Fan Mail

Late last week, Roger Goodell wrote me an e-mail to express his dismay at the way that negotiations broke down with the NFL player's union. I wrote him back:

Dear Roger,

As a public school teacher in Oakland, California, I see first-hand the effect that the NFL has on the youth of our city. Even though the parents of the kids at my school cannot afford the price of a ticket to the Raiders' games, they still make a point to dress their offspring in silver and black all year 'round. Even the past decade's awful record hasn't shaken the faithful. That's because it's the home team. They don't stop to think about how much every one of those athletes is being paid compared to the check they may or may not be bringing home. And they sure don't imagine what sort of bank roll Al Davis is carrying around in that track suit. It would be too depressing.

Meanwhile, across the country there are calls to end collective bargaining for certain unions. Like school teachers. Consequently, as state and federal budgets continue to shrink, we end up scrambling for an ever diminishing slice of the pie. Five hundred teachers in my district are about to receive pink slips. There's just not enough money to keep us all. The teachers who educate the linebackers and astrophysicists of tomorrow are being shown the door.

So the NFL and its players can't agree on how to divide up their billions? That feels like sad irony to me down here, just a few miles away from "The Black Hole." In the meantime, I've already seen this movie. It's the one where Keanu Reeves leads a rag-tag group of misfits through a few replacement games until the powers that be get tired of sitting on the sidelines, trying to refinance their second homes while the scabs get all the glory. Then suddenly it's back to business as usual. Ticket prices go up. So does ad revenue and players' salaries.

Thanks for writing, but I guess that my reality isn't threatened by a work stoppage by professional football players, or a lockout by the owners. Don't get me wrong, I'll be sad to see my Sunday distraction diminished or eliminated. I won my fantasy football league with the help of the Green Bay defense last year. But I will go on, and the silver and black parade of kids in my classroom will be a little larger next year, since fewer teachers means more students. I wish you and the NFLPA well in your continued negotiations. Write me when you've got some good news.

David Caven, Teacher. football fan, union member