The 2011 work stoppage carries little in common with the 1982 work stoppage. As frustrating as the past five months have been, no games were lost. I even doubt that the quality of play will be diminished. Offseason workouts are nice but their importance can be questioned. Not long ago, the NFL had none. 1982 was a whole other story. Fortunately, I started college that fall. I was often distracted. Sundays for two months that fall were still greatly lacking. Following the games of September 16, there was no professional football until Thanksgiving. Just bleak times. Younger football fans probably can't imagine no football for more than a couple of weeks, let alone a couple of months. Can anyone imagine the void this would create in the lives of fantasy football participants? Withdrawals? Nine games were all that were played in '82. I didn't like it then, but the NFL made the right decision in not rescheduling the missed games. Playing the Super Bowl in March would have made a wrong season even more wrong. The Washington Redskins won that Super Bowl. Interestingly, the Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1987 as well. The only other season to play host to a midseason work stoppage. Even more interesting than that is that the Redskins beat the Vikings in the playoffs in both seasons.
Memories of '82 and '87 convinced me that the owners and players, as stupid as they've been, would never allow the 2011 work stoppage erase games. That can never happen again.
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