But the product is compromised. Sure we can defend the NFL all we want, it is still a great incredible league, but you know it's not the product that had been delivered year after year. The replacement refs, while doing their best, are NOT as good as the pros. It's just that simple.
So we as the public consumer need the refs back, how do you put pressure on the NFL to make them understand that? As fans we want the product as a whole but not as it is currently constructed. How do we put pressure on that size of a business?
Don't buy it.
Now when I'm watching the television, I'm not technically buying anything, so it's ridiculous to suggest to the general public to not watch the games at home or at bars. Nor is it realistic. But what about the fans going to the game?
Imagine this. Imagine that on Week 4, that EVERY single NFL stadium opened for the first quarter, until about roughly 1:35...with an empty stadium. The ticket holders still planning to go in mind you, but not until after the First Quarter ends. (You could shoot for Thursday, but I don't think the plan has enough momentum at this point.)
Each and every stadium would lose money for that 35 minutes. No fans in the stadium means:
No food sales.
No beer sales.
No merchandise sale.
No future ticket sales.
For 35 minutes, every single business existing within every single NFL stadium would generate 0 real dollars.
Further more the empty stadium paints a sad picture, and brings out all the sponsors that are a part of the NFL.
Tell me, what kind of company wants to be looked at when a stadium is empty over a labor issue?
An empty stadium, for one quarter signals to the owners a clearly unhappy fan base. It means unrest and uncertainty, so new business partners would be more hesitant to join. Existing partners would think about jumping ship to another sport (possibly a revitalized NBA product who will not be competing most likely with Hockey)
This would be considered a warning to owners, that as fans of a product, we are not satisfied. We are not looking for another provider of the product, but we want a better one than you are providing.
I would like to execute this plan if possible. I am a fan of the NFL, but I'm a lone voice and in order to execute this plan I would need a bit of a NATIONAL voice. I am sending this blog to every single member of the sports media that might be able to get the message out. I do not have tickets to an Eagles game this week, which is my favorite team...but if I did, I would spend my time talking to fellow Eagles fan to protest this game. These officials are bad, so bad it could cost us a game. That cannot happen.
For 15 minutes, no one will be watching the NFL live and in a stadium. Sure, they'll get numbers from television, but those numbers cannot necessarily be counted on for future product consumption. A fair amount of the country would no doubt just turn in to see a football game played with no real fans.
Again, I believe it would just take 15 minutes.
The NFL would have to cave, the thought of a second incident, possibly one lasting longer (say until halftime) or a stadium empty for the whole game would be enough to put the financial pressure on the NFL to just DO THE RIGHT THING.
So with that in mind....If you are an NFL fan, and you want the replacement ref situation solved, than talk about a simple protest, of not entering until the second quarter.
I know, as I send this blog to some of the voices in the sports journalism community, there will be skepticism to vocalize these views as their own, but you don't have to. Assign them to me. And then talk about the pros and cons of my idea. Especially if it is executed nationwide. At the very least you have another interesting topic to present in your newspapers, podcasts, radio, and television shows.
So that's the plan.
If you have tickets to a game in the NFL this week, any one of them, and you want to make a difference, you want your referees back and competent, YOU can exert pressure by just not walking into the stadium until after the 1st quarter.
That's how you can get what you want from the Biggest Baddest brand in America. All in 15 minutes.
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