I realize by the very title of this wonderful blog site, that it is a HOCKEY site. However, in the goal of furthering of the general interest in sports that we should all share as fans, I believe this post is important to some extent. It involves Roger Goodell's (NFL Commish) latest conformist reform to the NFL's code of conduct, and the ramifications could be somewhat interesting, at least culturally speaking... Without further ado, here's the "Good Luck With That Goodell" post:

So, here's the brief summary of some new rules we NFL FANS have to live by, or else we risk being not only ejected from the present game, but also banned from attending future games. The length of the ban wasn't specified on TSN.ca, but I imagine it would be too difficult for teams to monitor things a game at a time. Assume a season or more if you get caught to the point of prosecution on the following offences:

• Behaviour that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.

Fair enough. Although I've never even been to a CFL game where someone wasn't being "unruly" or "disruptive". I believe people should be able to discern a reasonable limit to what this entails. The "illegal" part of it is a bit shocking because apparently they didn't have this in the standard lease agreement with stadiums beforehand?

• Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behaviour.

Uhm, this is still Oktoberfest a football game, RIGHT? I fail to see the enforceability of this particular standard, but I'm sure we'll see some examples on live broadcasts, just to hammer the point home. But realistically, I can't imagine a football game without copious amounts of beer and perhaps a doobie snack on the way to the game, so this strikes me as a potential marketing nightmare for a league already called "No-Fun-League" by many observers, and who still features the "Bud Bowl" as a central attraction during their biggest TV spectacle of the year... Nipplegate was funny, but I don't think if I was there that I could be drunk enough to fully appreciate 50+ year old Janet Jackson's exposed milk-faucet.

• Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

Has this guy ever actually been to a football game? The TV broadcasts alone have their fair share of excessive swearing that can be lip-read or heard by viewers (and also aforementioned nipple mishaps)... As for obscene gestures, I wonder if there is an inclusion for foreign ones that might potentially be used by tourists while soaking up an NFL game during their holidays... I know I can say "F-U" in at least 5 languages, and that doesn't include my attempts to figure out whether I am talking Mandarin or Cantonese in one particular instance, or whether the words are the same in both dialects). That's just with my hands!!

• Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.

Okay, in fairness, this seems to make sense. There is no reason to throw objects into the field of play, especially at officials, unless you're watching soccer, in which case I recommend Duracell brand Energizer batteries since they keep going, and going, and going, and going, and going... God, that Czech/Turkey game pissed me off...

• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

Unless this revolves around a fire evacuation or terrorist emergency, I can't see why we should listen to people who may or may not be any smarter than us. For the sake of having an organized event with no crowd-chaos, I would agree with this in principle that people shouldn't go out of their way to give stadium personnel a hard time. However, that comes with the caveat that I will never obey what I consider to be stupid rules... Namely most of these ones...

• Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

Again, I have to wonder if this Goodell gentleman bitch has ever actually been to a football game. Half the fun is jawing with people who cheer for the other team. Maybe if the NFL had a larger contingent of Canadian fans, it would be better for his finicky tastes. Quite frankly, even our most heated rivalries (like Leafs v. Sens) aren't contested with much more than a few snide comments and crude insults... Physical harassment is never okay, at least outside the privacy of your own bedroom... Then, in the interest of maintaining a good male-female relationship, try to keep it to yourself as much as possible. Stop when you feel like you might be molesting yourself...

Labels: NFL, stupid fans

# posted by czechmate @ 8:00 pm