Bad Officiating

Has there ever been a year with more blown calls than this year? We are seeing more and more calls that greatly affect the outcome of the game. The catch is that these calls are happening even in an era where instant replay is present. Let's look at the Hochuli call in the Chargers/Broncos game. Jay Cutler was attempting to throw the ball when the ball slipped out of his hand prior to his arm moving forward.

The ball came out of his hand, landed behind him, and was recovered by the Chargers who had the lead and would have had the game sealed. Because of Ed Hochuli blowing the play dead, the Broncos kept the ball, scored and went on to win the game. The fault of this is not Hochuli who is a great referee and simply blew his whistle early; it is the NFL's fault for not being able to change a call that was blown dead when needed. It was obvious to everyone at the game and watching the game on television that the play resulted in a fumble.

The NFL should have been able to reverse the call even though the whistle was blown. The allowance of these calls turns fans off of the game and even brings up conversations of conspiracy (which I believe to be false). Instant replay has also yielded changed calls in the wrong direction, such as the call made in the Steelers Chargers game that cost many sports bettor's money.

The NFL isn't and shouldn't be concerned about betting trends, but because most of the action was on the Steelers to cover the spread, and the call changed the result in favor of "the house" many more fans are screaming conspiracy. These two calls are just the beginning of blown officiating calls that have occurred this year and contribute to fans being fed up with the NFL.

"Unruly fan rule"

In 2008 NFL instated the first "Fan Code of Conduct". Now unruly fans can be kicked out for foul language, being drunk and disruptive (couldn't this be everyone at an NFL game), and throwing objects on the field. By breaking the code of conduct fans could also loose future ticket opportunities including season tickets. What goes better together than football and beer? I'm sure the NFL likes the revenue created by selling $9 cups of beer, and now they are trying to discourage drinking? Granted if anyone throws something on the field or starts a fight in the crowd, they need to be escorted out of the game; but should they be stripped of their season tickets? Does one drunken action warrant a ban on watching your team?

The Fan Code of Conduct is far too broad and allows for fans to be kicked out of games for very minor actions or just seemingly being intoxicated beyond a tolerable point. Now we are leaving judgment calls up to underpaid security guards. If overpaid highly trained officials can't make correct calls on the field, how are security guards going to kick the right people out who are responsible for inappropriate conduct? The Code of Conduct just complicates things and leaves room for possible lawsuits by fans and will hurt relationships between fans and the NFL.

Inflating ticket prices

I was surprised this year when I got my ticket renewal form from the Detroit Lions. It said they were increasing ticket prices. It also said that they were pleased to announce somewhere around 10% of seats would remain at the same price. The response? Decreased ticket sales. Go to their website now and before you even get to the homepage a web visitor is greeted by "Click here for tickets". You can assume that the Lions failure to sell tickets has to do with management and poor performance, but they have had both for the last 5 years and still hadn't had trouble selling out games. Ticket prices around the league are increasing nearly every year. It's only a matter of time before the tickets are priced higher than demand and stadiums will be at half capacity.

Economy

The economy affects nearly everything and the NFL is no different. When people cannot afford to fill up their gas tanks and put food on the table, they can't shell out $100 for a ticket to a football game. Americans finally have to cut back on spending and entertainment is one of the first luxuries that are cut out of one's budget in many cases. If a decision exists where someone has to decide whether to have a cell phone or attend sporting events, most will choose the cell phone. As the economy continues its current downtrend, expect attendance numbers around the league to slowly but surely decline.

Fines

Have you noticed a weekly list of fines every week that scrolls at the bottom of your television screen? It seems as though players such as Jared Allen, Rodney Harrison, T.O., and Chad Johnson are constantly targeted weekly for potential fines for different reasons. From comments deemed to be inappropriate to the league to hits that were not penalized but later determined to be illegal; fines are handed out left and right. Do the fines benefit the game in any way? Not from a fans standpoint. From my point of view this is simply a nuisance and another reason to be aggravated at the NFL.

When players like Justin Tuck get fined for a perfectly legal hit (the fine was recanted after criticism of the fine was spread throughout the media), it upsets fans. The college game is much more attractive for having less controversy as far as the conduct of the "league" is concerned. You don't see college players losing scholarships because of an aggressive hit. The NFL should take a laid back approach to fines and only fine when a player is intentionally targeted for harm.

Suspensions

Many readers may recognize my name as the guy who created the since disappeared website "BringPacmanBack.com". I do still stand by my opinion that the initial 1-year ban on Pacman Jones was too harsh, but the penalties since have been warranted in Jones' case. As for the rest of the league who for the most part stays out of trouble, suspensions have gotten out of control. There have been several suspensions for "alleged" infractions. We are now seeing positive test results for "banned substances" come about and multiple suspensions are sure to follow. In certain circumstances suspensions are needed, but for every alleged infraction? The NFL needs a stronger action plan when it comes to handing players suspensions.

Conclusion

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and colleagues seem desperate to drive fans out of the game. How else could you explain all of the fines, rule changes, the allowance of officiating mistakes? More measures need to be taken to take care of NFL "customers". I give Roger Goodell credit for trying to clean up the NFL and make it a more respectable game, but at what cost is he willing to achieve this? Is it worth losing fans? Only time will tell.