As the Conference Title games and Super Bowl approach a much bigger event looms on the NFL horizon. Of course the Pro Bowl is an event too, but the lingering NFL Lockout is the huge elephant that is finely being noticed in the room by the media and general public.
Some have proclaimed this showdown to be millionaires versus billionaires and there is just too much money out there for a deal not to get done, but that's what the real issue is...there's too much money out there! Everybody wants a bigger slice of the pie but neither side appears willing to back down. The Owners think they gave too great a percentage of revenue to the players when the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was signed, while the Players maintain that the Owners agreed with the last deal, yet are the ones who opted out. The Players feel that they should accept nothing less than they received in the last CBA.
Could it be that the most popular sport in the US not have a season in 2011? The NFL's popularity is at an all time high, but how far would a lockout set that back? Would the Owners and Players be that short sided? It took several years for MLB's popularity to return to pre-strike levels and some believe the NHL's still hasn't returned. Baseball was fortunate to have Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa bashing home runs at a record rate plus the pursuit of Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak by Cal Ripken. Football doesn't have any such record breaking events on its horizon, so it will be relying on fans coming back to the game who they just let down.
In his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, Howie Long said, "Baseball may be America's pastime, but football is America's passion." The only real loser in this whole ordeal is the fans.
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