By TORI ADDISON
Staff Writer
Roger Goodell hasn’t exactly been known to be a fan favorite thanks to most of his decisions as NFL Commissioner. The amount of “boo’s” he receives every time he opens his mouth at each year’s draft is a slight indication that is disregarding the obnoxious Jets fans who boo everyone, including their own draft picks. Not to mention, many fans aren’t satisfied with the way in which Goodell has handled various aspects of the game including; limitations on touchdown celebrations, handing out fines and suspensions left and right, the notorious replacement referee situation, numerous safety precaution installments, and, for all you Saints fans, suspending Sean Payton for an entire season. Another recent incident worthy of bringing up is the way in which Goodell dealt with Brandon Marshall’s request to wear green cleats during mental health awareness week. So what if the guy wanted to wear a pair of green shoes instead of pink, is it really worth a $10,500 fine just to show awareness for an illness other than breast cancer? It is a bit unreasonable that out of all the medical issues out there the league only chooses to show support for one. Anyways, despite all of Goodell’s so-called failures, his most recent idea may potentially have bad news written all over it.
The NFL is not new to the idea of placing a team back in Los Angeles and, quite frankly, I think the league is right in doing so. If you throw a team like the Oakland Raiders into a totally redesigned environment the end result could be beneficial for both a worn out fan base and a trampled franchise. On the other hand, Goodell has also expressed interest in expanding the league internationally into London. The NFL has provided London with a handful of games per season over the past couple of years as a sort of an international showcase, but to place a whole team there would be pushing it a bit far. A few weeks ago Goodell noted that when the time for expansion comes, an already existing team would be moved to a different location and then another team would be created from scratch to fulfill a spot in both Los Angeles and London. A couple of problems come to mind after hearing about the commissioners’ plans. First of all, moving an already existing team overseas would be a bit of a drastic change for fans, especially those die-hard enthusiasts that hold season tickets and would not miss a game for anything. No American fan is going to pay to watch their team in another country that isn’t Canada, it is simply too much to ask on both their wallet and in terms of travel. I couldn’t imagine that the players would be too happy about having to move and start fresh either. Also worthy of pointing out, creating a completely new team would throw off the whole equilibrium of the league. Last time I checked thirty-three is not divisible by eight, so unless Mr. Goodell has other ideas I do not know how this one would run smoothly in keeping with the NFL’s two conference, eight divisions structure. The NFL is a massive American tradition that has been operating under the same system for decades; there is no sense in changing it now.
I understand Londoners want to attend a football game here and there, but the NFL should be more focused on satisfying fans of the already existing teams and not on making more money. In Goodell’s perspective, I cannot think of any other reason to spread internationally besides the cash it would bring in. Expanding the league into a different country would create a huge barrier of separation, especially for the players. The international team would have to travel back and forth from London to the US every other week for away games which sounds more than tedious. Also, college players are not going to want to get drafted into a franchise that is located thousands of miles away from home. I would think that adjusting to the NFL’s level of play would be hard enough, but to add living in an unfamiliar country on top of that would be way too much on a rookie. The cons of placing a team in London seem to far outweigh the pros. Basically, the method of international game play the league uses now is perfectly fine and I do not see why it should be changed. A few international games here and there further provides a unique experience for both players and international fans, one that is now becoming a tradition for the NFL. The league operates on a perfect formula for both the schedule and divisions to coincide. So, in short Mr. Commissioner, if it’s not broke you don’t need to fix it.
