Passion without a price tag
Ryan Chudada, Ironman Insider CorrespondentOctober 10, 2008
I have always said that semi-pro football is the purest form of football in the world; second to the boy next door playing tackle football with his friends in the back yard.
“Passion football” is the kind that is played not for money or endorsements, but because there is love for the game. The camaraderie with teammates, the warm roar of the home crowd, the thrill of an open-field tackle, and the joys of winning are all reasons why this game is played.
This form of passion for the game has been long lost in professional sports for some time now. Professional athletes, in general, are being paid too much money just to throw a football, make a basket, or hit a baseball. Greed and power have turned America’s sports into cut-throat enterprises where the loser is mainly the fan.
Back in 1994, because of sky-rocketing player salaries, the National Football League instituted a salary cap or “Hard Cap” to combat the problem. The cap gives each team the same budget for NFL player salaries that they are regulated to stay under at all times. Time and time again, NFL team owners vote unanimously to terminate their labor contract with the players union early in a move to cut salary costs. The team owners feel players are greedy and overpaid--though the players disagree.
The result is the fear of a player strike. Fortunately for the NFL, there has only been one major strike. It happened in 1982, but has left a lasting bad taste in every fan’s mouth.
Today’s professional athlete salaries are ruining the game’s integrity and alienating the fans who pay their ridiculous salaries. Now, don’t get me wrong; I understand that professional sports is a business and paying the players is reasonable, but is anyone worth $30.8 million dollars?
The Indianapolis Colts of the NFL seem to think so, because that’s what they pay Dwight Freeney to play defensive line. That doesn’t even include his signing bonus and all his endorsement deals he will get along the way.
Just how much are the players making, and how much is too much? Are owners selfish or are players simply overpaid?
There's no doubt that there is a high degree of stress and physical danger associated with a football player’s career. Their jobs are physically demanding and they often sustain grueling injuries; some being impossible to fully recover from. Their careers can be shortened in the blink of an eye. NFL players, just like semi-pro football players, are aware of these risks and accept them as part of the game. Professional athletes should be monetarily compensated, but never to the degree that they are getting now.
Ironman Football League fans never have to worry about player strikes or greedy player disputes. Fans can be assured that when they go see an IFL game, they can expect to see players dive for those hard catches. They can see the raw emotion on the field and the sideline; they can see and hear all the bone jarring hits like they’d get in a professional game without having to pay $40 dollars for a ticket.
It’s no secret that the Ironman Football League is on the rise. In just the past three years alone, the league has seen significant improvement to its competition on the field and playing facilities. The rapid growth is a testament to how the league conducts its business and maintains its principle belief in quality and professionalism.
No matter how much the league grows though, league officials firmly believe in keeping the “grass roots” mentality alive and not corrupting it by paying the players. The league also wants its potential players to keep their college eligibility if they decide to go back to school. Paying players a salary will eliminate that.
I, for one, agree with the league’s stance on this subject. Paying players during any point in time opens Pandora’s Box to player unions, player strikes, rising salaries, sports agents, and sky-rocketing ticket costs. It just does not add up to a positive situation for anybody.
I believe there are ways that the league can accommodate the players without paying them for playing. For example, by adopting the Olympic rule; it pays athletes for their travel and meals. Another option could be to eliminate player fees and possibly provide free equipment and insurance. This, of course, is further down the road when the league is making enough revenue and can afford such accommodations.
Judging by the rate of the league’s rapid success, this idea is not far-fetched. I fully believe that if the league is able to accommodate its players, the Olympic rule would be the way to do it instead of paying players to play. Paying salaries is completely different, and just like in every professional sports league, could lead to big problems and unwanted headaches down the road.
Most importantly of all, the IFL needs to, and will, maintain the spirit that no corruption can ever kill; the spirit that lives in school teams and sandlot games, the spirit that stays with players as they age throughout adulthood and urges them to pick up a football one more time, the spirit and passion of the game at its purest form, and the joy it brings to all of us. That’s football with passion.