Was the NFL Season Worth It? The Answer is Yes
Very imperfect — but the US needed football
What was a concern one year ago today, is not a concern today. Not all, but a lot of worries from last January 2020 really don’t matter.
Working from home with the dog barking is ok. A TV weatherman can have his kids walk in front of the camera set up at their home. A poor quality sounding Zoom call is an acceptable interview method on the major network news. A court case, with the presidential election hanging in the balance, is completed by conference call when the video equipment does not work.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that nothing is normal anymore. Something that was imperfect last year is perfect this year.
Which brings us to football. The NFL decided to move forward with their draft in April, despite the country in the early stages of dealing with COVID-19. Some called it tone-deaf. Some called it irresponsible. Fans of football and those that cared about network ratings called it genius.
The NFL draft, on time, meant that we needed to move forward with the new norm. It meant that if the commissioner of the NFL can do the draft from their basement for real players, I am cool to do a fantasy football draft from my basement, despite what my wife says.
As far as the timing, late March with a Pandemic starting to take hold of the nation? If the NFL did not do it at that point in time, then when? We had to adjust to the circumstances and get used to the new long term, not forever..we hope…norm. Were we supposed to watch CNN all day and night?
After the draft, the NFL continued to stay on schedule and start the season without the benefit of pre-season games. Perhaps this is one decision they can make permanent.
There was skepticism that the season would be able to start and finish. There was a lot of criticism about starting a football season during a pandemic, and many questioned the motive. Sports Illustrated felt they knew the motive — money. SI was not the only publication with an opinion that the season should be canceled. Many, many publications and even some players stated that there is no way the season should start. (Google: “Should NFL play 2020 season.)
Amazingly, the league did not cave. They went ahead with the business of football, you know, since it is all about money, which I am sure many of the NFL players are completely ok with it.
Then the season started on time, on September 10. Yes, there was golf, there was basketball and hockey played in a bubble during this time…. but NHL and NBA finals in September does not quite feel like “normal.”
A September start for the NFL is normal.
A normal start does not mean it was a normal season.
- The Kansas City Chiefs started the season on a Thursday and it seemed like they were the year 2000 version of the Arizona Cardinals, drawing just 17,000 fans. Of course, the reason was social distancing, not a terrible team playing in 110-degree heat on a Sunday.
- The first full weekend introduced fans to an NFL football game with no fans in the stands. It introduced fake crowd noise, a reminder of the Colts from years past.
- Games were played on each day of the week. Nothing says unusual more than a Tuesday NFL game. Or a Wednesday game. The Steelers played the Ravens just after 3 p.m. on a Wednesday. It had to be a logistic nightmare, how do you sell tickets for the game, get parking attendants to take off work, the concession stands…oh, ya, that wasn’t a problem as no one was at the game.
- The Denver Broncos played a game with no quarterbacks, as the COVID went through the team and protocols dictated all in the QB room turn into a Do Not Play. Did you ever dream to play QB in the NFL for a day, just one day? Perhaps Kendall Hinton and Rob Calabrese had that dream as a kid. Hinton, a practice squad wide receiver lived out that dream and passed for 78 yards. Calabrese, meanwhile, is the Broncos offensive quality control coach and was the Broncos first pick to start the game. The NFL did not allow Calabrese to be added to the roster and play QB. Why? It would be a bad precedent because you know, the next time a QB room is struck with COVID and a quality control coach who is good with spreadsheets and can also play QB …comes available, this can become a trend if the Broncos do it.
Or, maybe it would impact the integrity of the game?
Ah, the integrity of the game. Sports journalist must feel they are the gatekeeper of integrity on behalf of the NFL. Numerous articles complained about how it was unfair for the Steelers to change their bye week. How teams needed to change the day of their game while others did not. How just being in a room left key players on the COVID list and not playing that day was unfair. It was unfair as the rules seemed to change week to week, they wrote.
But the fans are the ones who pay the bills. Well, maybe not at the stadium this year, but they watched the games on TV. And truly, the Denver Broncos game with the practice squad wide receiver now starting QB turned it into a must-watch game. The drama of it drew you in. The unlikely dominos likely will never, ever fall that way again.
That game, as well as the season of twists and turns, was typical 2020. The NFL season was the conference call that starts 10 minutes late as four can’t dial in, then can’t get off mute and when they finally do, someone starts another call on the same line and now everyone hears hold music. The FaceTime with the grandparents where you see their age spots on their head instead of their face. Or, the Zoom call where someone gets up to get water and does not have pants on.
Yes, arguments can be made that it was not fair for some teams. Arguments can be made that eight New England players took advantage of the Opt-Out rule just to avoid another season with Bill Belichick. Sportswriters can argue about the integrity of the game.
My message: Thank you, football players, for playing. Thank you, staff, for coaching and playing quarterback if needed. You had all the risk and we the fans were the one’s who reaped the reward.
The NFL season meant normal. It meant that every Sunday we had the chance to put on our lucky jersey, eat chips and dip, and lose ourself in a football game for at least three hours and forget about life for a while. It was needed this year. It was not perfect…but…
For 2020, the NFL was perfectly imperfect.
