SAN DIEGO — "Great" is on IR and looks like it may retire.
There are no great NFL teams. Hasn't been one for a while. Future dynasties are for discouraged archaeologists to uncover once they finish digging up Egypt.
And, somewhere, Pete Rozelle is celebrating, raising a rusty nail, his favorite cocktail.
I will not join in the toast.
Watch it I will, but often wishing it were on radio, and the theater of my mind would at least think it looks good.
Rozelle was and remains the Charlemagne of all sports commissioners. He was a marketing genius, a man of great vision, with rock stars and $$$ in his eyes.
It was Pete who first realized the power and thus the money-printing mint television could become.
In that he no longer is with us — plus the fact we weren't even acquaintances — I can but guess what he loved besides his family and football.
Parity.
Pete loved parity. He wanted it for The League — on the field. Off it, he already had achieved fiscal parity for all of his franchises, forming a communist state in which all received an equal slice of the lettuce (and those greens now make enough salad to feed the entire vegan world).
Parity stinks.
The best team doesn't always win. Great teams haven't always won. But they're necessary. The Have Nots and their fans need the Haves as targets.
Of course some teams are better than others. But, are there even real upsets anymore? An upset today is beating the spread.
Not long ago, I read the new NFL way is the Rams' way. China's Qin dynasty lasted only 15 years. The Rams Empire lasted six months.
Things have gotten so bad, even veteran broadcasters are telling us what we're watching stinks (those not vested are too afraid).
Have you watched those Thursday night games on Amazon Prime? USDA Prime really is USDA Select. At best.
There are reasons for this that can't be reversed.
Bad decisions in coaching. Bad decisions in personnel evaluation, in the draft and free agency. Too much emphasis by scouts on the eye candy, physical things that have nothing to with the ability to play football, instead of the intangibles. Billionaire owners are concerned only with the dollar. Fundamentals gone without practice time, which also may lead to a rash of injuries.
Divas abound, and they don't always sing the song in tune. Receivers practice one-handed catches and continuously fail to catch with two. Running wins, but coaches throw.
It's about The Look now. The pretty and the sexy.
But millions of fantasy players and hard-core gamblers continue to watch, so the NFL can welcome parity without concern for the product. It works, so fixing it is out of the question.
But the football bible tells us there is something David and Goliath when an underdog beats a great team.
Now, David is slinging stones at Davids.
