Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Bolts And The Dolts...Do We Say Farewell To The NFL?

"You don't know what you got--'till it's gone!" --Cinderella (the hair band, not the Grimm heroine)

As a fan of football (played flag football in both high school and inter-dorm in college), what I am seeing dismays me.

The pro game has turned into a place where it seems that only swells with money are allowed through the turnstyles; where a player's off-field conduct is punished for Tweeting...but anything worse draws mild retribution; and where perfectly good stadiums are declared "Terra Non Gratia" for future Super Bowls.

We hear of owners willing to turn mercenary and move their teams to cities who are willing to pony up public money to build a stately pleasure-palace (worthy of Xanadu) for the owner and his cronies. Sweetheart deals abound in this game...as do midnight moves and cheesed-off fan-bases that have been betrayed in "The Name Of The Benjamins."

Though the NFL's chief executive (Roger The Hammer) isn't like MLB's (Bozo Bud...not only beholding to the owners, but an owner himself), it seems that the higher-ups in the NFL have forgotten about the blue-collar fans when bringing their policies to fruition. They don't give a flying nickel about the fan bases that live and die with each new season.

No, the sad truth is that the NFL would rather see Joe Six-Pack (the blue-collar rabid fan) be replaced by some J.P. Gottrocks types in the seats of their stadiums. As for viewing games on Cable/Free TV? If the NFL truly had their way, chances are that games would only be broadcast on the NFL Network...and it comes with a pricetag that's not even in Joe Six-Pack's budget!

So, shall we meet at Charger's HQ and let our feelings be known to the Spanos Family? Don't bother booking the trip, for they only listen to Mark Fabiani and Mammon in Chargers-related issues. Why do you think that the powder-blues are only a "alternative uniform," and that the Bolts had to wear Navy-Blue helmets instead of their traditional white ones (up until two years ago)?

Right...because the Spanos Family said so!

With each new press release about the Chargers relocating to Escondido, Oceanside, City of Industry, or the Ninth Ring of Hell for that matter/ I merely yawn and know that in two years, there will either be a new stadium built...or the San Diego Chargers will find their Xanadu in another city.

If we lose the Chargers...we lose the NFL altogether! Frankly, if Los Angeles is still w/o a team (after Al Davis took them back to the same ratty stadium in Oakland), what chance does San Diego ever have of gaining an expansion team (or robbing another city of it's franchise)?

You guessed it... about as much as Roger Godell desires to amend the NFL Blackout rules in favor of the fans!

When Commodore C. Vanderbilt remarked "The Public Be Damned!", little did he know that many sports-franchise owners would adopt his quote as their own. It might also be the owners' fate in the Afterlife, for greed never got anyone through the Pearly Gates.

Oh, BTW-- I will be signing off my entries from here out with a new moniker. Robbiebear was good...but the time is here for a change. --RKJ

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class

"You don't know what you got--'till it's gone!" --Cinderella (the hair band, not the Grimm heroine)

As a fan of football (played flag football in both high school and inter-dorm in college), what I am seeing dismays me.

The pro game has turned into a place where it seems that only swells with money are allowed through the turnstyles; where a player's off-field conduct is punished for Tweeting...but anything worse draws mild retribution; and where perfectly good stadiums are declared "Terra Non Gratia" for future Super Bowls.

We hear of owners willing to turn mercenary and move their teams to cities who are willing to pony up public money to build a stately pleasure-palace (worthy of Xanadu) for the owner and his cronies. Sweetheart deals abound in this game...as do midnight moves and cheesed-off fan-bases that have been betrayed in "The Name Of The Benjamins."

Though the NFL's chief executive (Roger The Hammer) isn't like MLB's (Bozo Bud...not only beholding to the owners, but an owner himself), it seems that the higher-ups in the NFL have forgotten about the blue-collar fans when bringing their policies to fruition. They don't give a flying nickel about the fan bases that live and die with each new season.

No, the sad truth is that the NFL would rather see Joe Six-Pack (the blue-collar rabid fan) be replaced by some J.P. Gottrocks types in the seats of their stadiums. As for viewing games on Cable/Free TV? If the NFL truly had their way, chances are that games would only be broadcast on the NFL Network...and it comes with a pricetag that's not even in Joe Six-Pack's budget!

So, shall we meet at Charger's HQ and let our feelings be known to the Spanos Family? Don't bother booking the trip, for they only listen to Mark Fabiani and Mammon in Chargers-related issues. Why do you think that the powder-blues are only a "alternative uniform," and that the Bolts had to wear Navy-Blue helmets instead of their traditional white ones (up until two years ago)?

Right...because the Spanos Family said so!

With each new press release about the Chargers relocating to Escondido, Oceanside, City of Industry, or the Ninth Ring of Hell for that matter/ I merely yawn and know that in two years, there will either be a new stadium built...or the San Diego Chargers will find their Xanadu in another city.

If we lose the Chargers...we lose the NFL altogether! Frankly, if Los Angeles is still w/o a team (after Al Davis took them back to the same ratty stadium in Oakland), what chance does San Diego ever have of gaining an expansion team (or robbing another city of it's franchise)?

You guessed it... about as much as Roger Godell desires to amend the NFL Blackout rules in favor of the fans!

When Commodore C. Vanderbilt remarked "The Public Be Damned!", little did he know that many sports-franchise owners would adopt his quote as their own. It might also be the owners' fate in the Afterlife, for greed never got anyone through the Pearly Gates.

Oh, BTW-- I will be signing off my entries from here out with a new moniker. Robbiebear was good...but the time is here for a change. --RKJ

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Will Owners Let Chargers Leave Bankrupt City?

Next Article

Today the saddest day ever for Chargers fans

Team owner Spanos declares they're heading north
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader