The Good Ol' Days

An interesting thing happened to me today when my son asked me how excited I was about the upcoming NFL season, and for the first time I really wasn't sure how to answer him. I grew up in the era where the Packers, Giants Cowboys, 49ers and Bears ruled the roost and every team had legendary players many of whom eventually ended up in Canton. Then came the Steeler dynasty of Bradshaw, Swan, Jack Lambert and Franco Harris, and then we had the run of Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott et al. And of course we can't forget those boys with the silver helmets and those big stars on their heads in the 90's. A lot has changed since then, players, league rules, safety issues, instant replay, steroids etc. More often then ever the story in the NFL is about Gun possession, murders, spousal abuse, drugs, and the beat goes on and on. The NFL on opening night had 31 active players on rosters that were suspended for one violation or another and could not start the season. And then there is the rules issue, DB'S can't defend, Defensive linemen can't tackle the QB's. No one can fumble anymore (knee down knee down). Don't tackle to high or too low or you'll see mister yellow. Those poor defenseless receivers. I get the concussion issue, and it's a real concern. But football is our modern day warfare; fought by our modern day gladiators and it's a very violent game. Unfortunately it's part of the equation. It's hard to legislate safety in a car crash. Legends like Dick Butkus, Ray Nitchke, and Jack Lambert would be banned from the game today. One final thought, with all the new rules and penalties now in force, I know the first thing I look for @ the end of a play is Mr.YELLOW box on the screen. It shouldn't be that way. And then there are the endless reviews. Penalties, touchdowns, field position, in or out of bounds, Geeeez. A real cynic might say football has become a game of penalties and instant replay. But the NFL is bigger then ever. Truly a marketing miracle, and that's fine. Hey I like football a lot too, but somehow I don't think this is what our founding fathers had in mind.