The No Fun League

Yahoo! Sports

Please!! Look, I don't condone mooning the crowd at Lambau field, for the primary reason that I wouldn't want to upset big, drunk, Wisconsin cheese head dudes. But, this is getting a little ridiculous. First, the NFL fines John Lynch for a hit that looked pretty darn legal, and at worst, borderline. Now, Moss gets fined for pantomooning after a touchdown catch. I've been watching nfootball for a lot of years, and I've seen much more "offensive" behavior and gestures on the part of the players. Let's face it. The crowd gives these guys hell. No, the players shouldn't react, but they are human. I would rather see a fake mooning than a player charging into the stands a la Ron Artest. For all I care, let Jake Plummer flip off his fans. Let Randy Moss moon the crowd. If the league is so concerned about this type of behavior, they should stop promoting tough hits and stop allowing the networks to show players on the sidelines. The NFL should be careful to not create the type of league where everything seems so controlled that it loses its sense of excitement. Fining players for gestures is simply too subjective to enforce with fairness. If Joe Buck wouldn't have had a cow during the broadcast, my guess is that there would have been a lot less scrutiny about this whole issue.

Comments

Anonymous said…
from sean:

not sure i agree, Eric. i do on the Lynch hit. however, re: Moss, i think that was out of bounds, and i'm a Vikings fan. i normally make allowances for Moss (or at least don't ride him), but not this time. one thing i keep in mind is the kids watching. i watched a lot of football as a kid. it is a bad example (along with Jake, etc.). i don't think it's as big a deal as Joe Buck made it (i do think he's getting a big head now that everyone's naming him the best. maybe he thinks he has to act like some elder statesman now).
9:50 AM
Anonymous said…
oh yeah, and i sure like seeing that "yun'z". reminds me of Picksburgh ;-)
9:51 AM
Eric said…
Todd--thanks for the offer!! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to throw things together quickly enough. I found a reasonable airfare, but I was having trouble working things out at work, since we are going on a weeklong vacation to Mexico the following week. Anyway, I'll be looking for you!! Please keep me in mind if you run across any more deals (i.e. Jacksonville; wink, wink)

Sean--Usually I am harder on the players for their actions than I have been recently. I just think things have become too subjective. If Brett Favre would have pretended to moon the crowd, everyone would have been laughing. Maybe my morals are slipping, but I just am not that offended by a mooning. After all, we are watching 300 pound guys beat the crap out of each other, and we call it entertainment---why is that anymore appropriate than a guy pretending to pull down his pants. It's not like it was a sexual gesture, which probably would have upset me. My opinion was sealed when Tony Dungy laughed off the episode, and related the story that their is a tradition of Green Bay fans mooning the opposing players bus as they leave the parking lot of Lambeau. I'm not trying to argue Moss's battles for him, but I'm just a little concerned that things are spinning out of control. Kind of reminds me of the '85 season when Jim McMahon went at it with Pete Rozelle over dress code. Also, I am reminded of a mid-80s World Series. I can't even remember which one it was, but the players were shown in the locker room afterwards swigging bottles of champaigne. My mom was so upset that the TV showed such immoral behavior that she wrote a letter to MLB. Of course, that was before I turned into a pseudo-alcoholic myself, which I've thankfully recovered from in my more mature years :)
2:46 PM
Sean Meade said…
i read the Dungy comment, too and i trust him as a good barometer. you may be right...
3:55 PM
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