Ok, "Ruining the NFL" may have been a little to harsh, but I think we can all agree he has not done anything to improve the game for the everyday fan. You can argue that he is improving the game for the owners in terms of expanding the game to a larger international audience, and by increasing revenue. Really the increasing revenue part is debatable because I think the NFL would continue to make money hand over fist even without the Goodell or with anybody as commissioner. And again that last part about "making money hand over fist" is debatable since the NFL is currently locking out the players for precisely that reason, they are not making ENOUGH money.....
Everyday that I read and hear more and more about how the owners and players are fighting over $9 billion + in revenues, and constantly sniping at each other through the media, trying to get us to take sides, and how one side is getting "screwed" it makes me realize that they just do not "get it". Each side wants us, the fans, to feel sorry for them and take their side, they seem to think that THEY are the ones suffering. That's not true, we the fans are the only ones truly suffering. Thinking about that got me thinking, what has the league done since Roger Goodell became commissioner to improve the game for the fans? More specifically, has Commissioner Roger Goodell improved the game for fans? Let me make this clear before I start though, I do know that Goodell is an employee of the owners and everything he does is first approved by them. Now lets get to it.
When I think about Roger Goodell's tenure as NFL Commissioner, the first thing that comes to my mind is: Player Conduct Policy. This was a policy that was enacted/strengthened in April 2010 with the purpose of preserving the league's public image by punishing players for negative off-field behavior. I have always been torn on this issue as an adult, first off I do not care what player "x" does in his own free time as long as it does not affect his performance on the field, but I also understand that these players (like it or not) are role models for many children and young adults. This is a policy that has no real rules to it, different people are punished differently and held to different standards based on one mans (Goodell's) opinion, and the appeals are also handled by the same man that hands out the initial punishment (again its Roger Goodell). Regardless of your views on the "Personal Conduct Policy" I do not see how it improves the quality of the game for the fans. If anything it has decreased the quality of the game because the best players are not always on the field. Now some people may argue that "in the real world if you are arrested for DWI then you could get fired", but in the real world my boss would never find out that I got arrested for DWI on a Friday night unless I told him because it would not be reported by every media outlet in America, so it is not the same thing. And in the "real world" I know of numerous people who have been in both misdemeanor and felonious incidents and not been reprimanded at the workplace.
The other side of this argument is that the reason the players are punished (sometimes even suspended) is because they are "role models" for kids and that them being punished helps set the example for the kids that look up to them. When NFL players are arrested or get in trouble off the field, they already face stiffer punishments than "regular" people (example A: Michael Vick, Example B: Plaxico Burress). The reason I do not agree with this side of the argument is that ultimately it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their kids are taught "right from wrong" and to explain to their children the consequences of their actions and to even from time to time use professional athletes as the example. It is not the responsibility of the league or Roger Goodell to make sure that the players are setting the proper example for children across America when they are away from the rules and regulations of the league (And by that I mean off of NFL and team property). I am not saying that players should not be held accountable for off-field actions, I am just saying that as a fan the personal conduct policy has not improved my NFL experience, in fact it has done just the opposite.
The next "change" that Goodell has been instrumental in is all of the new guidelines/rules for what is and is not a legal hit. You all know what I am talking about, it took center stage this year in week 6 (I think) when there was a rash of what appeared to be vicious and in some cases dirty hits. How do I feel about this? I feel that Goodell is going to far, he has made watching games much less enjoyable because I am constantly worried if "my" team is going to get some bogus "illegal hit" call during a routine bang-bang play just because a WR slightly stumbled and ducked his head and a closing LB who was going to have a legal hit ended up hitting him in the head (i.e. James Harrison hit on Mohammad Massaquoi) all in a matter of less than 1 second. There was no way for Harrison to change his momentum when Massquoi ducked at the last second. And apparently the refs are told to err on the side of throwing a flag. These are potentially huge game changing penalties, and if the ref "thinks" he sees something he is supposed to throw the flag? Goodell, owners, GM's, executives, coaches, scouts, players, and fans all know that professional football is a violent game, and yet we all participate in it in one way or another regardless, and have been for years. The worst part about it is that the NFL was profiting off of the hit until the media called them out on it. Just let the players play, please! You know what, lets all admit what this really was about, it was about Goodell "pretending" like he cared about the players safety so they could add more games to the schedule it never had ANYTHING to do with the safety of the employees of the NFL....It was a money grab!
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