NFL, union both know they can take advantage of your loyalty

MY FATHER used to say that there was a limit, that one day people would stop watching professional sports and teach these greedy bastards a lesson so powerful, they would come back to us crawling on their hands and knees. His hair was black and his body strong when he said this, but he's now 84, and the mere mention of his knees makes him groan.

He's still watching, though, still caring, despite all he's been through.

So are you and you and you. You said you wouldn't watch pro hockey again when they killed the 2004-05 season. You're watching hockey again, setting ratings records even. You said you wouldn't watch baseball again when they struck in 1994, but that disappeared faster than you can say Cal Ripken Jr.

If the NFL owners lock out players after March 3, if there is no football at Lehigh next summer or no season next fall, you will sound angry, militant and resolute. But you will still be willing and able to spell the name of your favorite team at the top of your lungs, and will do so the moment they open their gates again, hold their collective hands out and - as long as you still have the hundreds or even thousands you had set aside for them - let you back into the stadiums your taxes helped pay for.

It is said that the only two things certain in life are death and taxes, but that is not true. There is you, the North American sports fan, and your undying willingness to be abused, taken for granted, institutionally mocked even. No matter how much you pay, how long you stay or how loyal you are, the dynamic never changes.

They are the frat. You are the eternal pledges.

Thank you sir, may I have another?

 Oh, there are movements, of course. Just this week in fact, a Washington-based organization called the Sports Fan Coalition fired off a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith requesting that their representatives be present in all future negotiating sessions.

"We are not asking for a seat at the negotiating table - although we believe fans deserve one," the letter read. "But merely to be present in the room so that we may inform fans across the country about the state of ongoing negotiations and ensure that progress is being made towards an agreement that ensures a central consideration of fans . . .

"If the NFL and NFLPA cannot come to an agreement and a devastating work stoppage is the result, the public has a right to know why."

I can only imagine the reaction when these strong words arrived. I would have paid good money, in fact, to be in their offices when this missive arrived.

But give SFC board chairman David Goodfriend an A for being a good friend. Begun in 2009, the SFC raises awareness on such issues as rising ticket prices, media blackouts, public stadium construction and a college football playoff system.

OK, so Rome wasn't built in a day.

Truth is, they're working for a flaky constituency - like Florida during the Bush-Gore election. And both sides know it - count on it, really.

If they do cancel part or all of next season, they expect you to wait for them, which you will, wait for them with your season-ticket and seat-license money, with your funds for the NFL Sunday Ticket, for parking, for merchandise, for whatever. Because as insane as this potential work stoppage would be, it would make even less sense if they thought that even some of that $9 billion wouldn't be there when they sort it all out.

More things I would change about the sports I cover . . .

Award second assists in basketball, as they do in hockey. This one actually comes from Doug Collins, the Sixers' coach. "I think the hockey assist makes hockey an extra-pass sport," Collins said. "I would love to see the hockey assist in basketball. Guys wouldn't try to hit the home run with the assist. So if it's swing the ball, and I get an assist with you, then you're going to swing, swing. Instead of jumping up and trying to throw it over there in the corner and make a high-risk play."

Here's another one from Doug: Include a player's won-lost records in his statistics. "I know I'll never get this changed," he said. "But when you see a coach's picture in an NBA guide, it's how many did you win, how many did you lose? I would love to see in the player's stats, when they say he's played 9 years in the league and here are his numbers. Well, what's his won-lost record? How many of those points went toward winning?" *

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