This is going to seem callous, but at some point you have to get past the emotions surrounding a man's death and understand what his death means. And in the case of Gene Upshaw's death, what it means for the NFL is potentially catastrophic.
You think the world was a better place with Gene Upshaw in it? Fine. I'm sure it was. He was a great player, a tough guy, a man of integrity. The world was better with Gene Upshaw in it. That's a nice, happy thought.
|
|
| Gene Upshaw was the best union boss the NFL owners and the league could hope for. (Getty Images) |
The NFL owners' world was a better place with Gene Upshaw in it ... and in charge of the NFL players union.
With Upshaw gone -- figuratively and, sadly, literally -- the NFL owners' world just took a turn for the terrifying.
With Upshaw in charge, the owners knew what they had. And what they had, at the end of the day, was a guy who knew how to cut a deal. A guy who wouldn't let the league be crippled. A former player who loved the NFL so much he would crack heads and twist arms, even if those heads and arms were inside his own union, to get a deal done and to keep the product where it belonged -- on the field.
Without Upshaw, all bets are off. The next guy who runs the NFLPA could be another Upshaw, true. The next guy could be another deal-maker, not a ball-breaker. The next guy could be most concerned with compromise and making the relationship between the players and owners a solid, productive, working one.
Or the next guy could be Donald Fehr. Or someone like Donald Fehr.
Think about that. Think about the power of the NFL players union with a sonofabitch like Donald Fehr in charge of it.
The NFL is the most popular sport in this country. It's one of the most lucrative sports in the world. Fans pays thousands of dollars for seat licenses, and then thousands more for the actual seats. They pay $50 to park and $20 for a program and $12 for a beer. They buy official team jerseys for $200.
People want their NFL, is what I'm saying.
Imagine if the next union boss tells the owners: Sorry. Unless you give us what we want, the people can't have their NFL because we're going on strike.
That could happen now, now that Upshaw is gone. It wasn't going to happen under Upshaw's watch, though. He was a tough guy, but most of his toughness seemed to come out when he was under attack from his own people. When Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure criticized the way the union had been taking care of retired players, Upshaw shot back: "A guy like DeLamielleure says the things he said about me, you think I'm going to invite him to dinner? No. I'm going to break his ... damn neck."
