The first disappointment was the canceling of all the Junior Football league games.  You wouldn’t think that little kids playing football would be exciting to watch, would you?  Well, you obviously do not have a grandchild on a team. #15 (above)  happens to be mine.  This kid has played on defense, quarterbacked one season, and is a terrific running back because she is determined and the fastest runner on her team.  That’s right – I said ‘she.’  She loves football and did not care if she was the only girl on the team. She started at the age of six.  Fearless.

But I need to gripe about professional football now.

The second thing was the sudden canceling of the NFL pre-season.  I don’t think the big-wigs understand the purpose and importance of those four games.  Usually, by the end of the preseason, everyone, meaning the refs, players, coaches, cameramen, and fans, is practiced and prepared.  Now we are dealing with this learning curve during the real season.

To fans, it isn’t only the 4 extra games to watch.  We learn about the new guys & the rookies. Who plays what position. Who makes the final cut.  It is not fair to the players at all

The stupid stuff is usually all worked out during pre-season.  The refs get the new (and old) rule changes down, the cameramen actually film the game more than the sideline players and cheerleaders.  Only the commentators stay the same throughout the season- spewing stats that even the most hard-core fans don’t care about.  Blah, Blah, Blah.  Not even shutting up during the plays or talking over the officials to be heard.

It is so depressing to see the stands empty.  Cardboard cut-outs are a cute idea, and I love the “celebrities” attending the game.  But what about the stadium noise?  It would be so nice to not have to listen to that racket for a change.  Guess What?  We don’t have to!  Except someone keeps pumping out a canned version of crowd noise.  This is so ridiculous, it’s embarrassing.  To make matters even more annoying, the cheering sounds coincide with the other team doing awesome things.  The home team gets booed.  HEY!  At least get that right!

I vote to remove the phony crowd noise altogether – it’s noise pollution no one wants.

Who’s with me on this?