It's no secret by now that the NFL is looking at the cold reality of a strike in 2011. Sure there would still be high school football and college football. Fans will still be able to get their "fix," but there won't be the lore of a Sunday game at Lambeau or 89,000+ going wild at Jerry's World. In essence, it could be disastrous for the NFL.
Most of you are thinking, the fans will flock back. And yes, the die hards will be back quicker than you can snap. However, this is a case of history repeating itself. Baseball's strike had the same effect. The die hards came back, but the casual fans weren't so quick to lend their love back. It took an era of steroids to get fans back. A home run race we could all be proud of. Baseballs biggest record had to be broken for people to attend games and flip on the tube.
The NBA was fortunate their 1998-1999 season was only shortened and not erased for seasons at a time. The ratings are low enough for the regular season and that would have almost certainly killed a league gaining momentum. However, that wasn't the case and a new breed of players has blossomed carrying the league to it's growing prominence.
However, hockey was an unfortunate casualty. FOX, ESPN and NBC all carried the NHL during the 1990's. When the strike happened, bye bye TV. ESPN dropped them like they were hot. Hockey hasn't recovered in America since. It has it's cult followers, but just now the casual fan is making their way to the ice with the help of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
This season is a year for fans to be proud of. There is parody with the Flyers and the Blackhawks in the finals. The Canadiens knocked out the Senators, the popular pick to win the title. The Flyers came back from a 3-0 series deficit against the Bruins to make it to the conference finals. The NHL is making it's way back. Slowly, but surely. The Olympics had an excellent effect on how Americans viewed hockey this season. Also, fans like outdoor hockey. The NHL Winter Classic has been in existence three years and each one of those three seasons a representative from that game has gone on to play for the Stanley Cup. In the next two years, NBC and Versus will look like geniuses for their hockey coverage.
There's no doubt the NFL would recover from a strike quicker than all the fore mentioned sports. It's easy to say, but actions speak louder than words. Let's hope for the sake of love that the NFL will have their collective bargaining agreement taken care of before the 2011 season. It might be a cold, long and hard 2011 winter with no NFL football.
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