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The only thing more offensive than charging fans full price for preseason football is the notion of extending the regular season to 18 games. Why extend the season: Greed. But it's an idea that's just not going away, even if it's tabled for now.
Commissioner Roger Goodell brings it up again and again. The latest talk is nixing a pair of unpopular preseason games. Fans don't watch them. Players don't like them. But the NFL and its owners aren't just going to sacrifice revenue for the sake of good will. Remember, even the worst preseason game still get better ratings than any regular season baseball game ... or most other sports for that matter.
An extended season means more injuries. For fans, it means watching more backups play in games that count. For players, it's more exposure to the kind of injuries that take years off their lives, while the league continues to deny the long-term neurological health risks of the sport ... and denying sufficient long-term health care to its former players. (Remember, players do earn a nice pay check for their work, but owners earn even more).
Rams defensive end Chris Long perfectly summed up the feelings most people have about the 18-game season on Twitter earlier this week:
Dear Roger Goodell, if you don't like preseason games, cut them in half. We don't like them either. But no one wants an 18 game season.
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) May 22, 2013
Don't worry fans I'm not dumb enough to write that tweet thinking the NFL really cares what players think. Venting..
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) May 22, 2013
And because the internets is crawling with trolls, someone responded ...
@heel_ihab how much do you pay a year?
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) May 22, 2013
How about Long's response? THAT, ladies and gents, is why Long wins at Twitter.