What are the Hot Topics this week at the league meetings,
the Thursday night flexing possibility that
the commissioner clearly wanted Peter and he almost got it with
22 votes according to Albert Brewer of Si.com.
So we set this up with some sound we played earlier in
the week
and we stripped out the music. We want you to hear it. It's
not the best audio but it's important to hear Giants
co-owner John, Mara with some very strong views
on On what it means to the fans
to have games. Go from Thursday,
to Sunday and Sunday, to Thursday, here, he is
there. Some people are
used to going from Sunday afternoon and Sunday night
into Monday night, which I think is
really inconsiderate.
He's adamantly opposed to it and it's abusive to the fans.
Now, it's also potentially abusive to the players but
that's a different issue that will get to Peter. You and
I were talking about this last week
when this all first came up and I think it was all very
carefully orchestrated by the league a selectively leaked to
sports Business Journal on Thursday night to get it out
there. Floating the trial balloon, and seeing how people
reacted to it
and people reacted to it
negatively. So they walked it back a little bit. Well, it
would only be one. Time a year at the most? Well, this well
that. Well and and then they tabled it because they knew if
they did a
formal vote, it was going to get voted down. But again, if
Albert's correct, and I have no reason to believe he isn't
there, only two votes away from getting the Thursday night
flexing. Meanwhile, they double the number of times that teams
can play between Sunday and
Thursday and they hang their hat on this idea that
the injury rates the same. If you have Sunday to Sunday as it is,
if you go Sunday to Thursday, I think that's a selective
manipulation of Statistics. I think there are more factors
that
go into play. When you talk about players playing with
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, off, and being expected to do
it again. But Peter, they've decided and the commissioner
stood up and said,
it's not a health and safety issue.
Once you accept that
then why not have seven
Thursday night games for a team in a given year. After playing
on Sunday, There's No Limit. If you have convinced yourself,
it's not A health and safety issue and
you know sometimes they want what they want and they're
going to get it, no matter what anyone else says and I feel
like this is one of those. Even though John Mara seems to be
firmly on our side
Well
you know Mike a few things about what you just said.
Number one. Yes, Albert beer was absolutely correct, 22
teams were in favor of this. There were two abstentions
Denver and Carolina abstained
in this vote. So in other words,
there are eight teams against
solidly against. As of now
Denver Carolina on the fence in 22 teams for
now, I talked to two of the 22 teams representatives of two
22 teams and their attitude was, we don't like it
really, but it's something that the commissioner
really thinks is important for a partner.
And we think that there's a chance over the next couple of
years that maybe
only one or two games total will get flexed. So we don't
think it's worth really fighting for
but the teams that are against it, it
some of them are really against it, like John, Mara is
so I guess I would I would tell you this Mike that
the other night. One of the funniest
kind of ironic things that happen is so at the league
meetings every year for the last
X number of years, the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted dinner,
and they host it every year on Tuesday, evening
at the league meetings,
and I've gotten an invitation
quite a few times over.
Over the years.
And so I was at this deer the other night and in this
restaurant
there were two large rooms
that you could have big
parties and not parties. But
you know, big dinners
and the New York Giants party was in one of them
and the Pittsburgh Steelers party was
in another one. And so the Giants finished dinner earlier
and came over Joe Shane Brian dable,
John Mara several others came over, just to say hi to
the people in the Steelers room.
And I went up and shook hands with John Mara
and he kind of looked over my shoulder and he saw Roger
Goodell was at the Steelers dinner. He's there every year
and he saw
Roger and he said basically,
you know light. But kind of sardonic way I better get out
of here, you know,
ha ha ha ha.
But in essence, Mike, in essence, Mike I think
John Mara knew exactly what he was saying
and he knew that it was going to create waves and you know
what he wanted it to create waves
and quite honestly, I happen to be really opposed to this.
I think it is.
It's not cruel and unusual punishment. I don't mean it
like that, but it's just wrong.
It's just wrong.
Do you know how many I've talked this week to a couple? Of fans
who basically
come from long distances, one to go see the Bangles every
year
and one to go see the Cowboys every year
and they travel long distances
and they basically said, well, we like to go both of them
like to go later in the year when the games are bigger.
And now they said, if we do go, we're going to have to go early
in the air in a period where the games can't be flexed.
Just because we can't have
this huge plan being made and then later in the year they say
oh never mind, the game isn't Sunday. It's now Thursday.
I think that's part of it but I also think to John Mayer has
point.
You already asked your season ticket holders, you say it's
about the fans, it's about the fans, it's about the fans and,
you know, the fans don't want to hear
that. It's about a Amazon.
They don't, they don't care.
They don't care at all.
But the financial reality in the NFL is that Roger Goodell
looks at Amazon and Amazon's happiness is going to be
the NFL's happiness
because it's very likely that streaming is not only here,
but it's here to stay.
Say and so he doesn't want them lagging. Way behind in TV,
audiences
are streaming audiences,
so he's going to do everything he can. In fact, I met
an Amazon executive at the meetings on Monday night and
I can tell you Amazon thought that this was absolutely going
to happen. And, and I think the league deep down, they're not
necessarily if you ask them on Tuesday,
if they were Surprised that it didn't pass.
I don't think they would have been surprised because they
heard so much - about it and you know I kept because I wrote
about it last Monday and I said I think it's a bad idea
and a couple of people said you
why are you so adamant about this? Why are you against it?
And I said because
you guys so often discount fans in the stadium and fans who
actually come to games.
The NFL is such a great television sport.
That the NFL very often
takes for granted
the they'll say, oh no, we don't know. We don't, yes, you do.
If you're talking about moving a game and inconveniencing
50,000, people would not want a game moved from Sunday to
Thursday,
then how can you just continue in this Echo chamber? Saying
it's all about the fans, know it isn't about the fans,
it's about pleasing
a partner
in your media contracts, Amazon
Yeah, football is family. Sorry about screwing up your family
trip to
Las Vegas for December game because we move that game from
Sunday to Thursday and this
applies to everyone, this is the problem other than
the Monday night game, that's already locked in
in that week,
although, that game could be flexed to Sunday,
but when you put in Monday night, flex, Thursday night,
Flex
late season, if you have a ticket to any game, Mmmmm. It
potentially is affected the Thursday night game. Get moved
to Sunday in any of those Sunday games could go to
Thursday
or Monday. So it's not about the in stadium fans. They're
choosing the
in home or out of home on cell phone device fans, who
congregate in the millions.
I think this is what it comes down to Peter. Hit the nail on
the head.
They need to get the numbers of the people who watch the Amazon
game live
close as they can
to the numbers that they were
when it was on Fox
when it was on over-the-air three-letter Network. Because
the time is coming,
where networks Fallout streamers fall in and it's not
going to be 20 million,
it's not going to be 30 million,
it's going to be a lower number, but they got to get
that number as high as they possibly can. That's what this
is about. And I also think Peter
it's about Tuesday,
it's about Wednesday,
and eventually it's about Friday.
And it's about Saturday. I know, Friday Saturday tougher
to pull off because of the antitrust exemption that
applies to the broadcast rights. But I feel like if
they're determined to get there,
they'll get there.
And the Commissioners determined,
this was a rebuff
to him by John. Mara he was smart to get the hell out of
there
because he's the guy. One of the guys who stood in the way
of the commission, forgetting what he wants and we know
the commissioner always gets what he wants and he believes this
is good for the game. So, why is anybody opposing me on this?
And I wonder if it hadn't gotten out last Thursday night,
if it would have gotten through, that would have been
a chance for anyone to say, ho what the hell are you people
doing
without? And I'm not saying it was only us because it wasn't
only us without the tidal wave of what the hell are you people
doing?
He may have gotten his 24 votes, very quietly
and the first we would have heard about it would have been
when the measure was passed last Monday.
You know, Mike, you're you're absolutely right. I think
the NFL thought that
we are going to sneak this one.
You know, we're going to throw a fastball by The Hitter
and we're going to sneak this went in
and it's clear that there were
enough people who were angered by this
who basically thought that
even if 95% of our fans
come from, the local area,
Area, which I don't think that's true
in any case.
And as one of the one of the teams that is against this told
me,
you know, imagine all of these people
who treat the Green Bay Packers game, a trip to Lambeau Field
as a pilgrimage to make one time in their lives, and they
want to go to
a beautiful,
you know, noon game or, or when Her 330 Game Central Time in
Green Bay that,
you know, a Sunday game
doing the tailgate, everything like that.
Just, imagine two weeks beforehand
hearing that, you know, the Packers Bears game,
which you're going to go to which, you know, thousands of
people,
every year, use that Green Bay, a trip to Green Bay as
a pilgrimage. And just imagine that that gay men gets flexed,
you know, to Thursday night. And I think the big question
is,
I know this is going to sound crazy. I mean, is really is
going to sound crazy, but I think that
that if I were a fan and this happened
I would be as loud as I could I would protest as much as I could
and I would call the NFL for what it's being in this
particular case, which is greedy
and I would basically ask just plaintively why in the world
shouldn't I get? Refund for the NFL.
I in good faith in good conscience.
Bought plane tickets. I bought tickets to this game,
that now I can no longer use.
I live in Santa Monica, California,
how possibly can I take three days off from work to go to
a football game? Maybe if you're independently wealthy,
you can but this all
all together was about one thing
and that is going To see the team that I've always loved.
And now you've made it impossible
because I can't take three days off from work
in the middle of a week to make this happen.
So I believe, honestly, Mike that
that this is one time
where I hope, I really hope
that fans and players
social media wherever just rise up and say,
we're not going to take it.
I don't sense. It's going to rise to
Level of Groundswell
and for that, I'm unhappy.
But I do think that this even though
because there's only two teams now that they need to
either get off the fence of a
of abstention Denver and Carolina or two of
the remaining eight
who voted against that voted against it.
I don't sense. It's going to rise to the level of outrage,
that it won't pass. I think it probably will pass.
But I wish that the outraged people would speak up because
if you don't speak up, now you'll forever, hold your
peace.
Yeah. Hey Denver. How would you like to host a draft? Hey,
Carolina, how would you like to host a draft? I mean, we know
how backroom deals get made. We know that
they're in a position of strength. Now, they are now
the kyrsten Sinema and Joe manchin of the NFL ownership where they
have power, right?
Am I wrong? Yeah, we know, we know how it works.
And here's the other thing too Peter, anybody who stands up
and says this is wrong, and it shouldn't happen is going to
piss off the commissioner and have to deal with him.
Whether it's somebody on the inside, like John Mara.
Or whether it's somebody on the outside like us. And we know he
gets that look. He gets that. He gets that look in his eyes
when he ain't happy. And we know that look
Jim Trotter knows that, look
we and and so if you're going to stand up to this, if you're
going to push back, there's going to be a price to pay,
but I agree with you. It's something that is wrong for
the fans. It's wrong for the players, it's wrong for
the game. I understand it's right for the money, but sometimes
the money's got to take a backseat. Sometimes, as we said
last week, pigs, get fat
and Hogs. Get slaughtered.
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