What does that have to do with anything? Sick of people always equating money with happiness and freedom, when it's usually the opposite.
Fans don't care about the players. Fans' relationship, both emotionally and fiscally, is largely with the teams and owners. Sure, there are guys we care about. There are a handful of about 10-15 players who actually matter to us, but for the most part, NFL players are interchangeable parts and most fans don't care about them. Pierre Garcon is a hero when he runs down Ed Reed, but when he drops a pass in the Super Bowl, he 'sucks'. Bob Sanders was a legend, but some Colts' fans are actively rooting for him to get hurt now that he plays for San Diego. Fans who cry, "the players should have accepted the owners' last deal rather than go to court!" because they 'risked' the season are being incredibly greedy and selfish (yes, EXACTLY like the owners and players). Imagine someone came up to you and said, "Hi, I want you to take a big pay cut so that in six months I can watch TV". You'd laugh. As fans, the only interest we have in these proceedings is that a deal is done. Most of us do not care if the deal is fair. We just care if there will be football. We beg for loyalty from men to whom we show none. Other than a handful of stars, most of us aren't loyal to players. We'd gladly have them play for peanuts if it guaranteed us football. Many fans don't care enough about the players to bother studying the issues closely. They just throw up their hands and say, "They are all greedy selfish fools!". The hypocrisy is amazing.
Pretty arrogant of you to assume you know how we all feel. Who the fuck is proposing a pay cut for the players?
Arrogant enough to know what I read and hear. Fans wish players would get hurt when things don't go their way or cheer if a player they personally don't like gets hurt. I heard people clap when certain players were on the ground. Funny how people don't like to be told about their dirt, but everyone has some. Including us fans. Too many of us are jealous of the players, and that is obvious when you read what some of us have to bitch about. Too many of us want to compare what we do to what a highly select few people in the world can do. Fans don't care for players, because we wouldn't bitch so much when they say something that we don't agree with. The fans are constantly bitching that the players should keep their mouths shut. That is why I disagreed with Adrian Peterson on what he said, because I know the public don't give a fuck.
I don't disagree with what you are saying (as I havent really taken the time to read this whole thread) but I dont think this attitude is unique to peoples relationship with players or the NFL, the truth is everyone pretty much bitches about pretty much everything - especially on the internet.
this is I believe the third or fourth time that I have seen you state something like this. Since clearly none of us know anything about the history of the slave trade, please tell us what the hell you are talking about then. Because from my perspective, you are citing Petersons lack of freedom as a reason he is not totally insane with his "modern slavery" stuff. So I ask you where is his lack of freedom? Is it in the sense he signed a contract and is forced to work for one team for several years before he can go to FA and sign a deal to work with a team of his choice? Is it because he is forced to work for one team for peanuts (upcoming 11 milllion dollar salary this season)? If he wants his freedom from his deal, and to remove himself from this slavery all he needs to do is quit (retire). In comparison to the common man, they also sign contracts to work for one company for a set salary (but not a certain number of years) They also have the right to quit at any time. But in this case the salary is bread crumbs compared the NFL players peanuts... Obviously I am not educated enough in the slave trade to determine where the slavery is in this setup, so please educate myself and the board...
There is a thing called context, and while I or you may not agree with it, doesn't mean that we can't have some idea or perspective from which he is speaking. You are taking what he said literally instead of looking at it from his point of view. The problem from you is I believe you think the players have no point of view. At least not one in which you are willing to check into before you draw conclusions. These guys are not rhode scholars. They're young men playing football. Unlike Roger Goodell, and the NFL's public relations group, the players are not trained speakers. They might make mistakes in how they are saying it, but I think they are also speaking from the heart.
What exactly are you expecting. We are fans of a sport, it is not our life. If Tom Brady goes out for the year, fans of the Patriots would be upset, Jets fans would for the most part be happy he is done for the year. Are we supposed to send get well cards, or donate to a fund to help him recover? Fans invest their time and money into a team, through merchandising, purchasing tickets, and devoting their free time and sanity to root for a team. Something they can easily dispose of by just not watching anymore. Fans make the NFL, without the fan, their is no multi million dollar contracts, no tv contracts....just ask the UFL, or the USFL, or the XFL what happens when there are no fans. Yes fans mostly care only about players on the team they root for. This is nothing new.
ok so what you are saying is that what he said is completely retarded, but because he is not a trained speaker, thats ok? Its fine for peterson to have his point of view, but he does not have the right to compare his situation to slavery. his situation is about as far from slavery as possible. It's ok for him to have a point of view, but that doesnt mean his point of view is flat out wrong...
I'm not black, but I have to say that for any free (yes he is free, he can do whatever the heck he wants, within reason, whenever he wants, any time of the week), black millionaire to compare this situation to slavery is disgraceful to all of his people and those who came before him who fought with their lives to gain people like him the freedoms that he enjoys. There are billions of people in this world who could only dream that they could be in the same situation as Peterson.
Well, not what I meant... if that's what you're implying. It's more cultural. Guys go from having nothing most of their lives to suddenly having six and seven-figure salaries, and they end up spending money like Steve Martin in "The Jerk."
Looks like Rashard Mendenhall is coming to AP's defense “Anyone with knowledge of the slave trade and the NFL could say that these two parallel each other.” http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2011/...hall-slammed-for-comparing-the-nfl-to-slavery Must be a RB thing.
i must be missing something... because the slaves were given nothing... these Rbs have been given millions...
Don't talk about disgraceful or morality. You are not a barometer of anything except yourself. Make sure your shit is together before you decide with whatever bit of information you might have that you know what you are talking about.
Owners treat fans like bitches by sticking you with these PSLs but yet your venom is for the players.
I staunchly support the players, and am as pro-union as anyone. But even I can see that moronic comments like these and from Santonio "we got bills to pay and mouths to feed" Holmes harm the cause of the players, and should be held against them. They need to be smarter than this.
The reason players unions always lose the PR war is because there are always enough idiots who will say something like "we're slaves" or "I'm just trying to feed my family." However, I will forgive Antonio Cromartie if he says he needs to be paid millions more in order to feed his family, because that would just be the truth.
