Let's Hope It's Not Just About Money

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Nov 29, 2007 1:25PM

The NFL already has fans pretty pissed off because tonight, when the best game in the NFC all season is played, most of us will be stuck watching The Office and Scrubs instead. Why? Because the game will only be carried by the NFL Network, which is available only to those who have satellite or pay an extra fee for the channel. Those of us trying to keep our cable bill in double digits will either have to forgo the game, find a buddy who's got the channel or hit a bar.

Even more appalling is the possible scenario for next week's Thursday Night Football, when the Bears are supposed to play against the Washington Redskins.

Sean Taylor, the star of their defense, died on Tuesday after being shot by an intruder in him Miami home on Monday.

Taylor's funeral will take place this coming Monday -- the entire organization will fly to Miami for the service following their game on Sunday. The Bears and Redskins are supposed to play on Thursday, which doesn't give the team much time to recover physically and emotionally, nor practice and game-plan, for a game 72 hours later.

The Bears have offered to bump the game back to that weekend or Monday night should the Redskins wish to do so. We agree with Jay Mariotti that the NFL should move the game if the mourning team requests this accommodation.

Supposedly, an NFL source has said that moving the game is unlikely because of difficulty in securing hotel rooms on late notice, and because of TV considerations. Would it really be that hard to round up enough rooms in DC? Probably not. Let's hope the NFL's not really that cold allowing real-life tragedy and fair sportsmanship to lose out to greed and money for its NFL Network.