Never forget this about the NFL labor dispute: Neither side cares about the fans.
View full sizeMike Holmgren doesn't deserve the blame for the current NFL labor impasse, but his sport has once again proven that it has a greater interest in exploiting its devoted fans, instead of trying to do right by them, says Terry Pluto.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mike Holmgren seems to be a man with a good heart and decent intentions. If more people such as the Browns president were on the negotiating teams for both sides, the NFL labor dispute would probably have been already settled.
So this is not a direct criticism of Holmgren.
But if anyone involved in the NFL labor talks even hints that they are concerned about what fans think or feel -- they are flat-out lying. That's because genuine concern leads to positive action, and we've seen none of that so far between the management's lockout and the players' lawsuit.
That thought came to me as I read this email from T.J. Wallenhorst: "I am an avid sports fan who is becoming increasingly disgruntled and agitated by the NFL labor dispute. My best friend called me the other day and we decided that we should try and do something to unite football fans nationwide. We are currently working on a Web site in the minimal free time we currently have. ... We graduated from college last May and are not really sure where to begin. I put together a letter in attempt to unite fans and enlighten everyone that the vast majority of fault rests with the owners."
I sent T.J. a longer reply that came down to this: They don't care what the fans think.
They believe that whenever the dispute is settled, fans will be back on football Sundays -- because the NFL is America's High Church when it comes to sports.
Consider the debate about 16 vs. 18 regular season games. Either way, there will be 10 home games. Eight or nine games will count in the standings, but season ticket holders will be charged full price for all 10. There's not a word about cutting the fans a financial break.
Nor is there a suggestion that either side cares about the vendors, the people who work in the offices and locker rooms -- the real working people behind the NFL teams.
There are a lot of fans such as T.J. who love to talk football 12 months each year. They follow the draft, free agency, minicamps and all the coaching changes. It's a tremendous diversion from life's daily grind.
But the suits on both sides of this dispute don't care about that, either.
Holmgren had these well-meaning remarks at Monday's press conference: "It is our feeling and hope that we will play football games. I just want to encourage our fans to hang in there. They've been so good so far in the year-plus I've been here. They're a sense of encouragement to me. This will have a good ending, as well."
Holmgren is absolutely sincere in his praise of the fans and being grateful for their support. He should be, especially since he says ticket sales are ahead of the same pace at this time in 2010. That will soon change as the Super Bowl for who gets how many billions drags on. Anyone pondering the purchase of tickets before this thing is settled ought to think about it again.
Holmgren is right when he says there will eventually be football. The one interest group with a major influence is ESPN and the other television networks. They pay the big bucks. They want football on the air -- not just the games, but games being played so they can have all those shows that talk about the games and players.
If T.J. and all the other loyal fans have a voice, it will come from the media executives who hate this stuff as much as the fans, because it costs them viewers and revenue.
But Holmgren's comment about a "good ending" is hardly a given, at least not for this season.
Holmgren said the Browns will not only pay back those who bought tickets for games lost to this fiasco, but they will add in some interest. But if this dispute wipes out most of training camp and the preseason -- the product on the field will suffer. If regular-season games are missed and players are rushed on to the field, that's a recipe for bad football and major injuries.
Furthermore, they will eventually come to the same basic agreement that could have been reached already had both sides felt a real sense of urgency and loyalty to their customers.
But you won't hear that discussed by the decision makers. Because they don't care about the fans. That has long been the case in these management/labor battles, and nothing has changed this time.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/03/in_the_nfls_latest_labor_showd.html
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