I Hate the NFL

I'm not sure if my headline is entirely accurate, but it's pretty damn close.  The NFL has become equal parts irritation and annoyance on days that don't start with "Sun."  And that's what this comes down to.  Today is Thursday and today I hate the NFL.  Tomorrow is Friday, and I will hate the NFL.  After that? Saturday.  And I'll hate the NFL on that day as well.

Then comes Sunday.  And for one day, when all there is are games and highlights, I will enjoy football again.  But then Monday will role around and the whole vicious cycle will start all over again.  So what is it that fills me with such vitriol?  Let's get started.

I hate Thursday Night Football

Thanksgiving football was fun and cheeky.  Everyone has off of work and nobody wants to talk to family anyways.  Even opening the season on a Thursday night has been a nice touch.  It is an attention grabbing event and the teams are well rested.

But the rest of the season all we get are poorly prepared, poorly rested and generally shitty football games.  There's nothing like having your team play a shitty game on a night when you'd rather just take a damn nap so you can get through your Friday and make it to the weekend.

Seriously nobody wants to watch football on Thursday nights.  I would rather do anything than give up four hours in the middle of the week.  You have one day. ONE DAY. And that's enough.  I fucking hate Thursday Night Football, just go away already.

I hate Roger Goodell

This Guy Sucks

This sums it up better than I can but I'm still going to give it a try.  Roger Goodell is a shitty commissioner and has done absolutely nothing to improve the league while continuing with a pattern of bad decisions that has left the league with a repeated number of black eyes. Let's throw a few of the headline grabbers out there:

18 Game Schedule
Replacement Refs
Criminal Owners
Concussions
Player Discipline
The Ray Rice Fiasco
The Washington Redskins

Yea, he definitely deserves a vote of confidence from the billionaires that are his bosses continually give him.  Honestly, it's like Paul Tagliabue gave him a goose that laid golden eggs and he's slowly but surely bashing it's head against the ground, plucking it's feathers and getting ready to deep fry that sucker so he can eat it and leave it as a big pile of shit.  I hate Roger Goodell and what he's done to this league.

I hate the NFL Draft

Three days of this garbage?  Are you kidding me?  I'm supposed to give up three days in the middle of spring toward a damn draft?  No. Just No.  Here's the deal, the draft doesn't matter.  There is absolutely nothing entertaining about this event.  Hey, here's a bunch of people that most likely won't be as good as we want them to be except for all these guys we aren't really paying attention to that may end up being stars.

It's a crap shoot and the coverage is absolutely insufferable.  Well anything that involves Chris Berman is absolutely insufferable.  Amazing that Mel Kiper can make a career out of moderately accurately guessing where players will be drafted but is just godawful at predicting whether or not they'll be decent players.

I hate ESPN

Does this really fit with my 345 day a year hatred of the NFL.  Why yes, yes it does.  No news organization or media group (short of Peter King at Sports Illustrated) is more in bed with the NFL than ESPN.  The personalities that they trot out on a week to week basis to talk all things FOOTBALL make me want to stab myself in the ears.

It's this constant and unstoppable inundation of annoying information that first makes one associate "NFL" with "STFU."  I really, really, really hate ESPN.

I hate the Lack of Player Protection

You want to decrease head injuries?  How about meaningful punishments.  Helmet-to-helmet hit?  Four game minimum suspension EVERY TIME.  See how willing players are to take a shot at a player if it's going to cost them 25% of their salary every time they do it.  This game is dangerous enough as it is, if the league isn't properly punishing players for making it more dangerous how can you enact reasonable and lasting change?

I hate this complete and utter Lack of Player Protection.

I hate the Locker Room Mentality

I've had enough of the macho boys club.  Of a bunch of guys thinking that they can't move into the 21st century with the rest of us because they are MEN who play FOOTBALL.  I hate the Richie Incognitos and Chris Cullivers of the world.  And I hate that the NFL puts them in a position to have their bigotry and general shitty-ness a platform to spew the nonsense.

I hate the message that if you won't play through your injury then you are a pussy.  Man up, never mind the fact that you may be ruining your body and your mind for the rest of your life.  I hate the face that this locker room culture is viewed as acceptable and so little is being done to change it, in any sport.

But Most of All

I hate that the NFL has such potential to be a force for the positive and this is how they choose to exist in the world.  The league doesn't need to throw money at social issues, issues like domestic violence, at risk youth, bullying and the list goes on.

The NFL could make a difference by setting an example.  By leading the way and showing fans and kids how to not be awful people.  Instead we're left people like Ray Lewis, Greg Hardy and Jim Irsay to be shining stars for the most impactful league in the United States. And I hate that.