Players, Owners and US

Derek West
Head Writer

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Owner’s associations and players unions. Players unions and owner associations...This year we came close to not only not having an NFL season, but not having an NBA season as well. And a lot of people want to know why. At the end of the day the NFL Owners Association and the NFL Players Union were eventually able to come to an agreement and give us as fans a full season. We weren't quite as lucky with the NBA. We will still get about a 75% season, which works perfect for LeBron James because he only plays 3 quarters...but I digress.

People will offer all sort of opinions of what the issues between the two sides are, or were. But in my opinion it comes down to one lone idea. Greed. Plain and simple. Any way you look at it owners wanted more money, players wanted more money, and when the dust settled it was us as fans who would have wound up losing had there been a lockout. Well us as fans and the hundreds of thousands of people who count on professional sports organizations as employers.

beastmode

That's why I believe in addition to the Owners Associations and Players Unions there should also be a League of Fans. The name is of course up for discussion. This Fan Committee would be made up of normal people with normal jobs who would act as a sort of voice of reason within these negotiations. Normal people who can look the owners and players in the face and say: "Really? No, really?!" Are you guys really arguing over whether you as an owner are going to make 3 billion instead of 3.5!? And are you as players really complaining because you're only going to make 15 million this year instead of 16? Really!?"

As a fan I think sometimes it's important to bring these people down to reality and remember a few things. One of those things being that to the owners: You own a professional sports team! I guess maybe you've become so disconnected from reality that you lose sight of that at times, but you're living a dream! And to the players: You play sports for a living! You get to be the guys that we all wanted to be in 2nd grade! You're someone's idol, and hero.

Hello Bob Kraft...

Now I'm sure both sides would argue that there are more details than what I have highlighted here. That there are things going on behind the scenes that we as fans don't know about, but guess what? That's the situation at every job. So can you honestly look at Frank the bus driver from Lansing, Michigan in the face an tell him you aren't going to have a season this year so tough luck about the season tickets he worked overtime for 4 months to purchase because you didn't get your extra million? Or billion? If you guys can look at us as fans and say that, then you don't deserve to have us watch you play.

That would be the other function of this Sports Syndicate, it would be to remind the players AND owners that at any given time we could stop buying season tickets. We could pull out fantasy league memberships. We could stop watching your games. We could stop buying your licensed apparel. We could basically remind you of that lesson we all learn as kids: YOU DONT BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU. In short we could bring your industry to a bitter and destructive halt. And then where will you be? You'll be a bunch of old white guys with nothing do to but manage your kids pee wee league, and a bunch of tall ass dudes working at Safeway or Kenny's Shoes.

some fans live and die with the team.. and still don't
get the respect from owners

Of course the only problem with my Fans Union is that eventually it would become as corrupt and greedy as the system we were trying to balance out. I suppose it's just the nature of the beast. In summation I think that perhaps the next time there are whispers of a lockout, and negotiations screech to a halt, everyone stop and remember that at any given time, should we as fans become organized, we could take it all away.

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