Knock-Knock: Is NFL, Roger Goodell Paying Attention To World Cup?

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell needs to pay very close attention to what is happening half way around the world in South Africa.

The lead up to the worlds biggest sporting event has made its point: injuries can and will occur. This concept can not go unheard in the NFL offices and they ought to move quickly to set up a better system for the preseason.

World wide today nations are left with agonizing feeling that the past four years leading up to the tournament was a waste. From the small to the huge, from the underdog to the favorites it appears no team is safe from the injury bug in South Africa.

Didier Drogba, Rio Ferdinand, Arjen Robben, Andrea Pirlo, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack are some of the biggest names who will not take part of this cup due to pre-tournament injuries and/or late season injuries during their club seasons.

This is the equivalent of an Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Brandon Marshall and even a Tom Brady and Brett Farve being out for the season during a preseason game which they were injured.

A lot of teams have lost the luster to win in South Africa, especially those who were much more reliant on their star players who are now injured. Drogba, Obi Mikel, Essien and Ballack now must watch from the bench when just a few weeks ago they were all ready to take on the pressure to succeed in South Africa by millions back home.

The NFL does not want this to be a situation in the years to come but it seems like there is too much talking and not enough action. The last few years we have been given possible changes to the way the NFL starts and ends and that concept should be pushed to the front during the owners meetings.

Today each NFL team plays four (4) pre-season games and 16 regular season games. The preseason is needed but a month long duration needs to be revamped. No one likes the pre season, our star player can be injured at any point in a meaningless game and thus you are forced to wait for next year. There is talk of cutting two games out of the preseason and the addition of at least one more game to the regular season.

This seems to be a good step in the right direction, especially since fans still have to pay to go see a preseason game, players do not get paid to play in them and reducing the four games to two is a great move to limit these injuries and payments from fans but adding another regular season game can be a bigger problem.

Although fans want games added on, more than just one even, its not sitting right with the players union.

They agree with everything until that last point where extra games may be added. The problem lies that a players salary is divided into 16, one check per game, and a 17th game would have to add another check amount to annual salaries instead of splitting the original number into 17 instead of 16.

Owners don't want to pay more, players want to play less and the fans are left in the cold waiting to give a very rich person their hard earned money to support their team.

Goodell needs to pay attention and realize the possible look into the future in this crystal ball we call the World Cup.