2011 NFL Lockout: Why the Lockout Was Amazing for Football

Yeah, I said it—the NFL lockout was amazing for football.

I don't recall ever being this excited about the NFL season. I almost feel like I'm getting football back, even though there weren't any games lost. Even the preseason survived intact, save the Hall of Fame Game.

When that hectic free agency period kicked in, it felt like football had been gone for a really long time. Things had been looking pretty damn bleak. How was I going to fill the void left by having no fantasy football teams? What the hell would I do on Sundays (and Monday nights)?

I even decided to become a Premier League—and more importantly, Arsenal—fan this year, and I think subconsciously it was my way of preparing for a lost NFL season.

That's part one of why the lockout was amazing for football—it made people realize that being an NFL fan wasn't just a pastime, it was an Autumn lifestyle. Life is just better when football is a part of it.

So what did we do during the hauntingly bare offseason?

We immersed ourselves in news about lockout, that's what. It made for news that was really entertaining. Chad Ochocinco became a rodeo clown. Players took shots at owners. Owners insulted players. Players took shots at players. James Harrison took shots at Roger Goodell and proved once and for all that he is a buffoon.

Hell, Reggie Bush probably knocked back a few too many shots before hitting up Twitter.

And we took sides. Some people sided with the players, feeling they deserved the proper proportion of the revenue pie they helped create. Others sided with the owners, feeling little sympathy for millionaire athletes who wanted more money in an economy that was brutal for most citizens. I can't tell you how many arguments I got into with friends over this very point.

That's part two of why the lockout was amazing for football—it proved that the NFL goes well beyond providing a game for fans, and instead provides a complex, but undeniably juicy soap opera for football addicts. We have emotional ties to the NFL that run much deeper than we realize, and the lockout tapped into them in a more powerful way than the average offseason could.

And unlike the NBA lockout, there wasn't the impression that there was something inherently wrong with the business model established by the NFL. The NBA, coming off an amazing season, is so screwed up they are probably going to blow the momentum from the best postseason in 15 years. They are disappearing at a time when the league is not only blessed to have a bevy of young superstars, but those stars fall into hero camps (Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose lead this pack) and villain camps (LeBron, D-Wade and the Heat).

They have enough "Good versus Evil" storylines to make the WWE jealous, and they're probably going to lose an entire season of them. Frankly, it makes the brand look bad.

Now, contrast that to the NFL lockout. Even though fans were pretty upset at the notion of a lost season, I never felt as though there was something structurally wrong with the league that needed to be fixed. The NFL brand was strong, and there were legitimate disagreements between the owners and players that needed to be worked out. That process was going to take some time.

To me, the difference between the NBA and NFL lockouts was the difference between a team rebuilding and a team retooling. With the rebuilding team, there is the impression that bleak times are to come. With the retooling team, there is the optimism that with a few tweaks the success you've come to expect is not only attainable, but perhaps even can be surpassed.

And that's part three of why the lockout was amazing for football—we didn't want to ditch the sport. We knew the product was irreplaceable, that the business model was stable, and that the sides involved were as afraid of losing the season as we were. We had plenty of reasons to stay tuned in.

Let me put it to you another way—I haven't been scanning the news looking for updates on the NBA lockout. To me, it's a foregone conclusion that a season will be lost, thus making the whole thing dull.

Besides, I'll just watch hockey if they have a lockout. But when the NFL was shut down, I was keeping tabs on every little development in the negotiations, and I certainly wasn't alone in that fact.

And then the lockout ended. What were we treated to next?

Oh, only one of the most exciting offseasons in NFL history. Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth ended up in New England. The Eagles landed Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Ronnie Brown, Vince Young and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Plaxico became a Jet. The Packers and Steelers returned strong teams that should be the favorites to make the Super Bowl.

That's part four of why the lockout was amazing for football—it provided a brilliant frenzy of activity upon the league's return that was scintillating for fans everywhere.

And now, with that frenzy still fresh in our minds, the NFL season is set to begin. Fantasy rosters are set (and many owners are breathing easier after the Chris Johnson signing). Tailgaters are dusting off coolers and firing up grills. Autumn as we know is here again.

And I for one have never been more excited to see it return.