The Big Lead

America's Irresponsibility Hasn't Afforded the NFL the Luxury to Even Dream About Playing a Season Anywhere Else

By Stephen Douglas

The NFL is stuck with America.
The NFL is stuck with America. / David Eulitt/Getty Images
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Mina Kimes appeared on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. Kimes threw out the idea of playing the NFL season in New Zealand. When asked by Simmons if that was something she had heard, she laughed and said it was "reckless speculation." The thing is, that would be the NFL's best chance to have a normal, full season, but obviously it is an impossibility.

New Zealand has crushed COVID-19 so there is no way the country would welcome one American, let alone a full football franchise or 30 onto its shores. There isn't a single country in the world that should welcome someone from America right now and it actually has nothing to do with the current administration's fantasy immigration policies.

The NFL is America's sport and it needs to pull itself up by its bootstraps, get through a quarantine and entertain its adoring fans. You know what kind of admission of failure it is for someone in this country to even suggest one of our professional sports leagues go somewhere else to play a season? That's all the proof you need to know that America did this worse than just about anyone, and it is not close to over.

The only thing America currently has is stupid misplaced optimism. Our sports are gone right now and only in danger of slipping further away for even longer. At least professional sports have a chance because of their limitless resources. The pandemic has given cover to schools who want to cut sports that aren't profitable, shedding a light on who really cares about amateur athletics.

Who knows what is going to happen with the NBA or MLB over the next couple months. No matter what, by the time the weather really turns and we're stuck inside and there's really nothing to do, it's NFL or bust. And if the people who ignored this problem or didn't take it seriously don't stop ignoring it and take it seriously then there's not going to be professional football either. And those are the people to blame. Not the countries that turned down the opportunity to save Americans from being bored on Sundays.