TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

NFL A Powerhouse Among Sports Leagues

ADVERTISEMENT

By IRA KAUFMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 2, 2007

Updated: 09/02/2007 12:56 am

TAMPA - Before America's baby boomers came of age, pro football was just another face in the sports crowd.

Baseball was the unquestioned national pastime 50 years ago, when Jerry Lee Lewis pounded out 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' to frenzied teenagers desperate for change.

Bob Harlan saw it happen.

'It was the leadership of Pete Rozelle more than anything,' said the CEO of the Packers, who was working for baseball's St. Louis Cardinals from 1965 to 1971, a span in which the NFL generated a full blitz on the U.S. sporting public. 'He was the perfect man at the perfect time.'

By the middle of the turbulent 1960s, pro football had displaced baseball as America's most popular sport.

And today, at the vibrant age of 88, the NFL has grown into a $7 billion industry that dwarfs competing U.S. sports. You can argue about the historic greatness of the Packers, Steelers, 49ers or Patriots, but the only unquestioned dynasty in pro football is the league itself.

'The rise of the NFL after World War II was the result of many factors,' Commissioner Roger Goodell said. 'The visionary leadership of the owners and commissioners Bert Bell and Pete Rozelle was a big part of it. The NFL developed a great business model and benefited from the explosion of television as a way to present an exciting game to a national audience.'

According to the Harris Poll, the NFL has ruled as America's most popular sport since 1965. In the most recent survey, conducted in December, 29 percent of respondents named pro football as their favorite sport.

The next three professional sports in the survey (baseball, auto racing and the NBA) combined for a 30-percent rating.

'It's the action,' Bucs cornerback Brian Kelly said. 'Football has the big hits and the personalities that baseball doesn't have. As far as I've known, America has always loved pro football. You can unify as a family and watch a game together on a Sunday and it appeals to any age and both genders. And with only 16 games, you don't want to miss a single week.'

The ascendancy of the National Football League hardly can be credited to a single individual, but the importance of Rozelle's 29-year tenure cannot be overstated.

A former public relations executive, Rozelle had an uncanny knack for developing a consensus strategy among wealthy NFL owners used to doing things their own way.

A seminal moment came in 1961, when Rozelle convinced the league's most powerful owners to split television revenues. This share-the-wealth philosophy has served the league well by promoting competitive balance.

'In baseball, when the first pitch hits the glove, 10 to 15 teams are eliminated,' Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay said. 'At the end of two weeks, people are writing that it's all over. With our free-agency system and our inverted draft, our sport has been able to avoid that.'

In the five years since the league realigned to eight divisions, 27 of 32 clubs have earned a playoff berth.

Twenty-two different clubs have won division titles since 2002 and, for each of the past 10 years, at least five fresh teams reached the postseason.

Game 'Kept Growing And Growing'

'When I was growing up in Kansas, baseball ruled the day,' said 65-year-old Marv Hubbard of Tampa, who attended a Bucs practice last month at Lake Buena Vista. 'Then came a big change. Pete Rozelle understood how to market pro football, and the game kept growing and growing.'

Through NFL Films and NFL Properties, the league reached out to a mass audience and created a mythology by lifting the facemask off marquee players and offbeat personalities.

Through it all, network television fueled the NFL's surge to the summit.

'I was a rookie in 1976 and the Reds had just won back-to-back World Series titles,' said Reggie Williams, the former Cincinnati linebacker who is now vice president of Disney Sports Attractions. 'The Bengals were considered second-class citizens back then and I feel proud to be part of a franchise and league that captured the public imagination.

'NFL Films told the story of the game, the romance beyond the blood and guts. And coming out of the Vietnam War, this country needed something to put it back together. Pro football provided the catharsis because it's all about the team.'

It was also about the stars.

•Joe Namath's strapping right arm and personal charm made him an archetype for a new generation. Broadway Joe had the audacity to guarantee a monumental Super Bowl upset against Baltimore and the skills to pull it off in 1969.

•O.J. Simpson provided juice in upstate New York, setting a single-season rushing record with the Buffalo Bills while attracting sponsors and would-be tacklers in equal measure.

•Green Bay's Vince Lombardi transcended the sidelines and symbolized the coach as an authoritarian father figure.

Pro football was lauded as the perfect TV sport, and the start of 'Monday Night Football' in 1970 extended the NFL's reach beyond the weekend audience.

The Monday night halftime highlight package, hyped by Howard Cosell as if he was describing war footage, became must-see television.

The NFL kept the chains moving amid the fumbles.

Strikes and work stoppages were the major concerns during Rozelle's reign, so his successor, Paul Tagliabue, focused on forging a better relationship with the Players Association.

'TV and labor peace, those were the keys to our growth,' Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. 'Our league is a well-run organization that allows fans to feel they are part of the game. Having said that, you have to approach everything with the mind-set that it could always change.'

Goodell isn't sitting on his helmet, content with business as usual.

'We don't take our position for granted,' the commissioner said. 'We have to focus on the game and making sure it remains exciting and competitive. We have to continue to be innovative and always look to improve everything we do.'

Williams is excited about the role new technology will play in looking out for No. 1.

'Instant replay slowed the game down enough so that fans could see beyond the brutality,' said Williams, who played 14 seasons. 'You have 22 players engaged in live theater, unscripted. Now, I'm looking forward to cameras in helmets, sensors in footballs and your TV set rumbling while the play is in progress.'

For Harlan, the NFL will continue to thrive if executives remain true to the game's roots.

'We're always going to have to work at it, but revenue sharing and the salary cap are keys going forward,' he said. 'If you've got 32 competitive teams, that's a big advantage.'

Starting To Shift?

The rise of the NFL Network reflects the popularity of the game and the league's efforts to control the message. The decision to move some regular-season telecasts off broadcast television may signal a broader shift.

'How do you ensure you stay at the top - you keep labor peace, you keep selling out your games to avoid blackout issues and you keep your game on broadcast TV,' McKay said. 'Yes, we're all trying to drive revenue, but we've always got to be mindful of access. If you don't pay attention to access, you can create a problem.'

Hubbard already sees cracks forming in America's Game.

'It's starting to happen in football,' he said. 'They're driving out the average fan. To take my grandson to a Bucs game would cost me $150. That's outrageous. And another thing they better pay attention to is scandal. I think what Goodell is trying to do with this morals stuff is good, but if things like this Michael Vick story continue to fester, they'll lose it all.'

There also is a concern that the NFL may be reaching the saturation point with the 24-7, year-round mentality of the NFL Network and the league's official Web site, NFL.com. How many fans want to watch June minicamps in HD?

The Bucs' Kelly is keeping the faith, knowing the Super Bowl now ranks ahead of the Olympics as the world's most valuable sports brand, according to Forbes.

'The idea of the NFL no longer being No. 1 is unimaginable,' he said. 'The great commissioners we've had have kept this game going strong. Whatever happens down the line, I don't see it changing.'

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833 or ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT