Two months ago, we weren't even sure if there was going to be a National Football League (NFL) season this year. The lockout seemed to never have an end and every time we were told progress was made the lockout continued. I couldn't image a fall without NFL football and I'm sure America felt the same way. According to sbnation.com, Super Bowl XLV was the most watched program in television history with 111 million viewers back on Feb. 6, 2011. That is a lot of people who would have had a sour taste in their mouth about no NFL season.
Luckily, after 136 days of the lockout the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was finally passed. Now we are just a day away from the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers taking the field against the New Orleans Saints. The game should be entertaining with both teams having high-powered offenses. Both teams also have two elite Super Bowl winning quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.
For most other fans, the NFL season starts Sunday Sept. 11 marking the same day of the ten-year anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks. I was in seventh grade when the attacks took place back in 2001. I can remember the then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue talking throughout the week about not playing the games the Sunday that followed the attacks. The whole country was in mourning from the terrible attacks. Tagliabue was quoted recently in a blog on NFL.com saying, "It was clear we would not be playing that weekend."
Two NFL employees lost spouses at the World Trade Center. Accounting for the employees and assessing all security issues, Tagliabue said, "Football games were the furthest thing from my mind."
When the NFL season resumed during the 2001 season the main goal wasn't to have winners and losers. The goal was to provide a psychological lift not just for the fans but the players, coaches and anyone else involved with the NFL. It was exactly what the doctor ordered, as the opening ceremonies for the games are still vivid in my mind. Seeing those big strong athletes cry their eyes out during the national anthem and seeing all the American flags waving in the stands. It didn't matter what team the people in the stands were rooting for. Everyone came together as a country.
I have the same expectation for this Sunday during the opening ceremonies for each and every game. The players and coaches will show a lot of emotion during that time. It makes these athletes look human, which people can forget they are at times. Many people will feel these same emotions on that day. The unity throughout the stadium should truly be a great sight to see as it was back in 2001. None of them will be better than the Sunday night game between my beloved Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets in New Meadowlands Stadium. The energy that will be in the stadium gives me chills just thinking about it. As Tagliabue said, "It's not exactly a happy event, reflecting on loss of life. It should reaffirm the importance of what we are doing."
America's team is going to have to bring their A-game if they plan to match the energy that will be in the stadium. I have loved the Cowboys my whole life thanks to my father, so you can imagine how hard this last part is for me to say. My feelings won't be hurt too badly if they lose to the New York Jets on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11.
