Baseball: This was the first organized American sport. It allowed for the upper class to spend an afternoon in the sun discussing whatever social issues they had and when they heard the crack of the bat they could jump up and get excited for a few minutes. It’s basically a condensed game of Cricket. Nowadays a baseball game is just a lot of waiting around for a few minutes of excitement. This is why it was originally labeled as a “Pastime” not a sport and is currently losing attendance.

Basketball:
In my opinion this is a real sport. Why? Because it emulates battle, or hand-to-hand combat. The action is close-in and almost entirely reactionary. Kind of like the Gladiators fighting it out with the Spartans only without the death part. Of course there is some strategy but most of the game play is players reacting and adjusting quickly to what other players are doing. The action is constant and at a fast pace. This is the trill-ride of modern sport.

Football (the current king): Simply put; Football is Epic WAR from a General’s perspective. It’s based on the execution of thoughtful strategies designed to capture land from the enemy toward the goal of winning multiple battles and eventually, the war (game). The war is fought with two branches of service, Army and Air Force, working in unison to keep the enemy off guard. Just like real war but without the death part. Just as basketball is a close-in view of a single battle, football is a wide view of the whole war and can be followed from a greater physical distance. Hence, bigger stadiums and bigger attendance.

Football and Basketball already exist. Developing a new league in the same sports would be like trying to put out a fire with a flame thrower. What we need is a NEW SPORT that has a wider view than basketball, yet a closer view than football. Using the existing basic football format works just fine as it is familiar to us all.

How?
Speed up the game…does not mean shorten the game. Speed up the action and pace of the game by using a 15-sec play clock; cut the number of players to 8 (3 lineman, 2 ends, 2 backs & QB); the shorter play clock would require the development of more general (reactionary) plays; substitute in platoons rather than single players (allows players to rest from the faster pace and for the coach to plan general strategies by platoon); the lineman would need to be leaner than the NFL because of the pace; maybe the pads could be trimmed for more speed and agility; Thomas T’s field goal scoring system is a great idea (more points for capturing more ground); what about extra points? 20yd = 1pt, 35yd = 2pts, 50yd = 3pts; maybe there’s way to bring in the elements that the Navy brings to war (not necessarily the water) like long distance big bombs that strike at any time–maybe a 2ft diameter target mounted at the center of the crossbar that would net 4pts anytime it’s penetrated; How about taking points off the board for penalties or putting players in a “penalty box” and having to play short (like hockey).

I could (and probably have) go on and on, but I hope you see my point. We already have Football and we love it. There are currently 4 successful Football leagues and they all play by essentially the same rules. The only difference between them is age. (1)Pop Warner/Midget/Youth, (2)High School, (3)College, and (4)NFL.

If you think I’m advocating Arena Football, you’re wrong. Football needs to be played out in the elements, not indoors with walls.

Other Notes:
Uniforms are for player identification not ads; International is a must: Fewer commercials - before kick-offs, quarter breaks and half-time only - charge more instead; don’t compete with football - extend football by replacing baseball.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Below is mine:

Player Pos Ht Wt College
QB Woodson, Andre’ QB 6′5″ 224 Kentucky
RB Charles, Jamaal RB 5′11″ 200 Texas
RB Smith, Kevin RB 6′1″ 217 Central Florida
FB Hester, Jacob FB 5′11″ 230 LSU
WR Doucet, Early WR 6′0″ 212 LSU
WR Caldwell, Andre WR 6′1″ 200 Florida
TE Finley, Jermichael TE 6′5″ 243 Texas
OT Hills, Tony OT 6′6″ 305 Texas
OT Nicks, Carl OT 6′5″ 341 Nebraska
G Zuttah, Jeremy OG 6′4″ 303 Rutgers
G Adams, Chester OG 6′4″ 331 Georgia
C Sullivan, John C 6′4″ 301 Notre Dame

DE Ellis, Chris DE 6′4″ 260 Virginia Tech
DE Harrington, Chris DE 6′5″ 264 Texas A&M
DT Okam, Frank DT 6′5″ 320 Texas
DT Bryant, Red DT 6′5″ 328 Texas A&M
OLB Adibi, Xavier LB 6′2″ 220 Virginia Tech
OLB Crable, Shawn OLB 6′5″ 241 Michigan
MLB Connor, Dan OLB 6′3″ 233 Penn State
CB King, Justin CB 5′11″ 192 Penn State
CB Molden, Antwaun CB 6′1″ 198 Eastern Kentucky
FS Zbikowski, Tom FS 5′11″ 210 Notre Dame
SS Barrett, Josh S 6′2″ 223 Arizona State

Folks, you just don’t compete against the NFL and live to tell about it.