Of course I understand that in light of the ruling, the NFL has announced that players will now be able to enter their respective team's facilities for workouts, OTA's/mini-camps, coaches meetings, and offseason rehab programs. The NFL has yet to announce when Free Agency will begin, but that announcement will be coming shortly. I understand and comprehend, that it's looking like the players may actually win this labor dispute at this point, but none of that really means anything to me.
The reason why it means very little to me is a simple one : both sides still don't have a labor deal in place. Both sides are STILL unable to figure out a way to divide a $9.5 BILLION DOLLAR pie. Both sides have wasted a tremendous amount of time engaging in meaningless and ego-fueled pissing contests. Both sides have actually tried to convince the public they're "the good guys" in this dispute, even though most forward-thinking fans see right through it...and that leads me to my own personal bottom line in this: no matter who "wins" this dispute, the fans end up losing.
We're the ones who are receiving the most damage from this. We are the ones that the owners will continue to price gouge once this is over. We are the ones the millionaire players will still complain to about being shortchanged by their contracts. We are the ones who will still be subjected to the blackout rule, one of the most antiquated and unrealistic rules the NFL still has in place. But hey, why should that matter to the NFL right?
Even tonight's draft, an event that is symbolic of the annual NFL Rebirth due to the influx of talent that emerges, has become an afterthought for me. I say this despite the Chicago Bears having a first round selection, and drafting an offensive lineman with that pick. An offensive lineman in Gabe Carimi, that might actually be able to play tackle unlike previous first round draft pick Chris Williams. The Bears still showed that they're the Bears however, by completely botching a proposed trade with the Ravens.
As for the First Round itself, I think all of the QB's taken in the first round suck to high heaven, and I'm shocked they were taken this high. I'm also shocked at what Atlanta did trading all those picks for Julio Jones. Julio is really not worth all those picks, and good for the Cleveland Browns for making a smart deal. The Niners still proved they have no clue what the draft is about, by taking a 20 year old project at the 7th pick. I'm also convinced that Patrick Peterson will be looked at as the best player to come out of this draft when it's reviewed 3 years from now.
Until then, I'll continue to barely pay attention to the NFL until they work out a labor deal....even with their attempts to convince us that it's business as usual.
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