Before you sit down and watch the Super Bowl, I really hope you read this New Yorker article about the NFL treat players like cattle.
I'm not advocating the end of football (although personally, I prefer the Australian version of the sport), but you should think about the physical toll that the sport takes on players, when you sit down with your pizza, chips, dip, and frosty beverage of choice. I recall reading once that the average life expectancy for an NFL player is 15 years LESS than a male in the general population. Frankly, my earlier statement is perhaps too kind--the NFL, in general, treats its players WORSE than cattle are treated in a slaughterhouse.
My first job in High School was working one summer at the Oakland Raiders training camp in my hometown of Santa Rosa, California. There are more than a few of the players that I remember from my youth, who should be between their mid 50's and mid 60's, who died at an early age, or are now crippled, due to the punishment this game inflicts. As I look back, I feel fortunate that I stopped playing football when I did, due to the effects I had from a serious concussion from a near fatal accident. The only thing that probably saved me from dying was the fact I WAS wearing a helmet at the time of my accident.
In the last several weeks, there has been discussions about the potential of the NFL returning to the Los Angeles area. Farmers Insurance* has agreed to pay $700 million over 30 years for the naming rights to the proposed stadium next to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. The strapped taxpayers of Los Angeles will likely be asked to foot a substantial part of the construction costs (including those associated with tearing down a portion of the publicly owned Convention Center, which is still being paid for by the taxpayers). Additionally, another group has plans to build a football stadium in the City of Industry, which is located in Eastern San Gabriel Valley. (Actually, the City of Cheaply Built Tilt-Up Concrete Buildings, because there are more people in a mosh pit at a Green Day concert, than live in the City of Industry.) The taxpayers are also expected to foot a large portion of the bill for this proposed stadium.
Although I don't live in Los Angeles proper, and my only relationship with the City of Industry is that my former wife lives a short walk from the stadium site, I find it very difficult to understand why the taxpayers of any city should be asked to contribute any significant money toward the construction of a facility (let alone two in a relatively small area) that are used for 10 pre-season and/or regular season games (depending upon whether the owners convince the players to expand the regular season to 18 games), perhaps 1-3 playoff games, as well as the occasional U2 or Rolling Stones gig or Monster Truck rally. The discussions the other day when the Farmers' sponsorship was announced claimed that the Downtown Los Angeles project would create on the order of 8000 new jobs, is patently ridiculous. A new facility that's open perhaps no more than two dozen days a year will create thousands of new jobs...seriously...
The NFL is made up of some EXTREMELY wealthy people. Even Al Davis, who in his old age, has turned into a football version of Wile E. Coyote,** controls a football team that is worth more than the Los Angeles Dodgers! And the Raiders are the LEAST valuable NFL franchise! There is no reason why these Later Day Gilded Age Robber Barons can't pay for the construction of a football stadium out of their own pocket! (Not to mention decent medical care and pension benefits for past and current players.)
If I really had any interest in the NFL at this point in my life, I really wouldn't want a team in the Los Angeles area. If I want to see a game, it's actually quicker to drive to San Diego to see the Chargers than it would be to drive to Downtown Los Angeles to go to Farmers' Field. (Believe me, I went to enough Raiders games when they were here and spent too much time parked on the 110.) Some days, its actually quicker to fly to Oakland, take the shuttle from the airport, and walk across the street from the BART station to see the Raiders. (Try taking a Jet Blue or Southwest flight to Oakland on a Sunday when the Raiders play, and you will see for yourself.)
NFL fans in Los Angeles get at least four over the air TV games every Sunday, with no blackouts, as well as a number of games freely available on the radio.
The greater Los Angeles Area (and I include Orange County and the Inland Empire in this) is many things, but this is not some provincial community like...dare I say it...Green Bay (and I'll add Milwaukee to this description) or Pittsburgh, whose civic identity is so tied up in an NFL franchise. Without the Packers, Green Bay would be a place where Northern toilet paper is manufactured and Pittsburgh...
* Full disclosure--my current employer Zurich, for all intents and purposes, owns Farmers Insurance. My Swiss corporate masters did not consult me when they made this deal, which hopefully does not impact my bonus or pay raise.
** To quote George Santayana by way of Chuck Jones "A fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts when he has forgotten his aim."
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