Cannon Firing Line
Parity Driving NFL To Mediocrity
By Ellis G. Cannon
PSR Publisher & ESPN Radio 1250 Talk Show Host

The NFL is a league of extremes. A violent sport played by men whose humanity would disarm you. An extraordinarily well-run operation clever enough to dominate America's merchandising, television and marketing landscapes, yet followed by fans who equate partial nudity in blizzards and face painting as expressions of support. An economic system that can receive public funding for palaces, yet generate enough revenue to make players millionaires almost without limitation. A sport with labor peace amidst labor turmoil. A league offering high-flying athleticism and thrilling competition, but at times mired in dullness orchestrated by coaches interested in avoiding mistakes.

These are only a few examples of such extremities. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

That's the problem.

The middle is where parity lives. The longer it's allowed to survive, the closer this most original of extreme sports is to the death sentence of mediocrity.

Perhaps there's no better example than the Steelers. Pittsburgh entered the season seemingly intent on diversifying their offense with characteristics approaching one from the West Coast. Call it what you want; pinball football, gimmicky, Globetrotters on a gridiron. Regardless of name, however, it never was Bill Cowher's way. To him and many other 'defense-first' coaches, fun-ball isn't football.

Add in a team buried in the AFC North cellar, the winds and cold of December, and a comfort level in playing the game his way, and the only time you hear West Coast around here anymore is in reference to November's ill-fated trips to Seattle and San Francisco.

There's more to the story, of course, including a coach who has to do what he has to do. With holes at almost every turn, Cowher could not allow games to unfold in a way that played directly into those problems. If mediocrity and dullness were answers, those options were better than the alternative.

The Steelers' situation only highlights a much bigger problem. Sorry, but teams with seven or eight losses by Thanksgiving don't deserve to be talking about the postseason, at least in terms of playing in it. No team in any city should be linked to the word 'playoffs' when that's the case. Sooner or later, those teams need separated from the pack. Pretenders need to give way to contenders. The latter includes, but is not limited to, the Steelers.

Anyone following the league knows parity is all about television. The NFL sold itself to the tube, and all that comes with it, a long time ago. For the most part, that has served the league well. But it comes at a cost.

The strategy is basic. The more NFL cities remaining on the playoff radar screen, the more interested fans watching games. More folks watching games means more advertising dollars, which fund the whole deal. But when nearly every team in the league can concoct playoff scenarios at all times, regardless of how good they are, it's not good. It's watering down the product. It's using the system. It's producing and perpetuating an inferior product rather than rewarding excellence.

In time, fans will get their fill of that strategy. Fans, at least those not painting themselves, are capable of figuring out whether or not their team is really any good. Once the base of support realizes the endearing quality of parity is at the same time destructive, fans will, with merit, demand more. They'll want a system that offers more than players being on the bottom of rosters based more on finances than skills. They'll see those newspaper stories showing 20 or so teams that remain playoff-eligible going into the final week of the regular season and they'll yawn. It may be hard to believe now, but they won't always equate excitement with quality. They will scrutinize and demand more.

Fans will look at the standings through three months of play and find it unacceptable that 18 teams are at or below .500. They will yearn for something of a dynasty, even a team that can play at the highest level in consecutive years. They will question how a sport can credibly be heralded as the 'ultimate team sport' when its teams are diluted annually by the flight of personnel and disruption of chemistry. They'll come back to the realization that fans having hate are good in sports, and there's not enough going around these days.

In the meantime, the league will win with fans in countless cities excited about their teams having a 'chance' to make the playoffs every year. They will revel in a watered-down product, while those in charge do likewise, knowing they've succeeded in convincing people quantity is prevailing over quality, all the while making the money they are entitled to.

Until you tell them you've had enough.

Ellis Cannon is also a regular contributor on the #1 Cochran Sports Showdown, aired Sundays at 11:35 on KDKA-TV.