Off topic - sorta'

We find ourselves distressed - but not surprised - by the situation in which our neighbor up the road in Pendleton finds himself.

He made a very shrewd guess that a pair of brothers might be coaching opposing teams in the Super Bowl.  (Can we be in trouble for printing those words?)  He spent a fairly considerable sum getting a copyright for the name "Harbowl."  (Damn! There we go again!)

Then our friendly, civic minded millionaire owners of the NFL dropped a ton of bricks on him.  Someone might confuse that name with an official presentation of the league.  Can’t have that, now can we, folks?

Reminds us of the days of yore when Colts games were blacked out.  A handful of local businesses brought the games in by satellite.  The NFL reacted with the same legal bludgeon tactics, and those TVs were darkened.

We seem to recall that a gathering of the congregation of a small church where a game was to be shown was also legally clubbed to death by the NFL.

"Ain’t nobody gonna’ make no money off these games but us millionaires."

Dare we even suggest that the city is courting financial disaster by claiming that the S.... B... brought in hundreds of millions of dollars?  Will the NFL decide they own a share of that, too?

It is really heartwarming to see how taxpaying fans are rewarded for supplying the financial structure which allows those millionaire owners to continue to be millionaires.

Brings to mind the strange comparison of treatment of the "rich" between here and Washington.  An election of the President of the United States hinged to a great extent on a campaign to make the "rich" pay their "fair share."  In Indianapolis we shovel out millions of tax dollars to those same "rich" folks, based simply on an unsubstantiated plea of poverty.

Only in America!

P.S. Will some of our readers pitch in to a legal fund in case we get in trouble for using the word "H.....l?  Please!!

Comments

[Leslie Baker]

I thought the NFL did already take a large share from the Super Bowl held here.

[Jiim Fuquay]

Your column made me smile. Now, I'm looking forward to seeing a column on the Senate bill that will give the Mayor much more discretion on this budget and eliminate at-large council seats. I suggest the jugheads in the legislature be wary of what they do. The tables can turn quickly.

[Mark Small.]

1)Please do not consider this point an insult, but I must correct you on one matter. The NFL owners consist more of billionaires these days, not mere millionaires. Our tax dollars (in part) have elevated them to such rare heights.
2) Your use of H B probably is fair usage, as you are covering a news item. If the NFL bullies sue you, over what you have written in this column,don't worry about a legal fund. I have defended against trademark claims by them before. I would do so pro bono, as to the usage in this column.