Dear Roger Goodell
An open letter to the NFL commissioner from a Green Bay Packers fan wavering on his allegiance to the game that he loves.
This article was written by Wednesday columnist John Rehor.
Dear Roger Goodell,
I would like to offer you my sincere congratulations.
This has nothing to do with any good deeds you may have done in the community or charitable contributions you may have made, not for holding the door open for someone and not even for just being a swell guy.
My congratulations are offered because as commissioner of the NFL, you have single handedly managed to do something that no one has ever been able to do before: You have permanently soured my attitude about the National Football League.
When the regular refs were locked out and replacements were announced, my immediate reaction as a fan was “At least there will be football.” After the players lockout last year, football could not stomach yet another work stoppage. While replacement refs are not the ideal answer, it was an option that I, along with all other fans were willing to accept, simply because football would continue.
Thinking about the replacement refs and their qualifications (college, high school, and as we later found out, junior college) my hope was twofold: That they would be able to carry on the game without embarrassing the NFL, and enjoy a little bit of the “big time” before returning the cozy confines of their smaller assignments.
Unfortunately, as we quickly came to find out, the reality of replacement refs was not an acceptable solution. In fact, it was a nightmare that would get worse as the weeks progressed.
Throwing too many flags. Not throwing enough flags. Not being able to keep up with the speed of the game. Not being able to control the action on the field. These are just a few of the issues that we saw plague the replacement refs during the first few weeks. I was able to turn a blind eye to these glaring weaknesses in the officiating, because it did not affect the team for which I cheer.
That all changed last night.
To say the crew assigned to the Packers/Seahawks game on Monday Sept. 24, 2012 was ill prepared to call an NFL game is a mild understatement. A game which saw a penalty flag being thrown on what seemed to be every single play during the first 59 minutes and 50 seconds, they missed not one but two calls during the final 10 seconds of this game which cost the Packers a victory, and the NFL, my respect.
How do you explain the refs missing an obvious offensive pass interference call on the final play of the game? How do you explain the Packers' M.D. Jennings coming down WITH POSSESSION OF THE BALL and the play being ruled a touchdown for the Seahawks? Finally, how do you explain two officials in the same area giving two different calls on the play?
Why am I asking you to explain this? Because you are the one who put these unqualified officials out on the field. You are the one who made this decision to field these incompetent morons and stain the image of the league you are so adamant about protecting.
Worst of all, when you and you alone had the power to overturn this clearly missed call, you did nothing. You hid behind words and verbiage. Admitting the refs were wrong would swing all the power to the regular refs as far as bargaining to end the lock out and would prove that your decision to field the replacements was a mistake.
Your decision showed your true colors. You are not concerned about protecting the shield of the NFL one bit. Nope. All you really care about are dollars. In particular, the dollars that go to the NFL, the owners, and your pocket.
With this decision, you have solidified your legacy as commissioner. That you are nothing more than a business operator acting in the best interest of the league, viewing the fans as brainless idiots who will continue to plunk their dollars down for the game they love, regardless of what is on the field.
Because of your actions, I have reached a crossroads as a fan of the NFL. How do I proceed as a fan after the Monday Night Disaster?
One option is I could walk away forever. Stop being a fan, stop watching on TV, stop going to the games. Just to spite you. Would you notice? Would you care? No. And who would this really affect? Me, because I’d be sacrificing something I love because of your actions.
The alternative is to accept what the NFL is. That it is nothing more than a money-hungry business that will simply continue to operate, and fans just need to take whatever we are given, and we have no voice.
There is another sport that operates the same way as the second option listed. Major League Baseball went through something similar in 1994 after locking the players out. I was a rabid baseball fan-before the lockout. Since then, I am a casual observer, at best.
So this is where we stand. Which path do we go down? Are you willing to do what is right for the league and get the refs back on the field? Or do you stand your ground with the owners, refusing to back down to the demands of the refs and risk further damage?
You made one decision about the refs that affected the league. You have one more important decision to make. And your decision will determine the path this fan will take.
Sincerely,
A football fan
Comments (15)
September 26, 2012 at 10:33 am
What needs to be done, is somehow a viral message start that everyone refuses to buy any NFL merchandise for Christmas. I personally am doing this and know that each year I purchase a lot of dollars worth of christmas presents through the nil
September 26, 2012 at 12:59 pm
i called goodell and told him what you just said and that i'd be watching pirated broadcasts of the game on the internet instead of boosting the ratings for fox/cbs/nbc/espn/nfln and thus revenue dollars for the nfl.
September 26, 2012 at 10:38 am
Very well put, Brian. You summed up exactly how I am feeling. I love the Packers and the people of Green Bay and Brown County, but I hate what the NFL has become. The owners are to blame, but we share the blame as fans for supporting this garbage. What to do.
Brian Carriveau
September 26, 2012 at 11:11 am
The credit goes to John Rehor.
September 26, 2012 at 10:39 am
Well said Brian. Thousands of fans and myself think the same way. I am proud of my Packers taking the high road and going foreward. It shows their integrity. But it upsets me deeply to see what their doing to the sport I love just for money. MB
Brian Carriveau
September 26, 2012 at 11:11 am
See above.
September 26, 2012 at 11:45 am
Dear football fan:
I care deeply about how you feel. Your piece has given me food for thought, and I'll consider it next time I'm taking a , I mean, I'm discussing the refs situation.
Sincerely,
The Rog
September 26, 2012 at 01:01 pm
dear football fan,
you're right. the packers should have won. we totally screwed up by not calling pass interference on that last play.
as for that other call, no one really cares about that one do they? we got that one right.
love,
the nfl
p.s. we are totally awesome! right? right.
September 26, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Brian, great parallel with baseball...
Yes, the whole mess has made me so skeptical of any NFL efforts to manage the product's quality for the long term benefit of the brand. This short term thinking we've all been subjected to while the league is at its' apex will lead to a decline if it continues much longer.
Rog needs to resign, he's a tool of the owners just as Selig is. The NFL needs a Kennesaw Mountain Landis type of figure of unquestioned integrity to act in the best interests of the game. ...and no, I'm not talking about Condoleeza Rice, either.
I'm preparing a letter to Rog that I'm going to print on back of a copy of my Packers shareholder certificate. I recommend we all do the same.
September 26, 2012 at 01:56 pm
While John can be angry at Roger all he wants, Roger answers to 31 individual majority owners and getting them to agree to the deal. He's possibly fought to get the refs back sooner to fall on deaf ears and we don't know it. I can't blame him alone but the owners & ref union deserve an equal amount of the blame.
Successful businessmen aren't successful by caving to every demand thrust on them. You may say that they should care what you, the customer, thinks but they won't til you stop consuming the product. They may realize you may indeed do so but can you make that boycott last? The smart $ says not enough consumers will before the owners get the terms they can be satisfied with.
This response isn't an argument for any side, just a statement of what I believe to be true
September 26, 2012 at 04:09 pm
Well said, John. I, too, am at a loss a bit as to how I can, as a fan, get my anger across to the league. I honestly wish there was more that I could have done Monday night than just tweet the contact information for the commissioner's office. I wish there was something we could get to go viral, something we could do. If there is any group of fans in the NFL that could make a statement through action, it'd be the fans of the greatest team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. It's just a tough call because we know that not going to games and not watching games is not only impossible (people are still gonna do it), but it'd be ineffective, and will only hurt the fans, really.
September 26, 2012 at 08:53 pm
Great read John. You know my thoughts on the situation.
Everyone at work thinks I'm an idiot for refusing to watch anymore games until the NFL apologizes but I'm sticking to my guns.
September 26, 2012 at 09:20 pm
Here is my companion letter to go along with yours:
Dear NFL: It's not you, it's me
I know we have had some great times together. We really do have a long history with a lot of wonderful memories. But I think its time you and I spend some time apart.
You see, I deserve better. After the debacle the replacement refs have made of the first three weeks of the season, it just doesn't feel right anymore. Things between us have been going downhill week after week this season. And Monday night was the breaking point. We have lost our magic together.
You have talked to me about "integrity" and "protecting the shield." Sure, those words sounded great. It really seemed like you cared about me and the players. It sounded like you wanted us to be together forever.
But now I know its all been lies just to keep me around, to keep me spending my money on you and giving you all of my attention on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays.
I really need some time away from you, and it starts now.
And honestly its not because of you, but because of me.
After Monday night, I was filled with anger. I sent out more Tweets and Facebook posts Monday night than I had the last three months combined.
I was so upset, I wanted Roger Goodell to light his thinning hair on fire and put it out with a tack hammer.
I got into arguments with good friends about the horrible, horrible call by the refs you chose to represent your shield. It caused the wrong team to win. What would this do to the playoff hopes of not only Green Bay and Seattle, but all of the NFC North and West?
I barely slept all night.
Tuesday came and I was still upset. Still hurting inside from what happened.
And then it hit me. I shouldn't be so angry at you. It was my fault, because I never really let myself see you for who you are.
You only care about money. It's not a surprise to me. I have known it for years. But I thought maybe, just maybe, you would really start to care about me and all the others who loved you.
I thought I could change you. I thought maybe you would stop insulting my intelligence when you gave me manure and told me it smelt like roses. I thought maybe, just maybe you would show the same integrity for the game you demanded of its players. I knew deep down inside you didn't have it, but I could hope. I lied to myself. And now, I have the integrity to be truthful to myself and you.
You have nearly caused a player strike. You have caused a ref strike. You ignore player safety and long-term health. Saving a few million dollars in a multi-billion dollar industry is more important to you than presenting a safer, quality product.
You thought I was so addicted to you, that you could do and say anything and I would keep coming back to you. You were the Chris Brown to my Rhianna.
Well I'm not going to take your abuse any longer. No, I don't care that you have rushed to get the regular refs back. Its too late. Because I realized something, something more important than you and I.
My life will not change one tiny bit without you!
I can spend my Sundays reading a book, watching a movie, taking a long walk out among the changing leaves. There are so many other wonderful things in this world to make me happy.
If I take you out of my life, nothing will be different for me.
Sure, there are parts of you I will miss, and maybe one day you will grow up, find the integrity you keep preaching about, and maybe we can reconcile. But I don't think it will be anytime soon.
But you know what the funny thing is? Even though my life won't change one bit without you, if enough other people realize the same thing, and how you have treated us, they might leave you too.
And that sure as hell will change the lives of you and the owners.
September 26, 2012 at 09:53 pm
Goodell, The problem. not the solution.
Campen, How do you take a first rd. draft choice, Bulaga, and turn him into a douchebag?
8 sacks in the first half?
OL sucks! Com on man!
September 30, 2012 at 02:28 am
Time for a reality check for anyone who thinks that Goodell should have, could have just overturned the result of the game and gave the Packers the "Win".
It's a giant can o' worms that the NFL can not afford to open. Period.
Every team who lost a game on a questionable call- regardless of how questionable- would be petitioning the league- specifically Goodell- to overturn the outcome. Thousands of fans weekly would be calling the NFL home office crying to be appeased because their team got screwed by the refs.
precedent is a very powerful, sometimes dangerous, thing to set.
Goodell handled this in the way that is best for the game of NFL football, as much as that might suck for the Packers. He said the refs missed a call, he said that because of the call made on the field, the way the events unfolded in terms of process was correct. He did not state it was an accurate or fair call. Simply that the process was sound. And most importantly, he left it be and did not open up the floodgates, the pandora's box.
Sucks for the Packers, but was best for the immediate and long-term health of the game of football. Most important, he got the damn thing done with the "real" refs.