Should America Only Be Schooling The NFL On Domestic Abuse? Or Should The NFL Be Schooling America on Economics?

With football season starting and the recent media attention being paid to Ray Rice and domestic abuse, it seems to be an excellent time to talk about football. America's sport. We absolutely love it, many of us religiously. Tailgating. Beer. BBQ. Camaraderie. Competition. Loyalty. What is there NOT to love? Except for maybe that one interference call the ref made against the Texans yesterday...bad, bad call ref...but we still won :) We could talk about the extreme barbarism embedded within it and what that says about Americans and violence. Or how violence is a normal way of life for the players, and domestic abuse from one of them really shouldn't be all that shocking to us. Or we could get into the ridiculous amount of money that players are paid in the NFL and how that contributes to young boys in high school placing all their hopes and efforts into playing professional football one day, to end up empty handed and without a back-up plan as adults. And subsequently working at McDonald's and on welfare. Or even how our education system unjustifiably fails high school football players when they pass them through their classes just to keep them from not being able to play football that season. We could talk about all these things...but right now, I want to talk about the extreme irony in America's sport being one with a economic system such as the NFL's. America is a capitalist nation, and our system as the world superpower has been the primary driving force behind creating our global capitalist world as well. In modern-day times, we could even go as far as saying our deregulated, uncontrolled capitalist system. Our corporations are defined as people with rights by the law, just as you and I. Our banking industry and Wall Street now literally control our lives and the entire economic structure. Our government is aligned with the banking industry and Wall Street, serving their interests over ours - evident when our government bailed them out with our money. We believe in the power of extreme consumption, credit, massive wealth inequality, and most importantly, working to survive. Welfare? Nope. Not unless you're old or disabled. Universal health care? Absolutely not. If you're going to die, you should've had a job with health insurance or a bigger savings account. Sharing wealth evenly across the population? Now, that is just plain, flat out, despicable talk. They should've worked as hard as I did, and they would have the awesome life that I have. Those lazy, uneducated, unskilled people that are already using all of our taxpayer dollars are not going to get their hands on my hard-earned money. Survival of the fittest, mutha fuckas. Further, we demonize alternative systems that don't function the way we function and that don't view human life and well-being as a commodity like we do. Because this is the best way to live. The only way to live. And our country's prosperity and power in the larger world is proof of that. Oh wait...well, it WAS proof of that... The other systems - socialism, communism, or any modifications of them - were not as successful as our capitalist system because God was looking out for us and bestowed extreme wealth on us for doing things the right way. He wasn't looking out for the rest of the world because...well...they just sucked. Yet, we LOOOOOOVEEEE American football, and anyone else who doesn't...well, they suck, too. And ironically, the NFL has a...waaaaiiiit for it...socialist/communist economic system. I will pause for a second while you soak that in......... Now, you want to know how I figure this. Three main reasons. First, the NFL has a revenue-sharing system. A big pool of money owned by the entire NFL that is distributed evenly amongst the teams by transferring revenue from higher-earning franchises to lower-earning franchises each year for them to pay their players and expenses. The salary cap for each team is the numerical figure calculated each year after the revenue is redistributed across all teams. Second, the NFL Draft. The first pick is awarded to the lowest ranked team, and the highest ranked team receives the last pick, allowing the teams that need better players to realistically compete to be able to obtain them, and thus allowing each team to have an equal chance of winning the Super Bowl each season. Lastly, the well-being of the players is not considered something that they must earn based on their performance or earnings in the sport; it is something that is their inherent right as a player in the league. If a player is injured, it doesn't matter if they are a good player or a bad player, or how much their contract is worth, when it comes to getting treatment. They are simply a player that has the right to be treated to health and put back on the field. So, each year in the NFL, each team has the same amount of money to work with, each team has a relatively even shot at the championship, and human well-being is a right, not a commodity. This, my friends, is socialism/communism. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." As Americans, we argue against socialism and communism by saying that balanced wealth distribution would encourage individuals not to work. Does it do this in the NFL? Nope. Those guys bust their ass every, single day to win. Their reason to work hard stems from them being part of a team that needs them to be successful for the entire team to be successful, as well as them each being valued monetarily and in health to the same extent as everyone else in the league. We also say that it would discourage competition. Does it do this in the NFL? Nope. Our teams fight to the death to win the Super Bowl. Having equal ground upon beginning the season only provides them (and the fans) with a sense of hope for success. If anything, it makes them work harder and compete more because they know that they truly have a shot, opposed to being filled with a sense of defeat before beginning. We idolize American football. Maybe it's because we like seeing people get beat up when competing. Maybe it's because we just like the way the game is played. Or maybe...just maybe...it's because we (unknowingly or subconsciously) like the realistic hope of winning that our teams have each season...the fair competition...the balanced playing field that the NFL economic system creates for our teams that we wish we had in our everyday lives as Americans. The American Dream no longer exists because of our uncontrolled capitalist system, and our country's economy has plummeted and will likely plummet even moreso in the near future. But our favorite football team has a realistic shot at winning this season. And if not this season, that realistic shot will be there once again next season. And yes, it is true that everyone wants what they can't have, but in this case, we could have it if we wanted it. We have it in the NFL. Many of us just aren't aware that this is the case or that balanced wealth distribution is capable of being more successful than a capitalist system. So, instead of us only schooling the NFL on domestic abuse (which yes, we should also be doing that), maybe the NFL should be schooling the rest of America on economics as well. Until next time...