I have no problem beating a dead horse. Clearly I get some sort of satisfaction out of it if nothing else because I know deep down that it won’t change anything… Especially when the dead horse is the National Football League’s “International Games.” Once again the NFL has decided to send the Steelers to Europe for a regular season contest with the only saving grace being that it isn’t a home game this time around.
For the first time ever, a regular season game will take place in Paris, France. You of course – like I do – know the huge thrill French folks get out of American football. Nothing says NFL Fandom quite like “Vive les Steelers!” right? If you’ve been a long-time reader of my stuff here then you know I HATE international games and I despise them even more when they are regular season games. Preseason? I could tolerate that, but meaningful football should be played in one of the two teams’ stadiums not in the middle of a country on a different continent.
If you missed yesterday’s news, the Steelers will travel to Paris to play the New Orleans Saints in late October. Already I’ve heard from disappointed fans who were planning to make a trip down to the Big Easy to see our Black and Gold take on the Saints. What irks them and me is that the NFL is trying to “grow the game” at the expense of those who laid the foundation. Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners could not care less either. They’re interested in money regardless of whether it’s the British pound or the American dollar.
So once again Steelers’ fan will ‘enjoy’ another 9:30am kickoff so the people of France can celebrate our game and our team. The Caesars Superdome will sit empty and the bars and restaurants of the French Quarter will miss out on even bigger crowds. Maybe I’ll feel better about all of this when English Premier League teams give up regular home fixtures to play in the US. Then again, no I won’t because that isn’t happening. For all of their issues, they at least still value their fans.
It’s yet another big middle finger from the NFL right in our faces.
