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Pre-season losing luster in eyes of football fans
- By Travis Lanaghan
- Trail Staff Writer
- Every year hundreds of thousands of fans watch the hard-hitting, smash mouth NFL football we have all come to love. From fantasy players to old school Cowboy fans, the NFL offers something for every fan. From Terrell Owens and the mysterious alarm clock malfunction to Chad Johnson’s “excessive” touchdown celebrations or Clinton Portis’ famous Bro Sweets, Sheriff Gonna Getcha’ or Peyton Mannings hilarious fan impersonation. You all have seen them, you either love them or hate them. But the one thing fans and players are becoming less and less attracted to is the four-week pre-season.
Some fans argue the pre-season helps coaches make a decision on who to keep on the 52-man roster, and it helps rookies and free agents make the squad.
True, but what about the players that are injured in a meaningless game. Clinton Portis dislocated his shoulder in the first snaps of the second pre-season game. He missed all preseason and more importantly practice, now he is listed as day to day and likely won't start in either of the first two games of the season.
For young talent that is injured trying to make the team, their football dreams are ruined maybe permanently. Also many veteran players with have no business in a pre-season game are injured.
Last year’s receiving yards leader Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers injured both of his hamstrings. He didn’t even suit up for their first game against Mike Vick’s Falcons.
The list goes on and on, yet teams compete every year in four games that have no bearing on anything. Most players and fans don’t even remember their team’s pre-season record. Because of this, fantasy players who do their drafts before the pre-season starts may have their teams wrecked. I’m not talking about you and your buddies getting together and doing a mock draft. I’m talking about the hundreds of millions of dollars being shuffled around on fantasy football. Fantasy football is becoming larger than life every day and is only going to become greater in the years to follow.
New era players, such as Reggie Bush and Vince Young are a dream for any fantasy team. Their skills, as rookies have given just a taste for what the NFL will become in the coming years.
Unfortunately, your rookie sensation tore his ACL, MCL and PCL, in a meaningless preseason game. His career, along with your fantasy team is shattered like the remote you just heaved at the wall in disgust. With any luck, the new NFL commissioner will see this problem and fix it before it gets out of control.
Now in all reality, coaches have to have these preseason games to make their decisions on who to cut and who to keep. Players have to have a chance to prove themselves to the coaching staff and to each other, but four games, that seems to be over kill.
Give the players and coaches a two-week pre-season to make their decisions. That’s a win-win situation for both fans and players.
- Trail Staff Writer