It has been a few years in the making, but at this point I think it’s officially safe to start referring to the National Football League as the “No Fun League.”
I’m sure many of you who still tune in on Sunday afternoons have already been calling it that for some time now.
My reasoning for having this opinion might differ from that of most people, but it has been a long time coming as far as I’m concerned.
I’m not talking about kneeling during our national anthem, protests, Colin Kaepernick or anything of that ilk — it has already been done ad nauseum and I’m just not that guy.
I began watching the NFL with my father toward the end of the 90s when he received orders from the United States Air Force that we would soon be returning stateside, after four years in Spangdahlem, Germany at Spangdahlem Air Force Base.
The year was 1998 and my first real clear memory of watching a football game was Super Bowl XXXIII (33), between the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons — John Elway’s final game.
Fun fact and my last little tidbit from that particular evening: after the game, a little-known show called Family Guy made its network television debut.
Watching the NFL back then, there were so many things that were deeply entrenched within the game that always seemed customary.
Big shoulder pads, Marlboro ads in the stands, concussion-inducing hits laughed away and complemented by the likes of John Madden and Pat Summerall.
What I remember the most are the huge, momentum-shifting, potentially game-winning plays, followed by some very lavish celebrations.
It was always a spectacle, something you looked forward to, got a good chuckle out and, on certain occasions, attempted to emulate with hilarious sure to ensue.
There were so many celebrations — yes I’m calling them celebrations — over the years during my childhood that I saw happen live: Joe Horn’s cell phone; Terrell Owens pulling a sharpie from his sock and signing the ball after catching a touchdown pass; Chad Johnson using the pylon as putter; or doing an Irish jig in the endzone post-touchdown.
Those are just a few that immediately come to mind, but there are too many to count and a lot of them were legitimate gems.
If they ever got out of hand, a flag was thrown, a penalty was enforced on the ensuing kickoff and we all moved on with the rest of the game.
Scoring a touchdown in the NFL is one of, if not the most difficult, things one can do in professional sports; it is a true accomplishment.
That is now sadly going to be a thing of the past, as the league recently announced a so-called crackdown on “taunting,” and has urged officials to strictly penalize anything perceived as such.
The statement reads: “Game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce the taunting rules, and players and coaches are reminded that two taunting penalties committed by an individual player will result in automatic disqualification. In addition, the taunting player may be fined and/or suspended depending on the severity of the actions.”
These are grown men, and grown men typically don’t like being told what to do.
To me, it just seems like a half-hearted attempt to police something that never needed policing to begin with, and will only drive more people away should it start to get out of hand or enough people complain about it like myself.
The National Football League just isn’t the same, and I understand all things change, usually for the better, as time moves on.
I don’t know that this is totally necessary and feels like a missed opportunity to initiate something that more fans can get behind.
Joe Judd is a reporter for the Pioneer. He can be reached at Joe.Judd@pioneergroup.com.
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August 24, 2021 at 05:14PM
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JUDD: The No Fun League era has officially begun - The Pioneer
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