NFL fans are the most forgiving fans in all of sports.

NFL fans are the most forgiving fans in all of sports.

With week one in the books for NFL fans around the league, I couldn't help sitting back and marveling at how not one beat was missing from how rabbit fans showed love for their respective teams around the NFL. I found it hard to believe that there was not any sign of fan discontent with how the hold lockout situation was handle by the NFL owners or it's players union.

If you didn't know better you would never think just how close the NFL owners and players came to imploding in my opinion the most popular sport played bar none. There were no tv cameras showing fans holding up signs calling owners or players greedy and self-serving. I don't know if it was the fact that no regular season games were missed due to the lockout or that we as a nation were paying tribute to what happen to our country ten years ago on 9-11.

As we sit back and watch the NBA go though it's lockout knowing major league baseball may not be far behind, I'm left with the feeling if both of these sports go though the same contentious lockout the NFL went though there will be fan retribution. The last time we saw major league baseball go thought a work stoppage it took two guys pump up on steroids hitting mammoth home runs to bring back any interest to a game that many consider the number game in sport. Not even the iron man steak Cal Ripken Jr. had going at that time couldn't get fans onboard with baseball.

The NBA Is about to come face to face with the harsh reality they may go thought a lockout no one cares about. NFL fans were glued to their TV's everyday during the lockout taking in every bit on information they could on how it was going and when it might end. ESPN and other sports outlets have given very little coverage to this lockout, which tells me the power brokers in sports have no use for the NBA at all. Let us not forget that if Larry Bird and Magic Johnson hadn't come into the NBA when they did to help save a sport that was all but dead, Michael Jordan may never have become the greatest player ever to play the game and D wade and LeBron James might be playing NFL football.

While I do believe we have seen an impact of the lockout on the field this first week of play in the NFL ( a lot of bad play by secondary's around the league, tons of season ending injuries though out the preseason and week one of the season ) fans loyalty has not waiver one bit.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Out of season out of mind

Out of season out of mind

The one thing that American sports has on other country is that we have three main sports we can follow season to season. ( baseball, basketball, and football ) So with that being said it's easy to see why NFL football hasn't been at the forefront of a lot fans minds. Could you imagine what it might be like in Europe if soccer's was taken from there fans. Soccer's is a year around passion for their fans, so if there was a lockout in that sport there would be a huge fan uprising. Now I'm not saying we don't have year around die hard football fans in this country, ( i'm one ) but on a percentage basic most fans follow sports season to season.

I don't see fans really getting involved in this hold CBA mess until mid July when training camp is suppose to start. Then and only then will NFL owners and players feel the full anger from sports fans. It's nice to have other sports to fall back on, but this fight over the control of a billion dollars will not end until not only the die hard football fans, but also the seasonal fans let it be known now there's going to be a huge price to pay for greed and selfishness.

The NFL owners were counting on the out of season out of mind mentality from fans As they tried their bullying tactic on players with this lockout. Fans have a huge voice in how this might end and the time is now to let it be heard. This may be the only time that fans can make an impact on all three major sports; because after the NFL is finally done with their CBA negotiation's the NBA and MBL will follow with their's CBA negotiations over the next year. How fans deal with the lockout in the NFL will have a direct affect on the upcoming CBA negotiations in the NBA and MBL. Don't believe for a Second that theses two league are not paying close attention to fan reaction in the NFL. If out of season out mind works for the NFL they will try the same thing in their negotiations too!!!

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

The Minnesota Vikings are going to pay a huge price for the Favre factor ride.

The Minnesota Vikings are going to pay a huge price for the Favre factor ride.

How much is a chance to play in the Super Bowl worth and is getting to the door of the big game a good price to pay if it could mean years of rebuilding? Well the answer to that question will play itself out over the next few seasons in Minnesota. With a chance to get what they believed to be that missing piece for their first ever Super Bowl Championship, the Vikings decided to take a ride on the Brett Favre marry-go-round. It's not til an amusement ride is over that you fill the full affect that it might have on you and in this case your team. Now that the ride call the Favre factor is over we can now take a look back and see if it was worth getting on.

This ride didn't cost the Viking draft picks or players, but It just may have cost them any chance of being playoff relevant in the tough NFC north in the foreseeable future. The Favre factor wasn't a total dud of a ride, it was possibly one errant pass away from taking them to the place they wanted to go when they got on. And as that saying go's, close is for horseshoes and hand grenade it has become pretty obvious this ride was not worth the price of admission. Brad Childress like a few other NFL coaches before him ( Mike Sherman, Ray Rhodes, and Eric Mangini ) found the price of this ride was their jobs.

I don't know if former Green Bay Packer head coach Mike Holmgrem saw he had road this ride as far as he could and decided to get off before it took him to a place of no return; or power was his real reason for walking away from what looked to be a great marriage. Sorry I'm a Packer fan, don't know if I'm taking a shot at Holmgrem or Favre. The Vikings may not have paid a huge price to get on the Favre factor, however the price they look as if they might pay now that it's over may have Vikings fans sick to their stomachs for some seasons to come.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

What will be the fallout from this lockout?

What will be the fallout from this lockout?

The one thing we can all agree on is there will be an NFL season in 2011, the thing no one can foresee is what the fallout will be when an agreement is finally reach. Business is business, but when egos are involved who know's what damage will be left in the wake of this storm? Even if the Judges in ST Louis rule in the players favor this week and tell Owners to open their doors for business, there's going to be lasting scars from what now looks like a one sided fight.

At the end of any labor disagreement there is always some hard feeling on both sides, but there seem to be a totally difference atmosphere surrounding this particular labor situation. This is not a case of a league trying to save itself from financial ruin, ( aka NBA Basketball ) this is a league making money hand over fist and NFL Owners not like-ing the way the money is being spit. ( let us remember they sign this deal that they are now trying to run from )

The fallout thus far has hit mainly rookies draftees and rookies free agents trying to find teams that might give them a shot at their dream of playing NFL football. The rookies drafted are like nomads on an island with no where to go. They have a team no contract and without a signed contract, no safe way of working out with their new teammates. Coaches are caught in the fallout because trying to set their teams up for next season and as of this point not having worked with their rookies class; who know's what help they can be. The biggest fallout from this will be with the fans, how will fans really react to the Owners greed. People seem to think, for every fan that walks away there will be another one there to take his or her place. I say let's think about this for a moment, we are talking about second and third generation season ticket holder who give their kids and grand kids these tickets to go to a lot of theses game. And in today's economic climate how many of theses young families can afford to take over season tickets if mom and dad or even grandparents say their done with the NFL?

At the end of the day we all know there will be NFL football this season, there's to much money sitting on the table for there not to be. But even if this lockout Last another week or so, the damage already done may never be able to be un-done in a lot of fans eyes. If the Owners win their stay appeal and the Judges grant them the right to keep the players lockout until a settlement is reach; there's no telling how intense the fallout from this storm will get.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com