The NFL season: we want football, not filler

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The Green Bay Packers are the best team in the history of sports.

This is my column and my world, and anyone who disagrees can go kick rocks.

In all seriousness though, I really do love the Packers, and I try to follow the team to the best of my abilities. This obviously means watching the games, but I also keep track of what’s going on in the offseason. Facebook and Twitter are pretty helpful for this, as well as my grandfather’s “word on the street” updates on the happenings in Green Bay.

Right now, I’m a curious about who the Packers will pick up in the upcoming 2014 NFL draft. I’ll spare you all on my in-depth analysis of proper player selection for the Pack according to last season’s concerns, but with the draft looming, I’ve started to take notice of a bigger question.

Are we too NFL crazy?

I know what you’re thinking right now. “Get the pitchforks and torches! This writer is going to burn!”

Hold that mob mentality, and hear me out.

I’m sitting on my couch in early April, catching up on the final episodes of “The Walking Dead” when the commercial break brings a trailer for the movie “Draft Day.” In case you’re unfamiliar, it’s the story of a down-on-its-luck NFL team that trades up for the No. 1 draft pick in hopes of rebuilding its franchise.

I love football, but what the hell is this?

To me, this seems like yet another attempt to elongate the presence of the NFL to a year-long ordeal—a never ending saga that makes fans beg for actual football.

opinion

The NFL has a 16-game regular season with preseason, playoffs and the Super Bowl. During the season, we get our fill of NFL glory from actual football, which is for the most part, great. The problem is that the NFL realizes this and looks to increase profits wherever possible. So, we get full coverage of the draft, the NFL Network, year-round NFL analysis shows, reality television inside the locker room and training camp, and more.

What we’re getting is a watered-down version of what football really is: just enough new content to keep fans on life support, rather than taking a break from the action with another sport. I’m getting sick of it.

I love the excitement of the sport and the amazing stories that unfold every year. But when we continue to see these stories replayed over and over throughout the offseason on SportsCenter, we grow tired of it. The excitement of football becomes so mundane that we don’t even think twice when seeing the footage of the miraculous catch from the playoffs that had us both in tears and jumping out of our seats.

So what do I really want? I want the NFL to give up on these offseason tid bits and just give us more football.

Right now, the NFL is considering extending its season from 16 to 18 games. I think this can be a really good idea, granted the summer preseason games get changed to regular games, rather than tacking on two more at the end of the season in the dead of winter. I’d love to be in the stands at Lambeau Field on a warm, summer night, watching the Packers with an ice cold beer. It sure would be a nice transition from the normal “frozen tundra” games I go to.

ALEX_COLUMN_GRAPHIC

Major League Baseball, America’s pastime, runs for seven months of the year. I think the NFL could extend its season to fit this time frame, making a lot of us happier while also ditching the need for filler in the offseason.

I won’t be going to see “Draft Day,” and I probably won’t sit down to watch selections on the real draft day. I’ll check my Facebook or Twitter feed to see who the Packers picked up, but I won’t put too much thought into it.

Until that first kickoff, everything is just speculation.

Alex Goering can be reached at goer8777@stthomas.edu.