With regard to the NFL and football specifically, I think postponing this weekend’s games is a good idea for the players, while as a fan/regular citizen I do want to see life resume its proper course. I think for the players, the possibilty of someone losing proper concentration during the course of the game could land them in the hospital, if not end their career entirely. It’s the nature of a contact sport like this that you need to be totally focused on what you’re doing, or else. My Packers were to have gone to the Meadowlands to play the Giants on Sunday. I’d really like to see the two teams play because I think it should be a very good game. But having them play a team that is going to be as distracted as that is not fair for either side. Regardless of what the final score could be, who’s to say who won, if anyone?
One point you may be overlooking, most of the teams dravel by air and if the planes aren’t flying they can’t get to the stadiums to play at
I feel much better that football has been cancelled. Even if you made the best argument in the world that they should not be, there would be so much controversy, so much securtiy concerns, too many issues that it really is not worth it.
On ESPN last night, some NY Giant players said they simply would have refused to play if the games had not been cancelled or postponed. This ESPN story says that not playing the games at all would cost the league a total of $57 million in lost ticket sales.
One thing they have to work out now is whether to play those games and have fewer playoffs or just play a 15-game season with all the wild-cards. (San Diego presents a problem because this was their bye week. They may end up as the only team to play 16 games. Also, he Saints, Buccaneers and Steelers have Week 3 byes, meaning they will have two consecutive weeks off. After playing on September 9th, they will not play again until the 30th.) They cannot delay the Super Bowl by a week because there are numerous conventions scheduled in New Orleans the first weekend of February and there is simply not enough hotel space available then. (It would also be a strain on NOPD.) And, there is no bye week before the Super Bowl.
Maybe they could play three playoff games on Saturday January 12, and three on Sunday, the 13th, in order to keep twelve playoff teams. Or maybe two each on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with a guarantee that Monday’s winners would not play again until the following Sunday.
My softball league played ball on the Tuesday night of the tragedy and my nephew played highschool football on Thursday. Never did it cross my mind to not play. Going on with my frivolous activities was my hearty FU to the sub-humans who thought they could break this nation with their acts.
At the professional level, I think both sides have good arguements, though it is mostly moot, now.
I am firmly in the play the games camp, at least the NFL games. Baseball, autoracing, and other sports have logistical issues and air travel requirements that are more difficult to work out, but the NFL is in a better situation for something like this because they only travel once a week and usually on chartered aircraft.
Some issues to address:
Any security risk this weekend was there a week ago and will still be there a week from now. If anything, we will be more aware of the risks over the coming weeks than we were before the WTC attacks happened.
Air travel wouldn’t be a problem for the football teams as most teams fly chartered aircraft and only the teams are on board. No doubt additional security would have been neccessary, to sweep the aircraft and the stadiums, but see the previous, what security won’t still be neccessary in two weeks?
Terrorism is at its base an act of psychological warfare. I think it would have helped heal to play at least the football games this weekend to give people a chance to break out of the trauma of the disaster and Sunday football games are the closest thing we could have to a national town meeting.
Besides, imagine this Sunday:
Simulcast Presidential speech to all stadiums regarding how America’s spirit not broken, yada, yada, yada
Missing man fly-overs
Color-guards at mid-field
Players decked out with American flags stitched to their uniforms.
Done right, there wouldn’t be a dry eye in the house.
Not sure you’d get the same effect and emotion and catharsis in two weeks.
Hairy, at first blush I assume that you also incorrectly think that we should close all the “frivolous” activites that bring some people happiness, such as movie studios and theatres, amusement parks, bowling alleys and golf courses, and convert those resources to solely to your chosen cultural and educational activities too.
On the other hand, Hairy, if you’re position is that public funds which are currently being used to subsidize pro sports through public financed stadiums should be better
spent on the war effort, then I’d agree with you. I have long maintained that scarce public money should not be spent on private pro sports teams.
Personally, on a related topic, I wish Mark McGwire would either shut up and play ball, or immediately retire from baseball and donate his time and his salary to the WTC relief effort.
Boxcar: I’m sure baseball will do those things on Monday with a few games, then with 15 games on Tuesday. this might have factored into Tagliabue’s decision to wait a week; it’s not like football is the only game in town this time of year.
jab1, with the Rangers so far out of contention (since, I think, the first month or so of the baseball season) and the Stars and Mavericks not yet in season, the Cowboys ARE the only pro game in town. Your sympathy is appreciated.
jab1 wrote:
… and that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the lost TV advertising revenue.
I think you’ll need it. I wonder if the Cowboys will win even one game this season. (Which breaks the heart of this ol’ Cowboy fan. Troy Aikman is now part of the Good Ol’ Days. 
)
Peter King writes “Inside the NFL” for CNN/Sports Illustrated. In yesterday’s column, he wrote this:
The vote was 17-11 against playing. It might have gone the other way if not for Sehorn and Strahan and Kevin Mawae of the Jets.
The NFL has decided to play a 16-game season. However, they have not decided on a playoff format. Read the brief article to learn what a logistical nightmare they’re facing.
Finally, some good news: The officials ratified the new contract and will be on the job on Sunday.