There is no denying it – the NFL is experiencing a heaping helping of negativity.
Be it players’ violence against women, positive drug tests or a team owner’s DUI.
The NFL though seems to be focused solely on a good on-field product.
That, however, has been a struggle as well.
Despite the 2014 NFL season being a mere 16 games old, the league’s officials have made – or missed – calls that have altered a several games.
With billions of dollars being spent by fans to attend games and billions more on the line with sports betting, the league owes it to their fans to allow the teams to determine the outcome.
In week two alone, the Jets had a game-tying touchdown taken off the scoreboard in the final five minutes of the game. The following night the Colts had a potentially game-sealing drive ended.
With five minutes left in the game, the Jets seemed to score a game-tying touchdown, but the play was whistled dead with a timeout from the Jets sideline. The problem is that only one person has the power to call a timeout from the sideline – the head coach. The timeout was granted to the offensive coordinator.
On Monday night, with approximately 15 million people watching, the Colts seemed to be on a scoring drive that would finish off with a big win. But on back-to-back plays, the officiating crew missed an obvious pass interference call that resulted in an interception, then called a phantom horse collar tackle giving the Eagles 15 free yards.
These two huge game-altering calls, among others, have many fans wondering if the replacement referees of 2012 have returned.
The fact is the NFL is one of the richest corporations in the country, and the referees are employees. So the question begs asking: What would the average American get if they performed so poorly at work?
I think that most of us would not be given the slack that has been allotted to the NFL officials. I’m also quite sure that there isn’t a single member of the LPC student body who will make a decision today that alters the destination of millions of dollars.
However, changes will not be made as long as the NFL is so financially successful.
It is up to us, the fans, to make our voices heard. It’s time to stop mindlessly feeding this monster. Maybe it is time to boycott football, even if it’s for a single weekend.