How YOU can end the replacement referees in the NFL.
I have a foolproof plan for fans to act to end the referee lockout that does NOT involve sacrificing watching the NFL. To lay out this simple plan I must first establish 3 points.
- The NFL owners are playing their hand. They know the NFL is such a revenue machine that unhappiness with replacement refs will not affect them monetarily. They are right.
- THE ENEMIES HERE ARE THE OWNERS, DO NOT SCAPEGOAT ROGER GOODELL! Normally I am all for collective hate against Roger Goodell and yes he works for the owners, but blaming him takes pressure of the people who are actually making decisions, the owners.
- Fan boycotts or symbolic gestures will not work. First not enough people will sacrifice watching football to make enough of a monetary difference to put pressure on the owners, nor should we have to. To the same extent, any ‘solidarity’ show of support by the fans will fall on deaf ears because all that matters is the money.
That all being established, I have a plan for regular fans to make a difference and save the game that we all love. We all want the real refs back but there is no real pressure on the NFL owners to budge in negotiations because nothing big enough will happen to affect revenue. We need to apply pressure to the owners in a different, more creative way.
The NFL owners are a class of people who have everything. They are billionaires in an elite club of owners that run the most popular sport in America. To put it in perspective, they have never let Donald Trump into that club despite his best efforts. However, people in this elite upper class depend on the service of normal working folks like you and me to make their lives run as they are accustomed. Normally the amount of money and status they posses keeps the workers and service people in line, and this is exactly what we should attack.
Here is my plan: If you are a true fan of the NFL and are sickened by what has transpired under these replacement officials, then I call you to act. If you find yourself in a position serving one of the NFL owners in any capacity; make a mistake, large enough to get noticed but innocent enough not to get fired. For example, a server could spill a drink on an owner, a driver could have a few sudden jerky stops, a maid could miss a dirty spot, or even a police officer could treat them the same way you would treat a non-billionaire. Then at some point in the interaction, explain that you are sorry for the inconvenience and you are a ‘replacement ________.’
Imagine how it would feel to have a whole town turn on you and no longer treat you like a billionaire. Imagine going from a king to pariah. These owners are so used to people bending over backwards for them that these slight inconvenience will stand out. The best part is, it will only take a courageous few “Fan Fighters” to make it seem like the whole world has turned on the owners.
So if the rare opportunity comes to you to inconvenience an NFL owner, be brave and do what the rest of us either cannot or will not have the opportunity to do. If an owner comes into the country club at which I bar tend, the proportions of his drink will be severely miscalculated, but its ok because “I am just replacement bartender.”
