By Shaun Morash - InReeseWeTrust.com 4/21/11
All the thrills and excitement that comes every year from the release of the NFL Schedule were a bit subdued this year. With the lockout now stretching into 2 months and counting, fans find themselves caught up in the start of an MLB season, and even the NBA and NHL playoffs to keep their mind off the NFL’s problems. The NFL fan hasn’t felt the brunt or worried about not having an upcoming season quite yet. That could change next week with the NFL draft and the different feeling it will have when players cannot be traded in that 3 day affair.
At one point will the fans begin to be worried, at what point will their minds be unoccupied enough to comprehend that there really may not be any football in 2011? Roger Goodell hinted that this season could at least be delayed because of the labor negotiations this week when he mentioned that the league does have a week to play with before the Superbowl. Does that sound like positive encouragement coming from the head of this league? I don’t think so.
That leaves us with one very important question that no fan has really come to grips with facing yet: What will you do with no NFL football and in particular the G-men every week? The obvious answer for the married men would be spending more time with your wife every weekend. You know the mall, the in laws, all that good stuff you don’t partake in when the Giants and the rest of the league is playing. Sounds fun, right? Not! So for all you men in relationships you better start thinking of hobbies to get you through a long lockout now. Here’s a start. Register for a flag football league or a fall softball league with your buddies. As a flag football player myself on Sunday mornings, I can honestly say it’s a good pick me up for a couple reasons. First you get some exercise, something that can lack easily for us on the couch every Sunday. Second, it still gives you something to look forward to. You still get the rush of wanting to win, the same rush you get on your couch as Justin Tuck blitzes Michael Vick. Third of all, it’s still an activity you and your co workers and friends can come back and talk about throughout the week like you would when you recap the week in the NFL. The same can be applied for a softball league if that’s more your taste. The best part, your wife or girl friend will eat it up if you use the old, it will keep me in shape excuse.
Maybe getting out and playing ball with your buddies isn’t your thing? How about college football? Yes, I know the playoff system is a sham; the level of play isn’t great. But hey it’s on in high def every weekend with a ton of teams on every week in this market. New York may not be the hotbed for college sports with the lack of big programs around, but why not pick up a college football magazine and pick a team. Programs like Miami, Florida, Notre Dame, USC, etc are literally on every week in New York. Go buy a sweat shirt and get into it. Shift whatever your family plans or other routine you do on Saturday during an NFL season to now doing on Sunday. Spend your Saturdays on the couch getting the football fix.
If neither of these are for you, then you should hope you are a big baseball, basketball, or hockey fan, because come September and October those will have to be your main focuses. So perhaps now is the time to watch the playoffs get a feel for the Knicks and Rangers before their season’s start again in October and that is the only thing left to crave. That is unless hanging with the in laws and going apple picking every Sunday with a nagging wife is your thing.
Hopefully the NFL is ready to go on September 11th, for the sanity of all mankind. However preparations do need to be made starting now football friends, before it’s too late.
