Roger Goodell Can Suck It

So, I sat down in my favourite recliner yesterday afternoon prepared to watch an ungodly amount of NFL football.

My rage and frustration from the ‘unpleasantness’ stemming from Friday’s post had slowly dissipated after a nice weekend and I was left content and smiling by the time Sunday rolled around.

Better yet, I was able to toggle between two of the day’s early games which featured the two remaining undefeated teams in the National Football League: the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

I could not think of a better way to spend my Sunday afternoon than to watch Peyton Manning and Drew Brees lead their teams to victory on their respective marches to a perfect season.

The Colts, after a few lucky breaks and improbable comebacks over the past couple of weeks, returned things to business as usual with a cold, calculated dismantling of the Tennessee Titans. Indy jumped out to a 24-10 lead and never allowed the Titans a chance to get back in the game. This was the Colts’ 21st consecutive regular season victory, which ties the mark set by the New England Patriots two years ago.

With that outcome never really in doubt, I focused my attention to the surprisingly competitive contest between the Saints and the Washington Redskins. New Orleans, possibly suffering the effects of an emotional hangover after their beatdown of the Patriots on Monday night, looked listless throughout the game.

The Saints did not hold the lead at any point and found themselves down by ten late in the fourth quarter. A field goal made it a one possession game. The Redskins began their march downfield. Could New Orleans really lose their perfect season to Washington?

What happened next? How the fuck should I know?

The Fox feed carrying the game switched over to the beginning of the 49ers/Seahawks contest.

Are you kidding me?

I spent the majority of my afternoon emotionally invested in this highly entertaining game and Fox had the audacity to switch to the beginning of a game I wouldn’t watch with a gun pressed to my temple.

I hastily began making plans to bomb Rupert Murdoch’s house in protest, when a few minutes of research told me that Fox is forced by the NFL to abandon the early Sunday games at 4:15pm sharp to show the late games in their entirety.

And you know why the NFL does this? To appease their greedy owners with the promise of full network coverage. Nevermind that thousands of football fans got cheated out of one of the most exciting finishes of the season.

The Skins botched a 23 yard field goal attempt. The Saints ran down the field and Brees bombed a 53 yard touchdown strike to Robert Meachem with 90 seconds left. Washington fumbled on their first possession in OT and New Orleans won the game on a field goal of their own.

Why would I have wanted to watch that?

Instead I got to watch Alex Smith complete more passes to guys on the sidelines in dress clothes than his receiving corps on the field.

I blame you, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, for being at the helm of a league who doesn’t give a shit about the enjoyment of the fans who put money in your overstuffed pockets. You must be a smart guy. Let’s use a little common sense.

How do you expect to create new fans or keep casual ones by abandoning games at their most pivotal juncture? Oh, the game went on too long? Well, then stop having so many fucking commercials.

Maybe spend a little less time jerking off geriatrics like Al Davis and Jerry Jones and spend a little more time improving your product for public consumption. Jackass.

Now I’m in a bad mood again. My left arm hurts and I’m having radiating waves of pain. That’s your fault, Roger.

You are officially the newest entrant into Tewks’ “People I Hate in Sports” pantheon, joining the likes of Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, JP Ricciardi and Patrick Kane.