Every NFL fan at some point in time has watched an NFL film. These are films that depict the life and times of various NFL players. While every NFL fan knows about the NFL films they do not know about the man behind the camera.
Steve Sabol is the man behind the camera and the one who comes up with all the brilliant ideas for the films. However, this past week the NFL community, NFL Films and the entertainment world was dealt a very heavy blow when Steve Sabol was diagnosed with brain cancer.
After suffering a seizure two weeks ago, Steve Sabol was hospitalized in a Kansas City hospital. They are doctors ran extensive test work that eventually led to him being diagnosed with a primary brain tumor located on the left side of his brain. Treatments for this primary tumor will begin immediately and it is expected that Steve Sabol will undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
NFL Films does a vast majority of the camerawork and cinematography for the NFL games and other stories. NFL Films was founded by Steve’s dad, Ed, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Steve Sabol has a long history with the NFL Films and therefore is directly related to the NFL. He began working with NFL Films in 1964 and has won over 27 Emmy Awards for his work and dedication to writing, filming, directing and producing NFL productions over the past years. Although he isn’t directly a football player, Steve Sabol has long been considered a part of the NFL community.
The NFL players Union is in this thing for the long haul. There are plenty of people who are buzzing after commissioner Goodell gave his state of the football union address on the Friday before the Super Bowl. While commissioner Goodell has the interest of the owners at heart he is certainly pointing fingers at the players union when it comes to the difficulty the two sides are having with the new CBA that looks like it won’t get signed when the contract is over.
Still, Goodell needs to start looking into the mirror when it comes to the new labor negotiations and what he thinks that the fans want. It seems that Goodell believes whole heartedly that the fans want an 18 game regular season schedule. This is only obvious to the commissioner because in various polls conducted through media outlets it appears that the fans are more than happy with the 16 game schedule that they see now and are worried that the process of elongating the season would lead to a reduction in the quality of the competition and the increase in injuries for the players.
Of course this isn’t the commissioners belief as he says it’s not about money, but giving the fans what they want. Meanwhile his new plan allows for more games but for the players to take a cut in pay across the board. He claims they are broke but yet the NFL is signing some of the most lucrative television and advertising deals in the world, but they must not have any money to pay their players. The NFL is one of the most popular entities in all the world. Here’s hoping that the CBA doesn’t become about the owners but rather the players who play on the field.
Over the years football players have been paid astounding sums. Do you think you know who’s getting the best rates? Check this infographic to see how your favorite player is doing, and learn which players are paid the least. From the over-rated QBs to the highly celebrated wide receivers, these stats are surprising.
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It is no secret that many pro athletes wind up losing their fortunes. When it happens to the rich and famous of the sports world, it seems as if the opposite of more brains than brawn has taken place.
Just blowing it
Many people who have never had the sums of money these athletes make wonder how it happens. Is it because their managers, agents and everyone else they know has their hands out? Is it because athletes who suddenly find themselves swimming in money spend it on material things that the rest of the average-income population would consider ludicrous? Is it because their new car prices add up to more than most people could make in two lifetimes?
The truth is it’s a combination of all of these things. Typically, athletes earn so much money so fast, they don’t have time to learn how to be financially smart and responsible. Many of the professional athletes come from less fortunate backgrounds. Therefore, they have no experience with big money and no concept of using their income to make future income. Because of their lack of money in the past, athletes don’t know how to spend or invest wisely.
Bad investments
They make bad investment decisions and many try to take care of family and friends financially. While they are taking care of others, they don’t plan for taking care of business and, unfortunately, a large number of them end up being taken.
Flash
As the world watches, pro athletes dwindle their fortunes away on lavish lifestyles. Expensive, flashy cars; extravagant, showy homes; and stylish, overly-priced wardrobes capture the cash of these athletes faster than it is being earned in many circumstances. Gambling, girls and ganja also take a lot the green that athletes earn.
Owing too much
Once stars of the basketball court, many NBA players end up in bankruptcy courts because well over half of them are broke only five years after they retire. Scottie Pippen is one example. He crashed his financial windfall shortly after buying a jet and a lot of other things most people live just fine without.
Football superstars often take more hits off the field than they do while playing, since nearly 80 percent of them have financial difficulty within two years of leaving the NFL. One example of a football great gone under is OJ Simpson. Even without considering the costs of his alleged criminal activity, he owes the government more than $1 million in back taxes.
Boxers fare no better. It seems while they were learning to put up their dukes, they were skipping the lessons about putting away nest eggs. Evander Holyfield has financial problems now even after earning more than $250 million during his career. He lost his Atlanta mansion to foreclosure and has child support payments that add up quickly for a person with more than 10 kids.
Whether it’s bad investments, rapid and extravagant spending or legal drama, pro athletes typically drop their money faster than they drop balls. Without the education, planning and sense it takes to ensure their fortunes last a lifetime, they lose at the game of financial welfare.
No longer merely the domain of armchair athletes and wanna-be jocks, fantasy sports has become a big business. Fantasy sports gives the player the power to create their perfect team and then manage their team based on real life statistics. Players manage their teams through out the normal season to win prizes and even bet on the out come of the fantasy games. Below we have compiled a graphic on some of the top fantasy sports sites, legality, and some facts on how fast the the industry is growing.
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From mouthwatering delicacies in the southern states, to the typical Americana fare that is offered across the country, NFL concessions offer foods that stop our hearts (sometimes literally)! Find out which stadiums have the best grub, and which are notorious for their sub-par amenities.
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There are many, many sports fans out there. Some of them are great, and then there are the posers – the ones who pretend to be fans because it’s popular or ‘cool’ in some way. They are the ones who don’t know anything about the team they’re suddenly a fan of – usually after a big win. They’re the ones who think you’re a worthless human being because you don’t agree with their choice of sports or their choice of person or team to worship and idolize. Consider the following folks as the top 5 worst types of sports fans – the ones that really get under the skin of the true sports fan.
1. The know-it-all. We get it. You told us so. And you’re going to keep telling us, because that’s what you thrive on. Most of these people aren’t real fans, they only want to be right so they can rub other people’s noses in it.
2. The bias guy. He thinks that the players he loves are the best, and the players he hates are the worst. Period. Forever and ever, amen. There’s no changing his mind, and he’s not interested in silly things like facts or statistics. He knows better, of course.
3. The friendly fan. He wants to be your buddy. In fact, he likes you so much that he pretends to like your sports team, just so he can talk to you. It’s painfully obvious he has no clue, but he doesn’t realize what an idiot he’s actually being. Instead of learning about something first, he just blathers on about it in the hope that you’ll think he’s cool.
4. The fantasy fan. He’s a fan of a team in fantasy football, but real life? Forget about it. Only the fantasy team matters, but he really, really loves to talk about the fantasy team like it’s real life. He doesn’t even seem to notice how incredibly annoying real fans of real teams in the real world find that.
5. The waffle fan. Many people fall into this category, but the real, true sports fan never will. These fair-weather fans are interested in the team when it’s winning, and could care less about it when it’s losing. They go back and forth, waffling around about whether they like the team or hate it. When it’s good it’s good, but when it’s bad – well, what’s the point in watching anymore?
Whether it’s professional fans, or college sports fans, it’s easy to see why these people are annoying. They might be wonderful people in ‘real life,’ but when they get involved with a sport they become something completely different. Avoid them if you can, but no matter how careful you are you’re likely to find one or two of them within hearing distance at your next sporting event. Don’t think you can escape them at the sports bar, either. They’ll be the ones talking too loudly in the corner booth, with big pitchers of beer on the table and hot wing sauce on their fingers.
Anyone who says, “it’s just a game” has never known the joy of professional football. Football is more than a game. It is a way of life. Baseball may be America’s pastime, but the time it passes is the time between the Super Bowl and Training Camp. For some, the NFL is a higher calling. These are just some of the super fans.
7. The Cheeseheads (Green Bay Packers)
While the term “Cheeseheads” refers to the Packers nation in general, this article is dedicated to the facilitators of the Lambeau Leap. Make no mistake, when the big Green Machine scores a touchdown, these Wisconsinites love nothing more than to embrace their receiver in a loving and welcoming environment. However if you try to get into their personal space without wearing the yellow and green, things could get ugly.
Luckily, for Ocho Cinco, he had a mole on the inside. For everyone else, it is better not to even try.
6. The Dawg Pound (Cleveland Browns)
The Dawg Pound puts the Cheeseheads of Lambeau to shame. Unlike the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns haven’t enjoyed a successful legacy filled with NFL heritage and world championships. The Cleveland Browns didn’t even exist for 3 seasons in the late 90’s, and their legacy is as dark and tainted as the fans that inhabit the Dawg Pound.
Notice, what was once cute and funny in Green Bay now appears to be a life-threatening risk not worth taking. The Dawg Pound barely likes their own team; they have less than zero tolerance for the opposition.
5. Wayne “The Violator” Mabry & the Black Hole (Oakland Raiders)
Wayne can be seen distinctly at 1:33 in the following video:
The Violator is the original. He is known to have started it all. If the Cheeseheads punk kids and the Dawg Pounders are violent teens, those who inhabit the Black Hole are the serial murderers that dropped out of school. Striking fear in the hearts of visiting teams, both physically and psychologically, these fans help ensure that the Raiders Nation stays strong, no matter how awful the Raiders may be.
4. Zema “Chief Zee” Williams (Washington Redskins)
Washington Redskins super fan and presumed homeless guy Zema Williams has been dressing up as an Indian Chief and cheering on the Redskins for years. What’s more exciting than watching an elderly African American dressed up as an elderly Native American cheering on a bunch of young All-Americans? Check out his “Inside the Actor’s Studio” style interview.
It’s hard to believe that so many deep insights can come out of someone like this, but the interview and Chief Zee prove that America loves the Redskins.
3. Barrel Man (Denver Broncos)
When your favorite team is the Denver Broncos, life as a super-fan can be tough. Have you ever tried dressing up as a horse? It’s impossible! That’s why Tim McKernan did the next best thing by painting a horse on a barrel and dressing up as a 1920’s cartoon hobo.
Unfortunately, he is no longer with us (as spending 30 years in Denver without a shirt makes you incredibly susceptible to lung failure). Barrel Man was a staple of the Broncos for years. Although he’s currently six feet under, his legacy lives on forever at Mile High, which is now called Invesco Field… but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
2. Don “Bearman” Wachter (Chicago Bears)
A staple of Chicago Bears history for years, Don “Bearman” Wachter started as just a lowly fan.
However, after years of supporting the team, Bearman became more than just a fan when the Chicago Bears made him a part of their pre-game ritual in the early 2000’s. Carrying out the team flag and leading the crowd was the job of the Bearman until the Chicago Bears unveiled an official mascot a few years later. Not one to begrudge, Don headed back to his season seats, where he still sits and cheers on the fans during every home game.
It would American injustice to use the words super fan and Chicago Bears in the same paragraph without also providing this.
Fireman Ed is like the tough Bronx version of Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. Never have I seen a single man command 60,000 drunken football fans with the ease and control of Fireman Ed, as seen here:
No make up. No costume. Just pure New York brawn in the form of a humble civil servant. Fireman Ed has been going to jets games for years, and was the one to pioneer (and orchestrate) the now famous “J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS” chant. What mascot could possibly mean more to a team than a working New York Fireman? For these reasons, Ed is top dog on this list.
While the road to super-fandom is long and arduous, requiring all of your time from September to January, it is possible for anyone to succeed at it. For those who would rather just sit at home, maintaining their “family” and “job,” may these super-fans serve as an inspiration.
With great power comes great responsibility. Well, unless you’re an NFL player.
Sure, the majority of professional football players behave responsibly. But just like any broad swath of the population, especially those who regularly slam their heads into each other, there are sure to be some who cannot keep their act together. We’ve compiled some of the biggest sex scandals of the NFL. While all of these stories made national headlines, are they true or not? You decide.
Ben Roethlisberger: The Tiger Woods of Football
When you’re a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, you can probably get away with one accusation of sexual assault, even if it results in a protracted legal battle covered heavily by the press. But when you get accused a second time, most people will assume you’re guilty – especially if you’re also incredibly arrogant.
“Throw your hands in the air, if you a true player” – Biggie Smalls
It makes you wonder if getting sacked by opposing defenses an average of forty times a season affects the old brain box.
It also doesn’t help when you crash the fastest production motorcycle on the market, without wearing a helmet. We’re not doctors, but extreme head trauma seems like it might result in some poor personal decisions down the line.
Fact or Fiction? Fact.
Brett Favre – Will He or Won’t He?
Gotta love ol’ Favre. He’s always in the news, a surprising fact since he supposedly “hates drama.” Right. Apparently, he has been very interested in sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. He’s even been sending her explicit photos via cell phone (allegedly).
“Somebody Wrangle me up some hot lovin’.”
Could there be some truth to this? Well, when you’re the all-time leader in interceptions thrown, you’ve got to be a pretty persistent person. Hell he is online sports betting gold.
On the other hand, Jenn Sterger has posed for Playboy, so she’s not exactly innocent.
Fact or Fiction? Who knows.
Lawrence Taylor and an Underage Hooker
Taylor used to be the Billy Badass of football. Now it appears that he is the Pistol Pete of prostitution. He’s being tried for a smorgasbord of crimes, including rape and criminal sex, for paying a sixteen-year-old $300 to have sex with him.
“I figured if I paid for it, I wasn’t breaking the law. Plus, I’m Lawrence Taylor.”
The girl supposedly lied to Taylor, telling him she was nineteen years old. Despite this, paying for sex is still illegal. Unless you live in Nevada.
Fact or Fiction? Likely Fact (Taylor doesn’t live in Nevada).
Minnesota Vikings “Love Boat”
What do you get when you allegedly put some boats on a lake with some NFL player and strippers? A great news story, that’s what you get. This is probably the granddaddy of NFL sex scandals because it involved not just one NFL player, but ten of them, including ringleader Fred Smoot.
Smooty Spice plots to publicly embarrass both himself and his teammates.
It seems hard to fathom why NFL players would think that they could get away with ordering up a couple of boats and a gaggle of strippers without anyone noticing. Come on, a boat? You could’ve rented something a little more private like a house! Even a limo would have been smarter.
Fact or Fiction? How could it not be Fact?
Brandon Spikes Makes a Rookie Mistake
Sure, NFL rookies make mistakes. That includes making a homemade sex tape, if you’re Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes. Maybe sex tape production is allowable at the ol’ University of Florida where Spikes went to school, but as a professional football player, it’s generally frowned upon. It could be one highlight video you wouldn’t want to see replayed on TV.
Hmm.
Maybe in a high-profile job other than the NFL this wouldn’t be a bad thing, but this kind of stuff usually gets players suspended without pay for a few games.
Fact or Fiction? Fact (it’s available on the internet).
There is no professional sport with greater stories than football. The NFL fosters some of the greatest stories of success, both on individual and team levels. The following seven most valuable moments, or MVM’s, have significantly altered the way we view the game, and are all incredibly important for the game of football.
1. The Ice Bowl
YEAR: 1967 MVM: Packers earn Super Bowl II spot in -16˚ weather
The championship game played between the Packers and the Cowboys on December 31st, 1967 was historic for many reasons. For starters, it would determine which NFL team would challenge the AFL in Super Bowl II. It would determine which team would have the bragging rights for the decade to come. It also determined which body parts of certain players would need to be amputated, as the game time temperature was 16 degrees BELOW zero.
The Ice Bowl still holds the record after 43 years as the coldest game ever played, with the Packers going on to beat the Cowboys on the “Frozen Tundra” of Green Bay. This game would mark the Packers as one of the most fabled franchises in NFL history, and ensure that nobody, ever, could complain about it being too cold to play football.
2. Joe Namath and the Guarantee
YEAR: 1969 MVM: MVP Joe Namath delivers on a promise to win Super Bowl III
Broadway Joe was known for many things, including his prowess as a quarterback, his ability to sell pantyhose, and his confident attitude. In fact, he was so confident, that in 1969, he guaranteed a Super Bowl win.
Not only did Joe deliver, but he delivered in grand fashion. Beating the Baltimore Colts by two possessions, Joe made good on his promise and was awarded Super Bowl MVP. Need more proof that Joe is never more confident than when he is on a football field wearing a Jets jersey? Check out this clip from some 40 years later:
Oh Joe. I want to kiss you.
3. The Immaculate Reception
YEAR: 1972 MVM: Harris begins a decade of triumph for the Steelers
In what can only be described as the Will of the Gods, Franco Harris enjoyed football history’s best-known case of being in the right place at the right time.
Ending 40 years of futility, this catch and subsequent touchdown resulted in the first playoff win for the Steelers in decades. Not only that, but it marked the beginning of the Steelers 1970’s dominance, as the Steelers would win four of the next eight Super Bowls played. Not a bad aftermath for a play that was designed completely around luck.
4. The Catch
YEAR: 1982 MVM: Montana’s catch places 49ers in history as a dominator
A play so important it is referred to simply as “The Catch,” this play from the 1982 NFC championship game echoed through the league for the better part of a decade:
Hailed as one of Joe Montana’s defining plays, this touchdown lead to the victory that dethroned the Steelers, Cowboys and Packers as the dominant NFL teams, and introduced America to the San Francisco 49ers. Montana would go on to win the Super Bowl four times over the next ten years, making the 49ers the team of the 80’s.
5. The NFL’s new Rushing Leaders
YEAR: 1984 MVM: Payton crushes Brown’s rushing record
No record was as untouchable or hallowed as Jim Brown’s career rushing record, until Walter Payton, a scrappy kid from Mississippi known as “Sweetness,” made his mark on the league in 1984:
This record would be improved upon by some 4,000 yards before Walter Payton was finished with football, and was widely deemed to be the new untouchable record. It stood for 18 years before Emmitt Smith had his say:
These records are not only important moments in the history of these men, but they are important moments in the history of the game. Chasing, breaking and setting records redefines the limits of human achievement as we know them. Smith is no fool, acknowledging that his record will also be fleeting. Nevertheless, his time at the top is in no immediate danger, and his record should stand for several years to come.
6. Manning over Leaf
YEAR: 1998 MVM: Colts selected Manning over NFL favorite, Leaf
In what can be viewed as the greatest number one draft pick of all-time, the Indianapolis Colts went against the consensus and picked the 2nd best quarterback available at the time. The online sports betting world went nuts after this.
For many, there was no greater college prospect than Ryan Leaf. Leaf and Manning were bound to be selected to the NFL, and were thought to go first and second respectively. However, the Indianapolis Colts saw something in Peyton that Ryan Leaf didn’t offer. By going with their gut and choosing the number two quarterback with the number one pick, the Colts rewrote team history and ensured their place among the most dominant teams of the modern era.
7. Bledsoe Hit by Mo Lewis
YEAR: 2001 MVM: Tom Brady takes the stage as QB
In a less famous, but equally important Wally Pip/Lou Gehrig scenario, Mo Lewis single-handedly changed the landscape of the NFL. Bledsoe was hurt on this play, leaving the Patriots no other choice but to put in their back-up, 200th overall pick—a quarterback by the name of Tom Brady:
Not only did this play usher in the Tom Brady era, but it also ushered in a new era of football. The Patriots became the dominant team of the 2000’s, the Colts vs. Patriots games became more about Manning vs. Brady than the teams or cities they played for, and the world got to meet Giselle. Although this play seemed like a standard, run-of-the-mill injury, it ended up being one of the most influential plays of the last 10 years.
Conclusion:
Although the NFL is filled with stories and moments that could fill volumes, these were just a few of the best and brightest. While the stories change every year, the one thing that stays the same is America’s love of hearing them. Through this country’s love affair with sports, we can forget about our problems for a few hours each week and believe in heroes once more.
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