I Wish the Fans Could Sue

[Hoofbite]

Who are you going to sue? I'm sick of hearing people saying it's millionaires arguing with billionaires. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would side with the owners.

Siding with the players is basically asking the owners to recover lost money from the fans.

You think the owners are going to be complacent if they have to shell out more money? I don't. I think they'll raise prices of concessions, parking and everything else.

Guess what happens next time DTV has to negotiate for Sunday Ticket exclusivity.

DTV pays more and where does DTV recoup their additional costs? Subs.

The prices are always going up as it is, if you force the owners to find alternatives routes to make the money they think they deserve it does nothing but trickle down to the fans and jack up prices even more.

Hard to blame either side but if I was forced to take one, I'd chose the owners.

The players want more money because most of them only work for one real contract any way. Put in just enough to get that big one and ride out the rest of a career. Leonard Davis says, "hi".

The owners want more money because they're sick of paying some single-digit Wonderlic score truckloads of cash for a year or two of service and a few extra years of sitting around.

The players are lucky they have guarantees in their contracts. Guaranteed payday no matter how crappy someone plays sounds like a hell of a gig to me. Only in professional sports can someone get paid a king's ransom for maintaining a healthy body temperature for a couple of years. And it really isn't even so much the guaranteed signing money, it's more-so the cap structure. Players get that big bonus right off the bat but the salary cap structures it so a deadbeat FA acquisition cannot be cut whenever the team pleases. The level of this guys play says that I should boot his *** out the door but my salary cap hit tells me I have to keep him on the team and pay his base salaries and potential roster bonuses for the next couple years. For every sob story there is about a player who's underpaid, there's a lotto story about a player who peaked, struck it rich with a huge contract and laid down.

And I love the "owners opted out" argument. Like it's any more ridiculous than some 1st round draft pick lighting up the league for a season or two and looking for a pay raise with 2-3 seasons left on their contract. Never mind they've already been paid with the assumption they will perform to a certain level, once they've hit that level they're steadfast in their belief that they are underpaid. I actually think players looking for a premature pay raise is more ridiculous than the owners looking to swing the pendulum in their favor.

Furthermore, it isn't like the owners are opting out every year to renegotiate. It isn't like they are opting out earlier than they are allowed to. They played by the rules and exercised their agreed upon right to renegotiate. It's like those stupid contracts that Nate Clements and Haynesworth signed. You know damn well that they aren't seeing the last year or two of those deals. Not unless they play at a level worthy of being called the best ever at those positions. They haven't and they won't see those last years. Just like the CBA. You knew the owners were gonna bail unless that agreement worked out to be best thing since sliced bread. It didn't and they bailed. I don't see how someone can spin it as the owners fault by choosing to exercise a right that they negotiated for years ago as part of a less-than-ideal overall agreement. I'd go as far as to say that they probably took the last deal with full intent of opting out and that they only took the last deal because they were given the option of opting out.

I don't know how anyone can blame them. Personally, I'd opt out too if I was faced with the possibility of sinking 30, 40 or 50 Million guaranteed on the next JaMarcus Russell.

The owners offered the players more then they really should have. Less offseason work, reallocation of salaries towards the vets, retirement fund money and a meet-in-the-middle. Sounds like the owners are far more interested in getting something done than the NFLPA is. That offer of meeting halfway seems more generous then they really needed to be.

 

[DeaconBlues]

thats where i disagree with you buddy. If enough people stood up and let their voice be heard, (like the shot that was fired and heard around the world), then something would be done.

what is the NFL really? Would the nfl be in operation today if fans werent there supporting them? NO!

Talk is cheap. Action is everything. Just like the boston tea party, our forefathers had enough, not just on taxes, but way england was trying to tell us how to run our country, what we could or could not do.

only when people have had enough, do things stop, but only when people are sick and tired of being treated a certain way, then do things change.

It always starts with one voice, then another, then another, till it snowballs. But you have to stand together, and let your voice be heard.

So, are we chicken like mice, or we men and women with a voice that will let our voice be heard, loud and clear, that we have had enough.

I am not very articulate with my wording or speech, but I will stand behind Hos, or anyone that will stand up, start a petition, get that to other NFL teams boards, so radio and tv stations gets ahold of this, and then Espn, NFl network gets ahold of it, as well as our congressman, etc...

You're expecting people to put a sport on the same level as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. For one, nations go to war. For the other, people learn to watch college football.

Good luck with that.

 

[SDogo]

They really wouldn't be able to sue until they have missed work or paid for games that didn't happen. Long way away from that.

I have no idea how it would work but I'm sure it's not something that can be put together over night.

 

[adbutcher]

I can see it now, Little Joe and Hos[strike]s[/strike] back in the saddle again. :laugh2:

http://i139.***BLOCKED***/albums/q313/lminzer/Five%20Sundowns%20to%20Sunup/zzzzi_Its_all_over_Hoss_and_Joe.jpg

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I can see it now, Little Joe and Hos[strike]s[/strike] back in the saddle again. :laugh2:

http://i139.***BLOCKED***/albums/q313/lminzer/Five%20Sundowns%20to%20Sunup/zzzzi_Its_all_over_Hoss_and_Joe.jpg

:laugh1:

 

[cowboyjoe]

I can see it now, Little Joe and Hos[strike]s[/strike] back in the saddle again. :laugh2:

http://i139.***BLOCKED***/albums/q313/lminzer/Five%20Sundowns%20to%20Sunup/zzzzi_Its_all_over_Hoss_and_Joe.jpg

you guys are killing me with laughter, whoa, wait till Hos sees this

i did meet Hoss and little Joe one time though at a rodeo

 

[Hostile]

I can see it now, Little Joe and Hos[strike]s[/strike] back in the saddle again. :laugh2:

http://i139.***BLOCKED***/albums/q313/lminzer/Five%20Sundowns%20to%20Sunup/zzzzi_Its_all_over_Hoss_and_Joe.jpg

I never knew you were an Indian.

Can someone remove this arrow form my back?

:wink2:

 

[Angus]

The owners want to pay them less money and play more games, when the league is making more money than ever. What if your boss said he was going to cut your pay and have you work Saturdays from now on? And with all the new stories about how unsafe the game is, it's making me feel bad to be a fan. Duerson shooting himself in the chest so his brain can be studied? That is absolutely horrific.

I'd quit If I didn't like it. The players can, too.

But a great many of them couldn't hold a real job in the real business world except as a day laborer (or the equivalent). All they've got to sell is their brawn and sweat because they wasted whatever college education the brawn and sweat gave them before they got to the NFL.

They are overpaid for what they do. And, stupid to boot -- to take a chance on killing the golden goose that feeds their families caviar. They risk starvation. All the owners risk is having to start another profitable business, which all have shown the capability of doing.

 

[Avery]

The sad thing about this is that it always takes years to recover from any lockout. MLB hasn't recovered, NHL definitely hasn't recovered and the NBA's recovery is still stilted.

But hey, let us not forget the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl9BpUgYljQ

 

[Cowboysfan22]

Both sides have their issues it isn't as black and white as some feel inclined on making it.

 

[adbutcher]

I never knew you were an Indian.

Can someone remove this arrow form my back?

:wink2:

Take it easy brethren, I am still on your side.

But you two are too funny when ya'll carry on, lol.

 

[Hagman]

I am aboard Hos, to get a petition together and get cowboys fans as well as other NFL teams fans to sign, that have the guts to say, enough is enough. I am sick and tired of players and owners that raise the prices against us fans, and dont put a good product out on the field, because players sometimes dont really care, or want to work.

I look at this Hos, like our forefathers in United States that said at the boston tea party, enough of taxes, we have had enough and wont stand for anymore.

Who is with me, and has the guts to stand up and be counted, and let our voice be heard to the owners, NFLPA, NFL, and the players?

Time to stand up and be counted!

Oh, good lord, comparing a football labor situation to the American Revolution is nuts. First, the idea that fans ought to sue is goofy. There is no legal right to have football. It's not a necessity of life like air, water and food.
And if you won't stand for it anymore. Then don't. It's a product offered in a market place. Like other employees, the players ask for the maximum compensation that they can receive in the marketplace. Owners charge customers the maximum price that the market will bear to maximize their profits. It's called capitalism. And it's a system that has produced a high quality of life overall in the country and a very high quality pro football product.
And as a free marketplace, if you don't want a a product, or don't want it at a given price, don't buy it. Don't go to the games. Don't buy the merchandise. Don't watch the games on TV (afterall, those ratings lead to huge ad revenues that really drive the league). And don't support the system by reading about it or posting about it on internet fan boards. That will make more of an impact than some goofy petition.

Me? I've seen all this a several times in the 44 years I've been a fan. Labor disputes come and go and are also part of the system. I'll wait for this to pass and go back to following the game I love (if, as Bob Barker says, The Price Is Right)

 

[MapleLeaf]

The only way to ever wake the owners and players up is to tell them how pissed off we all are. A class action lawsuit on behalf of fans is a good idea but it would never go anywhere.

...to hit them where it hurts.

The NFL draft. I believe the draft is going to be a pivotal event where the fans can inform the owners and players of their feelings.

Just don't watch it.

Lower ratings for this event may send a signal back to the two sides that the fan base is unhappy.

Without a direct voice in the bargaining table we can express in other ways. This is TV driven league. I say get them where it is going to hurt them both.

 

[Jarv]

I really miss the Football of the 70's. Defenses were allowed to mug receivers down-field and kill the QB. The running game was at least as important as the passing game...No salary cap and players played for the same team most of their career. Players sold insurance in the off-season to supplement their salaries. Playoff money actually meant something to those players, incentives that drove your fellow teammates to kick your *** if you were screwing up or playing lazy.

Football was played out doors in the weather and going to games didn't break your piggy bank. Very few prima-donnas because the players took care of that in the locker room.

Football players need to realize what they do is a job. I'll bet that 99% of the people here don't go to their boss and demand to see the books and ask for a percentage of the profits.

To old time purist, like myself. A year off in which both sides lose money could be a great thing in the long run. I watch football for the pure love of the game, things really started going downhill with the creation of ESPN, Sportscenter and cool graphics and highlights, which I think some fans enjoy as much, if not more than the real game.

 

[Hostile]

Take it easy brethren, I am still on your side.

But you two are too funny when ya'll carry on, lol.

Thank you for not shooting me in the Buns. Now give me a shot of Nyquil and then take out that arrow.

:

 

[lqmac1]

NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and ESPN.

With all their rating landslides that's gonna take place with no nfl, they'll feel like they've been sued.

 

[Vtwin]

I really miss the Football of the 70's. Defenses were allowed to mug receivers down-field and kill the QB. The running game was at least as important as the passing game...No salary cap and players played for the same team most of their career. Players sold insurance in the off-season to supplement their salaries. Playoff money actually meant something to those players, incentives that drove your fellow teammates to kick your *** if you were screwing up or playing lazy.

Football was played out doors in the weather and going to games didn't break your piggy bank. Very few prima-donnas because the players took care of that in the locker room.

Football players need to realize what they do is a job. I'll bet that 99% of the people here don't go to their boss and demand to see the books and ask for a percentage of the profits.

To old time purist, like myself. A year off in which both sides lose money could be a great thing in the long run. I watch football for the pure love of the game, things really started going downhill with the creation of ESPN, Sportscenter and cool graphics and highlights, which I think some fans enjoy as much, if not more than the real game.

Amen.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I really miss the Football of the 70's. Defenses were allowed to mug receivers down-field and kill the QB. The running game was at least as important as the passing game...No salary cap and players played for the same team most of their career. Players sold insurance in the off-season to supplement their salaries. Playoff money actually meant something to those players, incentives that drove your fellow teammates to kick your *** if you were screwing up or playing lazy.

Football was played out doors in the weather and going to games didn't break your piggy bank. Very few prima-donnas because the players took care of that in the locker room.

Football players need to realize what they do is a job. I'll bet that 99% of the people here don't go to their boss and demand to see the books and ask for a percentage of the profits.

To old time purist, like myself. A year off in which both sides lose money could be a great thing in the long run. I watch football for the pure love of the game, things really started going downhill with the creation of ESPN, Sportscenter and cool graphics and highlights, which I think some fans enjoy as much, if not more than the real game.

I don't go back quite that far, but I am so with you.

And I'm getting a little tired of hearing how dangerous this game is, too. Yes, you can and probably will get hurt at some point. Yes, you may have arthritis a few years earlier than you otherwise would have. But some of the players and national commentators are talking about this game as if it's getting shot at or digging up mines, and it isn't. If the game is too detrimental to your health, do like millions of kids do and don't play. Or if you do play, quit before you get too beat up. But what about the hundreds of college players each year who would give anything to play in the NFL because they love the game, but they aren't good enough? Were they somehow at less risk in college because they weren't big or fast enough? What about those of us who would give almost anything to be able to suit up and play a real football game again, even at our own meager levels? Why do so many ex-players talk so wistfully about their playing days?

It almost seems like the NFL has become such a money-generating machine that players consider it their right to cash in when they get there. But it's still a game, the best game in the world.

 

[Joe Realist]

If there are no games in September, Ill be concerned. For now, I'm not gonna get pissed about it.

 

[Red Dragon]

The only way to ever wake the owners and players up is to tell them how pissed off we all are. A class action lawsuit on behalf of fans is a good idea but it would never go anywhere.

Sue for what? Damages? I think only fans with PSLs or stadium tickets (who cannot, for some reason, get a refund) would have a legitimate case for a lawsuit if there is no football.



I don't think fans can sue for dissatisfaction, or boredom, or disappointment at no football - The emotional pain, if you will, is real, but I don't think that would be a legitimate claim.



And then the definition of "fan" would be troublesome - is someone who watches Sunday games a fan, and therefore deserving of compensation? Or only stadium ticket holders deserve compensation? The definition of who is a fan, with a legitimate grievance, would be hard to pin down.