18-Game NFL Season Not the Answer

The knee-jerk reaction from a football fan when the topic of going to an 18-game regular season while cutting the preseason to two games is predictable; "great idea". On the surface it sounds like a laudable thought from a fan's perspective, after all nobody likes watching 2nd, 3rd and 4th stringers play meaningless games in August nor do we enjoy seeing one of our team's best players hurt in one of those meaningless games.

However, despite everything that I point out above, I am against the 18-game season on several fronts. First of all, it takes time to build a football team, each season is different. Thus, while the fans hate the "long" preseason, it is crucial to building a good, cohesive football team. Remember, the object is not to be the best team in September, it's to be the best team in December and January.

Of course, the NFL is for the fans but let's not forget the players in this equation. Football isn't baseball or basketball; it's not a sport you can play for extended periods of time which is why there is one-week typically between games. An NFL game is like being in a car wreck for 60 minutes, it takes its toll on the human body. Now, the league is considering adding two more "car wrecks" for the players? If you think the NFL is a game of attrition now, wait until you have an 18-game schedule. By the end of the year, you will have guys roaming the field who should be playing in Canada.

Before anyone says "well what's the difference if they have 16 regular season games and 4 preseason games or 18 regular season games and 2 preseason games, either way its 20 games?". It's not even close and if you ask someone who played, coached or even moved the down and distance marker during and NFL game they will tell you that the level of intensity from a preseason game to a regular season game is like comparing Rosie O'Donnell to Megan Fox; they are both women but the similarities end there.

Besides the added intensity of a regular season game, don't forget if you add the total playing time for the starters in the 4 preseason games it amounts to about one whole game. Therefore, you're adding a lot of workload to these players that the human body is just not equipped to handle.

Lastly, the other reason I am against the additional games is simple- what makes the NFL special is that it's like a "rainbow", it's there for a short period of time (Compared to other professional sports), September through January, thus we cherish the sport when it's going on. Unlike the NBA which starts in October and ends in June or the NHL which has a similar schedule, the NFL is an intense fan experience packed into a rather short period of time relatively speaking. Just as you can have too much of a great thing, chocolate, pizza- you can have too much football. The winter is what makes sunny spring and summer days so special, if it was sunny every day well it wouldn't seem like such a big deal.

For sports fans think of the NFL as a beautiful, sunny Summer Day and having more sunny days doesn't necessarily make us savor them more.