Roger Goodell-Bad for the N-F-L

CBS tells us:

As of Thursday afternoon, there are actual NFL tickets that are selling on the secondary market for under five dollars. Of course, like all good deals, these tickets do come with a catch: You need to live near Buffalo, have a high tolerance for cold weather and be willing to sit through three hours of a Colts-Bills game.

Ok, Ok, it's Indy at Buffalo. For foreign reader(s) that's like South Shoreswamp playing Upper Slobovia in a meaningless Futball match.

But it used to not matter. Buffalo has been much put upon these last twenty years or so. Here's how their last playoff game ended in 1999:

Before that from 1990-1993 the Buffalo Bills lost four Superbowls in a row. We're proud to say our own New York Giants got things going:

Still a top five moment in our life

And still the Bill's fans showed up to see their team.

What heartbreak and pain could not kill Roger Goodell could.

Let's recap what Goodell has done to the game:

-A shameful discipline policy where Ray Rice gets two games for punching out his wife but Tom Brady gets four because he might have known some balls were deflated. Oh, and Greg Hardy gets to play even after being convicted of throwing his girlfriend across the room.

-Instant replay becoming the arbiter of all things on the field; used to overturn calls where the ball moves ever so slightly. This takes away all suspense as one has to wait to see if a call 'stands' before actually celebrating. Instant replay causes needless delays, especially when every score needs to be reviewed. This has less to do with 'getting the call right' than with providing an excuse for more TV timeouts.

-Changing the rules so the passing game dominates, making defensive backs into passive backs who may only tackle the receiver after he catches the ball. Great for fantasy football, not so great for the game.

-Allowing refs to over-regulate and dominate the game. Pick up the flag? No. Don't even throw it.

-Refusing to deal with strutting, chest thumbing, look at me, hip-hop-ghetto culture addled players who jump up and down after, you know, doing things like making a tackle.

-Covering up the CTE scandal and downplaying the risk to players.

Do we even have to discuss the anthem knealers?

Of course Goodell just got a new contract.


**Via our friend William Katz