There was breaking news earlier today that could put millions of fans on suicide watch in about 3 years. Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL players union has said that the NFL owners are willing to opt out of their contract which would result to a lock-out of the 2011-2012 NFL season. Besides major money loss by the NFL and all of its sponsors and distributors what in the world will the fans do between September and the first week in February (because lets face it, who really cares about the pre-season and the pro bowl?).
In sports a lock out is one one of the worst things that could happen. The last lock out was in the NHL that lasted over a year, clearly the reason for the NHL plummeting in ratings. Presumably it is the reason why hockey can only be found on the Versus network, and occasionally on NBC but only on Sundays. For the 2004-2005 NHL season Gary Bettman, the commissioner of professional hockey, announced a lockout. The owners were claiming that player salaries had grown far faster than revenues, and that the league as a whole lost over $300 million in the 2002-2003 season. On September 15th 2004 Bettman announced that the owners again locked the players out prior to the start of the upcomming season. Five months later, Bettman announced that he would be canceling the season entirely. Bettman had this to say at the press conference, "It is my sad duty to announce that because a solution has not yet been attained, it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season. Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play."
Before the NHL close out, the NBA had its own lock out for the 1998-1999 season when once again Owners and the NBA executive could not get on the same page. In 1998, the NBA owners began a lockout which lasted 191 days and was finally settled on January 18th 1999. As a result of this lockout the season was reduced from 82 to 50 games, which were all played in 1999 only, thus canceling the 1998 season and the remaining games being labeled as the 1999 season.
Major League Baseball has had a recent lock-0ut as well as the 1994 season was stopped and canceled due to labor talks. The 1994 MLB strike was the eighth work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 23 years. The MLB has also had stoppages in 1981 and 1972. The 1994 lockout lasted 232 days and led to the cancellation of 938 games total, including the post season and the World Series. Owners demanded a salary cap in response to the worsening financial situation in baseball. Ownership claimed that small-market clubs would become unnoticed and fall by the wayside unless teams agreed to share local broadcasting revenues and enact a salary cap, a proposal that the players adamantly opposed.
Now with the NFL contract on its way to extinction and the current owners of the NFL not happy with said contract, trouble looms ahead. The NFL grosses the highest amount of money and is the most popular sport in America. Should there be a lock out we will see more people rocking back and forth and spending a lot of time isolated in their rooms counting down to the new baseball or basketball season. There is a commercial now on TV where a elderly man is watching Arena Football and his children who are sitting outside think hes crazy because football season is over. They don't know what he is watching and think he is just losing it, and the end of the commercial provides the AFL's slogan referring to football season not being over. Well if there is a lock out then thats what the American public will have to resort to, the Arena Football League. Good luck with that...I for one will be crossing my fingers begging Gene Upshaw and Roger Goodell to work this out before I am forced to root for the New York Dragons.
Or we could just make the movie "The Replacements" a reality...someone call Keanu Reeves.
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