The No Fun League Strikes Again

Published on 18-Aug-2013 by Towner Park

Football - NFL    NFL Daily Opinion

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The No Fun League Strikes Again

Obviously, Roger Goodell doesn't know the meaning of pure entertainment.

We all know the NFL is a multi-billion dollar corporation, and it's no secret the league is also an extensive part of the entertainment industry.

Commissioner Goddell has proven to be an overly autocratic leader. He calls the shots, and unfortunately, the players, are forced to obey. The NFLPA has a significant voice, but apparently, it can't make any headway when it comes to player celebrations.

Celebrating is a joyous part of the NFL. Although excessive at times, it induces excitement, enthusiasm, and can easily result in a momentum swing.

With the recent bans imposed by the league, I can see where this is going.

It's a perpetual lockdown on player individuality and overall team excitement. That means the custom grills have to go, too.

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Sacking an opposing quarterback is a major feat. If someone wants to celebrate his achievement, I certainly don't see anything wrong with that. It creates a hardship for the offense. The defense gets hyped as a result, and the player who caused the riff should get some sort of recognition.

If he wants to celebrate moderately without causing a huge delay in the game or embarrassing an opposing player, there shouldn't be any reprecussions because of it.

Celebrating a first down is also something special, especially if a team is in quite a hole. It creates momentum and the player celebrating should be excited. Although I'm not a Redskins fan, whenever Santana Moss caught the ball for a first down and immediately spun the football, the Redskins were pumped and so was Santana. It was simple and didn't cause any major delay. I'm sure the referees weren't thrilled, but so be it. When do the referees ever get excited during a football game?

Do you think Commissioner Goodell takes any of this into consideration? Probably not.

I'm sure when he was the one in kindergarten playing hide and go seek with his imgainary friend instead of socializing with the rest of his peers on the monkey bars. Even then, what happened that all of his peers grew up to be stodgy old brownsuits who now treat every uttering of Vince Lombardi as gospel?

My plea: Keep the celebrations but don't let them become too excessive.

Disrespect is a completely different term than simply having fun. Football should be fun. I remember a day when it was.

Maybe one day, it will return to the NFL. But until then, I'm inclined to put on a suit and tie before sitting down to watch a game.