of this, putting a lawyer, not a football man in charge. He was a wuss on camera, had his good days and bad days, but somehow the NFL wasn't quite the Sunday ticket anymore. Some say over-expansion took its toll on quality.
I'm thinking back to Rush's short career on ESPN. I was a devoted fan of "NFL Prime Time" with Chris Berman and Tom Jackson, both of whom soiled themselves rather than "lose touch" with the NFL, ostensibly the players in particular. I never watched it or them since, whom I now saw more on par with pro wrestling announcers. You know, maybe not always forthcoming, a little less than honest lest they offend their masters?
And now this, with Commissioner Goodell himself joining the fray. Goodell was an athlete, then did public relations. Maybe I was wrong about lawyers in high places. But once again, the damage was done, a good man slandered, and for reasons having absolutely nothing to do with the business of professional football.
Well, there is one political link, the NFL's clever strategy to get taxpayers to build them stadiums. They're actively at it again, in fact, taunting with a new Los Angeles facility as a possible new home for seven markets whose locals not yet "supporting" their teams, including our own Minnesota Vikings. And, curiously, the St. Louis Rams. Maybe that script has already been written, the Rams' triumphal return to their original home in LA. We wouldn't want a "divisive" owner to mess this up. Or one with deep family roots in Missouri who wouldn't want to move the team.
I have always opposed publicly financed stadiums. My Hennepin County Commissioner, my Legislators, and my Governor managed to swindle me and the rest of Hennepin County into buying the Twins their new home next to a beautifully landscaped garbage burner facility, by taking the ballots out of our hands. Don't get me wrong. I like garbage burners. We should build more of them, not windmills.
But as for professional football, I'm all but done. Like KTLK's Chris Baker, I'll stay with the Vikings, and even there, I'm going to listen to Paul Allen on the radio, not his Roller Derby counterparts on TV. Maybe it's time to rediscover college football, that I used to watch in the 1970's. And, of course, there's NASCAR.
Meanwhile, my favorite sport remains baseball, and I'll be watching tonight to see if the Angels can knock off those damned Yankees.
An excellent reason for not putting someone who specializes in those things in charge of signing the checks. The NFL owners decided they didn't want to be in business with Rush and that's there call. Lots of owners make fools out of themselves, but if you notice none of them make fools of themselves over issues of race.