Well, it's over. After 136 days and constant bickering by both the NFL owners and the NFLPA, the newest ten year long collective bargaining agreement has officially been approved unanimously by both sides today, ending what was one of the darkest days in the NFL in the past! And SWEET MERCIFUL JESUS ON A CROSS AM I GLAD THIS IS OVER!
After all, for the next decade no longer will we have days where actual football play might be in jeopardy, and Americans potentially at loss of NFL games (unless you were one of the 200 or so people that actually cared about that Bears/Rams Pro-Football Hall of Fame game)!No longer will we live in a world where the league has a labor dispute where there is constant argument from both sides about revenue sharing, rookie wage scales, veteran player benefits, franchise tags that no one else in America really cares about! No longer will there be conversations about the upcoming season without mentioning the year's five awful words: "...if there is a season"! No more will we see that stupid face of Jeffrey Kessler and all those other lawyers sucking the soul out of a league millions of Americans love to watch! No more, friends! NO MORE!
Of course, now that the lockout is over, all the settlements have been signed and all the hugging between owners and players reps have been finished (seriously, wasn't that Jeff Saturday/Robert Kraft hug a nice moment?), it also means that we're on the brink of the most unprecedented and most frantic period. Beginning tomorrow afternoon, the league will now embark on a period in which every NFL team will fit an offseason that would normally take five months to unfold in mere weeks. That means everything from training camp to free agency to draft signings to major questions like the destinations of DeAngelo Williams and Santonio Holmes and the possible trades of Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb will be covered in a shorter than usual span of time, and I for one cannot wait! It will be like watching a highlight reel of past offseason events and transactions, only done in real time!
So, thanks to the Roger Goodell, DeMaurice Smith, the owners and the rest of the NFLPA for finally agreeing to a deal today. Sure, they were the same people who helped initiate the lockout in the first place, but at least they were finally able to stop it in time before any games were lost and against the belief of many people earlier in the year who felt that this labor dispute would last much longer. These next few weeks are going to be insane, and like almost every other football fan I am psyched (much more than I ever was for a single MLB trading deadline). Let's see you take less than five months to solve your labor dispute, NBA!
/Starts fearing a probable 6-10 letdown season for the Bears.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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