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FOREST CENTER…. The NFL extravaganza, otherwise known as the Stupor Bowl is upon us once again. The game will feature the defending Champion Seattle Seahawks against a perennial contender in the New England Patriots. Personally I could give a rats patootie about the game itself, this sporting entertainment corporation holds no further interest for me. As I was wondering what game this was in terms of number, I went to about 5 different stories about the game and not one of them mentioned which one it was, which is usually listed in Roman Numerals.

I finally found a video clip that had it listed on the scroller on the bottom of the screen. It is Super Bowl LXIX or the 49th of them. Of course, I should have thought of that right off the bat, but the NFL is a long ways off of my radar these days. But if I had of given it some thought I would have remembered back to the very first one on January 15th 1967. I was in 7th grade and watched the game at a close buddies home, Eddie Odio Jr., whose family were Cuban refugees. Back then only middle or upper middle class citizens found their way off of the island. His father was a dentist and was in the process of updating his educational credentials at the U of M so he could practice here in the States.

As we became friends we found out we were born about a half a day apart, with me being the slightly older of the two of us. On the other hand we were literally born worlds apart. You could not have had two societies on more different paths. We were just young punks though and we had not a clue of the geopolitics of the day. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs that afternoon and the boys and I probably had some small wagers  going. The local Minnesota Vikings were embarking on a new path then with the arrival of the Bud Grant era. Little did we know that the Vikes were about to become  Super bowl contenders.

When that time arrived, just a couple of years later, the team played those same Chiefs in January of 1970 and lost. Knowing some people involved with the club it was a bit more heartbreaking then for a casual fan. I can recall legendary trainer Fred Zamberletti calling my folks one evening in the middle of the week before the game. He wasn’t exactly feeling upbeat and said the team practices that week weren’t real sharp and that the stadium facilities were decrepit at best. He said he didn’t have a good feeling about the game. We lost 23-7 and never really got untracked.

Three more big game losses would follow in the seventies and I can still recall the feelings of hope and confidence leading up to the games and the devastating, gut wrenching feelings afterward. It would take a few days to get past the emptiness that followed those games. I know now that I probably never had the games and my feelings as a fan in perspective until as recent as 7 or 8 years ago.
 
How things have changed. The league has never been bigger, had more of a spotlight upon it, or brought in more revenue. As well as the NFL has been doing though, it is not without it’s bumps in the road. Will any of them upset the apple cart enough to make the league or the conditions and environment it operates in make some real sea change? It’s hard to say. The bulk of the fan base seems fairly entrenched. Guys like me, former fans, are few. And my real sports love is hockey anyway, so considering some things about the league that really piss me off, it wasn’t hard for me to say “assez”.

But as time marches forth, more and more about the league and the way they do business becomes public knowledge. And some of that knowledge has inspired some individuals to become activists. For instance, did you know the NFL through some sort of political back room dealing got itself a tax exempt status from the Federal government back in the sixties. They are now the most moneyed and profitable sports business in the history of man, and for that they have been granted the privilege of being tax exempt. Why?

There are people who are working to get that revoked. Considering how long any meaningful change takes here, it will be awhile, if ever, before that happens. The league continues forward with it’s policy of having taxpayers bear the burden of building and paying for places for them to play. It has worked once again right here in Minny, and another battle is shaping up in St. Louis. I am there frequently and will do a story on this sometime soon. But if my poor memory can frame this for you in a paragraph, here you go.

The current St. Louis Rams dome is a no frills venue much like the HHH MetroDome was. The Rams had sought improvements in the recent past and the STL sports folks had to initiate a study and then determine where they could get funding. The club balked at this. In the background the league has long wanted another team back in the Los Angeles area. It’s no secret that it is the biggest TV market in the country and that drives the TV revenue contract for the NFL, the most lucrative sports TV contract ever. The Rams owner started to flirt with the idea of taking the Rams back to their origins.

The league used to use relocation as their blackmail in one locale to get what they wanted. But I think the Rams ownership really wants to go back to LA, no matter what the STL people come up with. New stadium talk has suddenly revived in the Gateway City. Next up you have players with a multitude of behavioral problems running afoul of the law and it has been an indifferent year for the league. Fans don’t seem to care though. The game and the league march forth. Who will win the big matchup this Sunday? The NFL will my friends, they always do…. PEACE

Marc Elliott is a sports opinion writer who splits his time between his hometown in Illinois and Minnesota