NFL Lockout Critique

I choose to critique Stephanie’s article primarily because it is a topic of interest for me and I had never considered the affects an NFL lockout would have on the economy. I felt that she did a great job of explaining the current issue between owners and players and the repercussions that would be associated with a lock-out. I also thought that she did a great job of tying the article with the things we have learned in class so far. The only thing I was curious about was the paragraph about the fans tickets being inelastic. I personally think that although there would be no NFL fans would be able to substitute NFL games for something else. Whether a new football league is formed, college athletics strive, or a different sports team in each city increases popularity, I feel that the money originally spent towards the NFL would be equally spent other places. Perhaps, because viewing NFL games is a luxury, the economy may actually benefit from the absence of one major sports team. People may take the money they would spend on tickets and memorabilia and either save it or spread the money elsewhere around the city. In my opinion, the main issue with the NFL lockout would be with the decrease in jobs. The NFL players themselves would be fine because they have plenty of money to survive but unless a new league was started, the thousands of stadium workers and team employees would be at a loss. I liked how Stephanie explained that the NFL is a monopoly and that other firms and businesses would be affected by the loss of the league, I wish the article had explained that more thoroughly. I am curious of all of the people affected by a lockout, which businesses and people aside from those directly a part of the NFL would be affected the greatest. I could see how the “Sunday” businesses would be greatly affected by the loss of the NFL but I am curious what businesses would be affected that is not quite as obvious. I know that for most sports and television channels, Sundays in the fall are dominated by NFL games. Also Monday night football is one of the most watched television events in the nation and networks would have to try hard to find a replacement. Of all of the articles I have read I felt she did the best job of tying her article in with what we learned in class. I think she chose a very interesting topic and I will continue to follow it into next fall and pray that I can watch my Giants on Sundays.