There are a lot of reasons to hate the NFL these days, and most all of them are valid.
Everyone is outraged, and everyone is piling on – again, rightfully so. But many of those people who are outraged and piling on also know that the only way to affect real, meaningful, transcendent change is boycotting the league.
And that’s not happening. You see the numbers? 27.3 million people watched Denver play Seattle last weekend. Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football continue to be the three highest rated shows on television.
Fantasy football is still the hottest topic of water-cooler sports conversation almost a month into the season, and although advertisers are among those expressing their outrage, they certainly aren’t pulling their sponsorships from the league – although, they would like to stay away from Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings games.
That’s why Roger Goodell isn’t going anywhere. He doesn’t really need to. Of course, the NFL would be better with Goodell gone because Goodell frankly isn’t a particularly competent commissioner who has done a lot more harm than good, but the pressure facing Goodell is more imagined than real.
That’s also the reason Steve Buschatti and Dan Snyder will continue to say and do whatever they want.
The bottom line is this: If you hate what the NFL is doing, stop consuming the league.
If you hate what the NFL is doing but are still consuming the league, you’re not affecting change outside of isolated situations, like those with Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson.
If you’re decision is to boycott the league, here’s a tip of the cap. I think you’re doing the right thing.
But let’s face it: It’s hard to forget the NFL exists. Even if you don’t love the league, it’s still omnipresent in sports culture and even in pop culture. Without the NFL, more than half the guys who have been bashing the league for the last three months would be unemployed.
So if you’re not boycotting, here’s a plug for Chip Kelly.
Yeah – start rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Why? Because Chip Kelly is fast-walking, fast-talking innovation. He’s trying to change the NFL from within.
Of course, this has nothing to do with domestic violence, or child abuse, or anything more serious than the game of football.
But what Kelly is doing with the Eagles is exciting for two reasons. One, it’s ferociously new and two, it’s working.
The Eagles are 3-0. They’re coming off a season in which they made the playoffs on the back of a huge turnaround in Kelly’s first year, and players have bought into Kelly’s alternative style of coaching wholeheartedly.
Also, Chip is a standup guy. In terms of discipline, he’s never had to be prompted to do the right thing. LaGarrette Blount was the star player for a first-year head coach trying to prove himself and make his career when he had his episode in Boise. Didn’t matter – Kelly suspended him for the season.
His reinstatement was the right call too – Blount had learned and deserved a second chance.
Kelly booted Pac-10 winning quarterback Jeremiah Masoli when his problems caught up to him.
Meanwhile, we have the Ravens owner and GM watching the Ray Rice video, forbidding their coach to release Rice, and advocating strongly for a two game suspension.
We have Jim Harbaugh – who Kelly mostly got the best of when the two were in college – saying that he won’t tolerate any domestic violence from players on his team, then when there’s a domestic violence case from one of his players, not acting whatsoever.
This isn’t a morality contest – think Will Lyles – but Kelly has a recently burnished reputation as a guy who is a good friend, a generous person, and someone who is pushing the highest levels of football onward and upward.
He’s not a saint, but Kelly is a guy in this league that we can really get behind.
It wasn’t always an easy relationship with Kelly at Oregon. There was the Lyles fiasco, and an adjustment for the fans and boosters. Kelly wasn’t an Oregon guy, and his final flip-flop on leaving for the Eagles felt like a stab in the back.
Still, we always knew Chip would succeed in the NFL. And we’re pulling for him. When you’ve seen his style and brilliance close up, you can’t help but hope he succeeds.
I’ve heard from people who have given up on their bedraggled favorite teams, mired in scandal or incompetency, and started rooting for Philly.
Kelly is easy to pull for. This offseason, the Eagles released DeSean Jackson – a game-changing talent and potentially a top ten wide receiver in the league, but a diva in every sense of the word – without batting an eye.
Hard work, focus, intelligence, and grit are core values. You never hear Kelly complain about referees, or throw his own players under the bus, or speak with anything but respect for opposing teams.
Shorter practices, faster practices, monitoring sleep, shaking up the schedule, eating habits, going for it on fourth down, fake punts, two-point conversions – if you watched Oregon, you know the score.
His offense is great to watch, his press conferences are fantastic, and he continues to improve as a head coach.
It makes you wonder why the sad, sad Cleveland Browns didn’t give in and throw Kelly the house keys two years ago. Imagine how much fun that team would be with Johnny Manziel at quarterback just about now.
Kelly’s players love him, and he loves them. Look at how many former Ducks and Pac-12 stars are now with the Eagles – you can only imagine Kelly’s glee when he knew he was going to be able to get Matt Barkley and Nick Foles as his backups last year.
He’s different in a league where it’s hard to be different. He doesn’t care about money or things in general, and there’s a certain edge to Kelly that makes those who don’t know him uncomfortable and those who do giddy.
Kelly is a breath of fresh air in a league that has done a hell of a lot of polluting over the last few years.
That’s one guy we can all root for.
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