Saturday, November 7, 2009

Not the year of any given Sunday

We are halfway through the NFL season now and it has been an interesting season to say the least. There is the normal pattern of a handful of teams who are underachieving such as the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. Some teams who are playing better than many thought possible are the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, and Denver Broncos. The one difference I have observed in the league this year is the lack of competitiveness by a rather large number of teams. Bottom line, there are a lot of bottom feeders in the NFL this season. I don't remember watching so many teams struggle to even score one touchdown during a game. Just two weeks ago, I can recall 4 teams who lost by combined scores of 148-16. I should also mention that these 4 teams (Browns, Chiefs, Raiders, and Rams) were all playing at home! It used to be that even the weaker sisters in the league still found a way to step it up and be competitive on their home field. Some of these front offices need to start thinking about giving back to the fans. I mean this quite literally. Here is my suggestion: Fans attending an NFL contest should receive a 25% refund on the price of their ticket if their home team fails to score a touchdown in the game. And, if your team is shutout at home, then you are entitled to a 50% refund. Does anybody out there think this is unreasonable? Clearly, the cost of attending a sporting event has spiraled out of control in recent years and fans are entitled to some return compensation when the product on the field is substandard. I am still struggling to get a grasp on things like the NY Yankees payroll, NFL rookie signing bonuses, and 125 million dollar NBA contracts. Maybe the quality of the games will pick up before the season draws to an end. If not, fans can only hope for better results next season.
Lights out.

No comments: