Tonight cancer has taken someone who has already been hailed many times as a genius and a visionary. Tonight Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, lost the battle with pancreatic cancer.
Whatever opinion you hold about Jobs, and I've held nearly every possible opinion over the years, his impact on American life can't be questioned. This is the man who assembled a secret development team within his own company to design and build the "insanely great" Macintosh, the computer that changed everything (according to the subtitle of Steven Levy's book).
This is the man who recruited John Sculley away from Pepsi to be the CEO of Apple by asking, "Do you really want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life?" Of course Sculley was the man who forced Jobs out of his own company.
But Steve Jobs is also the man who founded Pixar Studios, regained control of Apple, and pushed development of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. i-i-i-i-i-i ... I've written before about the Cult of Apple and criticized it. One thing is certain, though: Few people have had the same impact on American life over the last 50 as Steve Jobs has.
He was insanely great. Cancer once again diminishes us all.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Diabetic and the Dilly Bar
Recently a coworker announced that she had purchased a few boxes of DQ Dilly Bars and placed them in the cafeteria freezer for anyone to partake. Just like I did when a DQ opened in my neighborhood when I was 12, I ran for the Dilly Bar.
I took it back to my cubicle, unwrapped the treat, and was just starting to nom nom nom when a different coworker shrieked.
“Hey! Aren’t you diabetic?”
I chuckled. “Yeah,” I told her, “eating this thing is liable to send me straight into a coma.”
But she was just expressing concern for my health. So I assured her that I have pretty tight control over my blood sugar, and the occasional treat was not going to bump up my blood glucose.
Because she works the next cubicle over, she can see the lunches I eat--lots of fresh spinach, lean meats, a banana every day. She can also see me head for the company health club about the same time each day.
This has been my life since May 2001, when my doctor diagnosed me with diabetes. At the time he told me I was diabetic, he started me on Amaryl, an oral blood glucose control drug. He also referred me to a nutritionist whose goal from the beginning was to get me off that drug.
She succeeded. By September 2001 I was controlling my diabetes with diet and exercise.
That simple phrase, “diet and exercise,” means walking, running, lifting weights, swimming or using an elliptical machine four to six times a week while watching my food intake very closely. I keep an eye on my calories and especially my carbohydrates, often by scrutinizing the nutrition labels on food.
Did you know a Dilly Bar has 220 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate? I do. That’s why I wasn’t worried about slipping into a coma. I can handle 25 grams of carbs about any time.
I took it back to my cubicle, unwrapped the treat, and was just starting to nom nom nom when a different coworker shrieked.
“Hey! Aren’t you diabetic?”
I chuckled. “Yeah,” I told her, “eating this thing is liable to send me straight into a coma.”
But she was just expressing concern for my health. So I assured her that I have pretty tight control over my blood sugar, and the occasional treat was not going to bump up my blood glucose.
Because she works the next cubicle over, she can see the lunches I eat--lots of fresh spinach, lean meats, a banana every day. She can also see me head for the company health club about the same time each day.
This has been my life since May 2001, when my doctor diagnosed me with diabetes. At the time he told me I was diabetic, he started me on Amaryl, an oral blood glucose control drug. He also referred me to a nutritionist whose goal from the beginning was to get me off that drug.
She succeeded. By September 2001 I was controlling my diabetes with diet and exercise.
That simple phrase, “diet and exercise,” means walking, running, lifting weights, swimming or using an elliptical machine four to six times a week while watching my food intake very closely. I keep an eye on my calories and especially my carbohydrates, often by scrutinizing the nutrition labels on food.
Did you know a Dilly Bar has 220 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate? I do. That’s why I wasn’t worried about slipping into a coma. I can handle 25 grams of carbs about any time.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Jon Stewart 2, Newsies 0
A lot of the media is making quite a stink over Jon Stewart’s recent appearance on FoxNews Sunday, where he was interviewed by Chris Wallace. The focus of the media’s reaction is the way that Stewart schooled Wallace.
What nobody in any media has mentioned is that this was the second time that Stewart, the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, went toe-to-toe with a cable news face and won.
The previous time was October 2004, when Stewart appeared on the now-defunct CNN program Crossfire and traded shots with Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson. True to form, Carlson referred to an interview Stewart had done with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and accused Stewart of being Kerry’s “butt boy.”
It’s true. The CNN transcript is right here.
But the essence of the Stewart victory over the CNN hosts in 2004 and Wallace this past weekend was in the following comment:
STEWART: If you want to compare your show to a comedy show, you're more than welcome to.
CNN in 2004 was still calling itself “the most trusted name in news.” FoxNews in 2011 continues to maintain the pretense that it is a legitimate news organization. In both cases, smug hosts obviously thought they would be scrubbing the floor with Stewart’s head.
In both cases, the so-called journalists arrived at a gun fight armed with switchblades.
To both news channels, I pose the following question: Why do you invite a comedian to a serious discussion of the news media. Do you watch The Daily Show and mistake it for real news? Do you fail to understand that it’s a parody of what you do?
Or let me use the same short words that Stewart used in 2004: Why do you want to compare yourself to a comedy show? You lose before you even begin.
What nobody in any media has mentioned is that this was the second time that Stewart, the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, went toe-to-toe with a cable news face and won.
The previous time was October 2004, when Stewart appeared on the now-defunct CNN program Crossfire and traded shots with Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson. True to form, Carlson referred to an interview Stewart had done with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and accused Stewart of being Kerry’s “butt boy.”
It’s true. The CNN transcript is right here.
But the essence of the Stewart victory over the CNN hosts in 2004 and Wallace this past weekend was in the following comment:
STEWART: If you want to compare your show to a comedy show, you're more than welcome to.
CNN in 2004 was still calling itself “the most trusted name in news.” FoxNews in 2011 continues to maintain the pretense that it is a legitimate news organization. In both cases, smug hosts obviously thought they would be scrubbing the floor with Stewart’s head.
In both cases, the so-called journalists arrived at a gun fight armed with switchblades.
To both news channels, I pose the following question: Why do you invite a comedian to a serious discussion of the news media. Do you watch The Daily Show and mistake it for real news? Do you fail to understand that it’s a parody of what you do?
Or let me use the same short words that Stewart used in 2004: Why do you want to compare yourself to a comedy show? You lose before you even begin.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Clarence Clemons and My Sense of Loss
I’m 54 years old, which means I’ve lived long enough to have lost a lot of people who were close to me.
Both of my parents are gone, as are aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and close friends. Each time death took someone from me, I wondered how life could go on without that person in my life. Often I had lost a person who was a physical presence in my life each week, if not each day.
Because I had that close relationship with each person, it’s completely understandable that I would feel a sense of deep loss when one would die.
But why do I feel almost the same sense of loss when someone dies who I never even met?
Clarence Clemons died last night at the age of 69, just one week after suffering a stroke. I never met him. In fact, I was in the same building as Clemons just one time in my life; that’s the closest I came to being physically connected to this man.
But I feel a sense of loss. And I don’t understand why.
The only connection I have with the man is the saxophone accompaniment he played as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. I’ve got most of the Springsteen records, so I can revisit that connection any time I want. I can listen to Clemons’ music any time I want.
But my enjoyment of listening to the music is tempered by the knowledge that there won’t be any new music from Clarence Clemons. It’s tempered by the realization that a certain period of my life, a certain period in the things I enjoy, has ended. In fact, it’s a realization that should really never come as a surprise: I’m getting older, and I don’t like that fact.
Yes, I feel a sense of loss at the death of a musician whose work I enjoyed. But I think my real sense is that I’ve lost something of myself.
Both of my parents are gone, as are aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and close friends. Each time death took someone from me, I wondered how life could go on without that person in my life. Often I had lost a person who was a physical presence in my life each week, if not each day.
Because I had that close relationship with each person, it’s completely understandable that I would feel a sense of deep loss when one would die.
But why do I feel almost the same sense of loss when someone dies who I never even met?
Clarence Clemons died last night at the age of 69, just one week after suffering a stroke. I never met him. In fact, I was in the same building as Clemons just one time in my life; that’s the closest I came to being physically connected to this man.
But I feel a sense of loss. And I don’t understand why.
The only connection I have with the man is the saxophone accompaniment he played as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. I’ve got most of the Springsteen records, so I can revisit that connection any time I want. I can listen to Clemons’ music any time I want.
But my enjoyment of listening to the music is tempered by the knowledge that there won’t be any new music from Clarence Clemons. It’s tempered by the realization that a certain period of my life, a certain period in the things I enjoy, has ended. In fact, it’s a realization that should really never come as a surprise: I’m getting older, and I don’t like that fact.
Yes, I feel a sense of loss at the death of a musician whose work I enjoyed. But I think my real sense is that I’ve lost something of myself.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Techno Love
A couple of months ago, reports of the manual typewriter's death were, as Mark Twain would have said, premature. A news story moved on the wire services reporting that the last manual typewriter factory had closed.
The story was later corrected, but not before dozens of writers wrote pieces waxing nostalgic about their favorite old manual typewriter. I read a couple and was moved.
That is to say, I was moved to gag. You really have warm memories of using a manual? (Back in the day, if you talked about manuals versus electrics, everyone knew you were talking typewriters.) I learned to type on a big, bulky Royal manual. I used an identical big, bulky Royal manual at my first paid writing job. I don't wax nostalgic about those days.
Instead, I remember changing ribbons on those things. I remember using carbon paper when I needed a duplicate on those things. I remember my hands cramping from pounding the keys on those things.
And I remember one more thing. I remember the day that a friend who sold Radio Shack computers stopped by the newspaper office where I worked and plopped a TRS-80 Model 100 on my desk. This was the first true laptop computer, and as I shifted my cramped, curled fingers from the keys of the Royal and dropped them onto the Model 100 keyboard, I fell in love.
I have preferred word processors over manual typewriters ever since.
Now, I know that technology ain't Nirvana. Computers fail. Software fails--I proved that today by spending a chunk of my work time trying to get Adobe Acrobat Professional to act like a professional. It refused.
But compared to banging away on a Royal manual typewriter, time spent writing on a computer is a little slice of heaven.
One day, the story of the last manual computer factory closing down will be true. When that day comes, I won't feel sad or wax nostalgic. I may write a brief post about it using my MacBook Pro. Or I may drag out my Model 100 for a spin.
The story was later corrected, but not before dozens of writers wrote pieces waxing nostalgic about their favorite old manual typewriter. I read a couple and was moved.
That is to say, I was moved to gag. You really have warm memories of using a manual? (Back in the day, if you talked about manuals versus electrics, everyone knew you were talking typewriters.) I learned to type on a big, bulky Royal manual. I used an identical big, bulky Royal manual at my first paid writing job. I don't wax nostalgic about those days.
Instead, I remember changing ribbons on those things. I remember using carbon paper when I needed a duplicate on those things. I remember my hands cramping from pounding the keys on those things.
And I remember one more thing. I remember the day that a friend who sold Radio Shack computers stopped by the newspaper office where I worked and plopped a TRS-80 Model 100 on my desk. This was the first true laptop computer, and as I shifted my cramped, curled fingers from the keys of the Royal and dropped them onto the Model 100 keyboard, I fell in love.
I have preferred word processors over manual typewriters ever since.
Now, I know that technology ain't Nirvana. Computers fail. Software fails--I proved that today by spending a chunk of my work time trying to get Adobe Acrobat Professional to act like a professional. It refused.
But compared to banging away on a Royal manual typewriter, time spent writing on a computer is a little slice of heaven.
One day, the story of the last manual computer factory closing down will be true. When that day comes, I won't feel sad or wax nostalgic. I may write a brief post about it using my MacBook Pro. Or I may drag out my Model 100 for a spin.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The End Is Near! Myabe
I got to get this post done. There's not much time left.
In case you haven't heard, the Judgement Day is coming on Saturday. At least, that's the judgement (pardon the expression) of Harold Camping.
This is the man who has scoured the Scriptures for signs of the Apocalypse and the Day of Judgement. He says he's found absolute proof in the Holy Bible that the end is coming May 21, 2011. Specifically, it's coming at 6 pm.
Never mind that the Scriptures specifically say Jesus told his disciples several times that no one knows when Judgement Day is coming except for God.
Never mind that Christians had been convinced that they had discovered the date of the Judgement Day before.
Never mind that one of those times was 1994, when the prophet who knew the date of the Judgement Day was Harold Camping. His story now? As early as 1992, he started thinking that the scriptural signs were actually pointing to 2011.
There has been media coverage of all the believers who have given up their jobs, given up their homes and other possessions, and drawn down their savings all because the Judgement Day, or Rapture, is coming soon. Once they're in heaven, after all, they'll have no use for all those things.
I wonder how many of those people know that Harold Camping has been here before. I wonder what they'd think if they knew he's been through Judgement Day already. I wonder if they know that Harold Camping is already at work on his alibi for being wrong again this time.
The end is near. At least, I hope the end of people falling for this type of charlatan is near. But I doubt that it is.
In case you haven't heard, the Judgement Day is coming on Saturday. At least, that's the judgement (pardon the expression) of Harold Camping.
This is the man who has scoured the Scriptures for signs of the Apocalypse and the Day of Judgement. He says he's found absolute proof in the Holy Bible that the end is coming May 21, 2011. Specifically, it's coming at 6 pm.
Never mind that the Scriptures specifically say Jesus told his disciples several times that no one knows when Judgement Day is coming except for God.
Never mind that Christians had been convinced that they had discovered the date of the Judgement Day before.
Never mind that one of those times was 1994, when the prophet who knew the date of the Judgement Day was Harold Camping. His story now? As early as 1992, he started thinking that the scriptural signs were actually pointing to 2011.
There has been media coverage of all the believers who have given up their jobs, given up their homes and other possessions, and drawn down their savings all because the Judgement Day, or Rapture, is coming soon. Once they're in heaven, after all, they'll have no use for all those things.
I wonder how many of those people know that Harold Camping has been here before. I wonder what they'd think if they knew he's been through Judgement Day already. I wonder if they know that Harold Camping is already at work on his alibi for being wrong again this time.
The end is near. At least, I hope the end of people falling for this type of charlatan is near. But I doubt that it is.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Crazy-Ass Workouts
It's been almost 10 years since my doctor ordered a couple of fasting blood glucose tests and told me that I'm diabetic. He started me on an oral medication but, spurred on by a dietitian, I followed a regimen of diet and exercise that enabled me to stop taking the medicine after just a few months.
I kept exercising. It dawned on me the other day that, except for the weeks that I was in chemotherapy, I've been exercising on a regular basis for nearly 10 years now. What sparked that realization was a newspaper article listing the best ways to stick to an exercise plan. The article listed all the usual stuff--get a buddy, hire a trainer, join a class, yadda yadda yadda.
Nobody has ever asked me, but I've stuck with it for a decade because I found exercise I like to do. I started with walking and added resistance work (using Nautilus machines) after nagging from my dietitian. Eventually I changed from walking to running.
And sometimes, I add in a crazy-ass workout for variety. There are lots of really crazy workout routines--P90x, CrossFit, Cage Fighters Workout. But those are too far out for me.
So I talked to a co-worker who does some pretty crazy-ass workouts himself. He told me about one of them which involves a stationary bike. You get on the bike and start pedaling. After a seven-minute warmup, you pedal crazy fast for 40 seconds and then do a tow-minute recovery. After 30 minutes of those intervals, you do a three-minute cool-down. That's one crazy-ass workout.
Yeah, I've done that one. I've done it twice now, and I'm beginning to wonder if that P90X stuff is really so crazy.
Maybe I'll just go for a run.
I kept exercising. It dawned on me the other day that, except for the weeks that I was in chemotherapy, I've been exercising on a regular basis for nearly 10 years now. What sparked that realization was a newspaper article listing the best ways to stick to an exercise plan. The article listed all the usual stuff--get a buddy, hire a trainer, join a class, yadda yadda yadda.
Nobody has ever asked me, but I've stuck with it for a decade because I found exercise I like to do. I started with walking and added resistance work (using Nautilus machines) after nagging from my dietitian. Eventually I changed from walking to running.
And sometimes, I add in a crazy-ass workout for variety. There are lots of really crazy workout routines--P90x, CrossFit, Cage Fighters Workout. But those are too far out for me.
So I talked to a co-worker who does some pretty crazy-ass workouts himself. He told me about one of them which involves a stationary bike. You get on the bike and start pedaling. After a seven-minute warmup, you pedal crazy fast for 40 seconds and then do a tow-minute recovery. After 30 minutes of those intervals, you do a three-minute cool-down. That's one crazy-ass workout.
Yeah, I've done that one. I've done it twice now, and I'm beginning to wonder if that P90X stuff is really so crazy.
Maybe I'll just go for a run.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Would the Tea Party Support the Internet?
Recently the newly elected governor of Florida, a favorite of the Tea Party crowd, decided to reject a federally funded high-speed rail project that was planned for his state. Rejecting the project meant that Floridians won’t get the benefit of the high-speed rail project or the jobs that would be created by it.
Some other state will get the money for a similar project. But the governor stood tall on the principle of, well, something.
From what I can gather, Tea Party people are dead set against federal spending. All federal spending, regardless of the benefits it provides for real people, is somehow evil according to these people. So I started thinking about three of the biggest milestones of the last 70 years or so.
Nuclear Energy--Humans harnessed the energy created by splitting atoms apart in the 1940s because the federal government launched the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb. Every nuclear generator around the world owes its existence to the team of federal workers who labored in the New Mexico desert.
Some Tea Party types seem to be fans of nuclear energy. I wonder if they would be such big fans if they knew how it started.
Interstate Highway System--Long before he was a general, Dwight Eisenhower was stationed at Army posts accessible only by dirt roads. He saw firsthand how difficult it was to move soldiers and supplies from place to place in the United States. He also saw just how efficiently the Germans could transport anything on wheels with the Autobahn.
That’s why Eisenhower pushed for the development of the Interstate Highway System we use today. That’s why he wanted to use federal dollars to build the highways. If the Tea Party had been around in the 1950s, they might have called the interstates “socialist roads.”
Internet--When a manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) decided it was silly to need a separate terminal for each data network he could access, the idea of transparently interconnected networking was born. All the money for the development of what we no call the Internet was provided by the federal government.
Even the browser was developed with federal dollars. Mosaic, the grandfather of all browsers, was created at the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Every Tea Party website communicates its message courtesy of the United States government. Every Tea Party chapter uses a product of federal spending to rail against federal spending. I love the irony.
But I really have to wonder something. If we had been prevented from spending federal dollars in the past the way the Tea Party is blocking us now, where would we be today? Would we have nuclear power, interstate highways, or the Internet?
Some other state will get the money for a similar project. But the governor stood tall on the principle of, well, something.
From what I can gather, Tea Party people are dead set against federal spending. All federal spending, regardless of the benefits it provides for real people, is somehow evil according to these people. So I started thinking about three of the biggest milestones of the last 70 years or so.
Nuclear Energy--Humans harnessed the energy created by splitting atoms apart in the 1940s because the federal government launched the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb. Every nuclear generator around the world owes its existence to the team of federal workers who labored in the New Mexico desert.
Some Tea Party types seem to be fans of nuclear energy. I wonder if they would be such big fans if they knew how it started.
Interstate Highway System--Long before he was a general, Dwight Eisenhower was stationed at Army posts accessible only by dirt roads. He saw firsthand how difficult it was to move soldiers and supplies from place to place in the United States. He also saw just how efficiently the Germans could transport anything on wheels with the Autobahn.
That’s why Eisenhower pushed for the development of the Interstate Highway System we use today. That’s why he wanted to use federal dollars to build the highways. If the Tea Party had been around in the 1950s, they might have called the interstates “socialist roads.”
Internet--When a manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) decided it was silly to need a separate terminal for each data network he could access, the idea of transparently interconnected networking was born. All the money for the development of what we no call the Internet was provided by the federal government.
Even the browser was developed with federal dollars. Mosaic, the grandfather of all browsers, was created at the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Every Tea Party website communicates its message courtesy of the United States government. Every Tea Party chapter uses a product of federal spending to rail against federal spending. I love the irony.
But I really have to wonder something. If we had been prevented from spending federal dollars in the past the way the Tea Party is blocking us now, where would we be today? Would we have nuclear power, interstate highways, or the Internet?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
This Could Get Interesting
With the deadline for the current CBA coming up, things are getting interesting in the relationship between the players, the owners, and the league itself.
According to The New York Times, the NFL players' union is considering an interesting course o action. The union might decertify itself, a move that could expose the league to individual lawsuits by players.
That could expose the owners to potential losses. We already know that the owners are way more interested in money than in actually having a football season. Read the full story here.
Not only that, but the Times is also reporting that a federal appeals court has ruled that the league acted against the interests of the players in renegotiating TV contracts. Here's the story.
Suddenly, it might be in the owner's best interest to concede on some points and actually get a CBA with the players. I'm a fan; all I really care is that we have NFL games in September.
According to The New York Times, the NFL players' union is considering an interesting course o action. The union might decertify itself, a move that could expose the league to individual lawsuits by players.
That could expose the owners to potential losses. We already know that the owners are way more interested in money than in actually having a football season. Read the full story here.
Not only that, but the Times is also reporting that a federal appeals court has ruled that the league acted against the interests of the players in renegotiating TV contracts. Here's the story.
Suddenly, it might be in the owner's best interest to concede on some points and actually get a CBA with the players. I'm a fan; all I really care is that we have NFL games in September.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Not For Long
I don’t remember what coach said it was or what player was involved, but I clearly remember a great clip of National Football League video. The coach said, “This is the NFL, son, and that stands for Not For Long if you keep playing like that."*
This week is the deadline for the CBA, or collective bargaining agreement, which is the basic contract that governs the relationship between owners and players in the NFL. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement, NFL could definitely stand for Not For Long.
For over a year, NFL fans have been hearing that the owners have an insurance policy that basically guarantees income for them in the event that there are no games played during the 2011 season. What that meant is that the owners really have no incentive to compromise on their position, because they have nothing to lose.
In the event that the two sides failed to negotiate a new CBA, the owners could simply lock the players out for a year and lose little in terms of money. The prospect that 2010 could be the last NFL season for a while sharpened the focus on each game of the season for some of us. We kept wondering if pro football really was Not For Long.
As of last week, things don’t really look good for an agreement any time soon. There might really not be a 2011 season.
The National Hockey League locked out their players and effectively canceled the 1194-95 season. It took several years for hockey to regain its fans, attendance, and TV ratings after the strike.
1994 was also the year that Major League Baseball lost a chunk of its regular season along with the entire postseason. They didn’t even play the World Series that year. Major League Baseball didn’t begin to regain its fans until the 1998 season and the home-run record chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Would the same thing happen to the NFL if it fails to conduct a season this coming fall? Absolutely. What the owners and the players always forget is that fans can always find something else to do to occupy their time. A lot of NFL fans just might discover the beauty of fall foliage if there are no games on TV during those endless Sunday afternoons.
I hope the players and owners figure out a solution, because I’m a fan. Part of me, though, hopes they dig in, refuse to compromise with each other, and cancel the 2011 season. Part of me wants them to find out that, for many fans, a fall without pro football games would mean that the NFL is Not For Long.
*Update: A Twitter friend reminded me that it was Jerry Glanville, former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who delivered the line. He was talking to a referee and told the official he was "not for long" if he kept making bad calls.
This week is the deadline for the CBA, or collective bargaining agreement, which is the basic contract that governs the relationship between owners and players in the NFL. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement, NFL could definitely stand for Not For Long.
For over a year, NFL fans have been hearing that the owners have an insurance policy that basically guarantees income for them in the event that there are no games played during the 2011 season. What that meant is that the owners really have no incentive to compromise on their position, because they have nothing to lose.
In the event that the two sides failed to negotiate a new CBA, the owners could simply lock the players out for a year and lose little in terms of money. The prospect that 2010 could be the last NFL season for a while sharpened the focus on each game of the season for some of us. We kept wondering if pro football really was Not For Long.
As of last week, things don’t really look good for an agreement any time soon. There might really not be a 2011 season.
The National Hockey League locked out their players and effectively canceled the 1194-95 season. It took several years for hockey to regain its fans, attendance, and TV ratings after the strike.
1994 was also the year that Major League Baseball lost a chunk of its regular season along with the entire postseason. They didn’t even play the World Series that year. Major League Baseball didn’t begin to regain its fans until the 1998 season and the home-run record chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Would the same thing happen to the NFL if it fails to conduct a season this coming fall? Absolutely. What the owners and the players always forget is that fans can always find something else to do to occupy their time. A lot of NFL fans just might discover the beauty of fall foliage if there are no games on TV during those endless Sunday afternoons.
I hope the players and owners figure out a solution, because I’m a fan. Part of me, though, hopes they dig in, refuse to compromise with each other, and cancel the 2011 season. Part of me wants them to find out that, for many fans, a fall without pro football games would mean that the NFL is Not For Long.
*Update: A Twitter friend reminded me that it was Jerry Glanville, former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who delivered the line. He was talking to a referee and told the official he was "not for long" if he kept making bad calls.
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