CH: Destroy American Football

As long as gambling and fantasy football exist, football will remain popular.

Some hacker hacks into fantasy football and shuts those sites down for a long time. Then, people will turn away from fantasy football.

Once fantasy football is gone and people are less interested in football, gambling will move into other sports, like basketball or hockey.
 
This won't kill it, but it'll possibly go back down to a college game level with the NFL the equivalent of the NHL, popular in certain locales but not dominant.

Pittsburgh Steelers keep Johnny Unitas. He has a career not unlike Sonny Jurgenson and is hailed as one of the greatest ever, but one nobody knows becsuae of the horrid teams. He does guide the Steelers to one title, in 1958, when he wins the title over the Colts (who did have an excellent offense otherwise) practically by himself. However, without the overtime game ist isn't seen as significant, just something nice for the Rooney family to finally win.

The next year, a few games change, the Steelers don't quite get back to the title game, as the Giants edge them out, and the Packers win the West after a playoff win over the Colts. (WIthout Unitas, Colts lose one game to them, while Bears lose to the Steelers once) The Giants beat the Packers, who most people (though never Vince Lombardi) are willing toa dmit look too young and a year away from winning an NFL title.

Rooney's victory in 1958 increases his clout and he tries to convince the new commissioner to eliminate the limit on the number of black players (a limit which the AFL never had). However, it is not Pete Rozelle, who was a compromise choice, and so the limit stays in place for a number of more years. Black athletes, turned off by this, gravitate toward baseball or basketball, though some still play football, like Jim Brown. The AFL will rise in prominence, but will not have an easy road. They don't have the AFL to go to because the NFL expands, forestalling the new league.

Also in 1960, butterflies lead a young kid named Joe Namath to sign witht he Cincinnati Reds. (Mentioned as possibly happening in a book on the '75 club, IIRC, "The Machine")

The Packers beat the Giants the next two years for the NFL title game. The date being a week later, the founder of NFL Films OTL is int he wrong place at the wrong time and unable to get to the title game hwere he can produce a film that causes the league to launch onto the national sceen with NFL Films. He will instead gravitate toward baseball and basketball. While the "Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field" will become a well known sportswriting phrase, it is another green that Steve Sabol signs the praises of - two actually. "The gargantuan green giant, rising slowly fromt he ground, its roar intimidating every lefty who dares set foot inside Fenway Park" will be one. The other will be, "The Picturesque Parquay of Boston Garden, home to the most illustrious champsions in American sports history, the indomitable Boston Celtics, wearing their Celtic green with the utmost in pride, breaking down bareeiers everywhere they go." (Homage to their having five black starters.).

With baseball and basketball enjoying the benefits of OTL JFL Films, the public isn't much mroe interested in it in 1968 than it was in 1958, but it is some. Then, the unthinkable happens.

Al Davis' Oakland Raiders play the baltimore Colts for the NFL title game. It's the Raiders' second straight appearance in the title game, having lost to the Packers the year before. The Colts are heavy favorites, but Johnny Unitas has suffered wirtht he Steelers for a long time after his one great shining moment in 1958. However, some feel the Raiders have a chance.

A hard hit from a Raiders' player knocks out a Colts player, Cameras zoom into record the hard hit,a nd continue trying to champion the blow, till someone realizes the player still isn't moving. The colts player ends up dying, his neck having snapped just right. (Note - Darryl Stingley was paralyzed on a similar play in 1976 - a bit different and it culd have been fatal.)

The game is increasingly seen, after this, as a game for brutes. Much like hockey is blasted for the "goons" ont heir squads, the poetry of football is unseen; instead, it is the brute force. This doesn't sit well in a country which is increasingly against any sort of war due to Vietnam.

Oh, the NFl picks up a little steam again in the '70s, but then there is a players strike. The owners don't feel quite as much necessity in negotiating, and what in OTL was a barely saved season of 9 games becomes a lot season, like the NHL strike of a number of years ago.

Without the lucrative contracts, fewer and fewer of the top athletes were going into college football, going toward baseball or basketball. After this, it is seen as even less of a promising field. Baseball and basketball - both of which have *very* thriving minor league systems (the Continental Baketball Association is not destroyed int his TL), are grabbing all the top athletes.

Some continue to think that American football might be able to make it big, but decades of mismanagement and missed opportunities have rendered it the Brazil of sports - one with the chance to become a power and seemingly all the right resources, but just lacking that special something.

(Note: Wow, and I didn't even use a betting scandal like I'd planned when I began this. Throw one in if you want.)
 
With the current focus on concussions have some 'secret video cam' record comments at an owners meeting record some owners laughing about the 'dumb jocks' and one owner asking another if his son ( or grandson) is playing football at his prep school and the response being 'Hell no do you think I'd let him beat his brains around like that'

After that parents start pulling their kids from High school, recreation league, and pee-wee football in droves. Protests form outside every stadium in the NFL. College Alumni associations start pulling funding from football programs
 
This won't kill it, but it'll possibly go back down to a college game level with the NFL the equivalent of the NHL, popular in certain locales but not dominant.

Pittsburgh Steelers keep Johnny Unitas. He has a career not unlike Sonny Jurgenson and is hailed as one of the greatest ever, but one nobody knows becsuae of the horrid teams. He does guide the Steelers to one title, in 1958, when he wins the title over the Colts (who did have an excellent offense otherwise) practically by himself. However, without the overtime game ist isn't seen as significant, just something nice for the Rooney family to finally win.

The next year, a few games change, the Steelers don't quite get back to the title game, as the Giants edge them out, and the Packers win the West after a playoff win over the Colts. (WIthout Unitas, Colts lose one game to them, while Bears lose to the Steelers once) The Giants beat the Packers, who most people (though never Vince Lombardi) are willing toa dmit look too young and a year away from winning an NFL title.

Rooney's victory in 1958 increases his clout and he tries to convince the new commissioner to eliminate the limit on the number of black players (a limit which the AFL never had). However, it is not Pete Rozelle, who was a compromise choice, and so the limit stays in place for a number of more years. Black athletes, turned off by this, gravitate toward baseball or basketball, though some still play football, like Jim Brown. The AFL will rise in prominence, but will not have an easy road. They don't have the AFL to go to because the NFL expands, forestalling the new league.

Also in 1960, butterflies lead a young kid named Joe Namath to sign witht he Cincinnati Reds. (Mentioned as possibly happening in a book on the '75 club, IIRC, "The Machine")

The Packers beat the Giants the next two years for the NFL title game. The date being a week later, the founder of NFL Films OTL is int he wrong place at the wrong time and unable to get to the title game hwere he can produce a film that causes the league to launch onto the national sceen with NFL Films. He will instead gravitate toward baseball and basketball. While the "Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field" will become a well known sportswriting phrase, it is another green that Steve Sabol signs the praises of - two actually. "The gargantuan green giant, rising slowly fromt he ground, its roar intimidating every lefty who dares set foot inside Fenway Park" will be one. The other will be, "The Picturesque Parquay of Boston Garden, home to the most illustrious champsions in American sports history, the indomitable Boston Celtics, wearing their Celtic green with the utmost in pride, breaking down bareeiers everywhere they go." (Homage to their having five black starters.).

With baseball and basketball enjoying the benefits of OTL JFL Films, the public isn't much mroe interested in it in 1968 than it was in 1958, but it is some. Then, the unthinkable happens.

Al Davis' Oakland Raiders play the baltimore Colts for the NFL title game. It's the Raiders' second straight appearance in the title game, having lost to the Packers the year before. The Colts are heavy favorites, but Johnny Unitas has suffered wirtht he Steelers for a long time after his one great shining moment in 1958. However, some feel the Raiders have a chance.

A hard hit from a Raiders' player knocks out a Colts player, Cameras zoom into record the hard hit,a nd continue trying to champion the blow, till someone realizes the player still isn't moving. The colts player ends up dying, his neck having snapped just right. (Note - Darryl Stingley was paralyzed on a similar play in 1976 - a bit different and it culd have been fatal.)

The game is increasingly seen, after this, as a game for brutes. Much like hockey is blasted for the "goons" ont heir squads, the poetry of football is unseen; instead, it is the brute force. This doesn't sit well in a country which is increasingly against any sort of war due to Vietnam.

Oh, the NFl picks up a little steam again in the '70s, but then there is a players strike. The owners don't feel quite as much necessity in negotiating, and what in OTL was a barely saved season of 9 games becomes a lot season, like the NHL strike of a number of years ago.

Without the lucrative contracts, fewer and fewer of the top athletes were going into college football, going toward baseball or basketball. After this, it is seen as even less of a promising field. Baseball and basketball - both of which have *very* thriving minor league systems (the Continental Baketball Association is not destroyed int his TL), are grabbing all the top athletes.

Some continue to think that American football might be able to make it big, but decades of mismanagement and missed opportunities have rendered it the Brazil of sports - one with the chance to become a power and seemingly all the right resources, but just lacking that special something.

(Note: Wow, and I didn't even use a betting scandal like I'd planned when I began this. Throw one in if you want.)

You need to expand this into an actual timeline.
 
Namath

Namath on the Big Red Machine? Interesting. I didn't know he was a major-league level baseball player. What position did he play?
 
Namath on the Big Red Machine? Interesting. I didn't know he was a major-league level baseball player. What position did he play?

Outfield; he was scouted and almost signed out of high school but Bear Bryant hung around and wouldn't let go of this prize recruit.

I don't know if he could have been a star in the majors; and he might have been a bit cocky for the Reds' liking. My guess is he's traded to the mets, where as a fourth outfielder he brazenly guarantees a win over theorioles.:)

As for an actual timeline, not sure I'd have time, I already have a couple baseball ideas partly done that haven't been worked on in a while, and our onlien missionary work has expanded to include chat now, which keeps me busy till there are more volunteers.Which doens't pay the bills on earth but it's still loads of fun and I can build treasure elsewhere.

However, anyone esle is welcome to hve a go at the timeline. One f the problems is that it's harder with the draftand all than it is with baseball, much more organization is required. Also, I don't know who would be commissioner instead of Rozelle, and the choice would have an impact on things.

So, go for it.
 
Last edited:
Outfield; he was scouted and almost signed out of high school but Bear Bryant hung around and wouldn't let go of this prize recruit.

I don't know if he could have been a star in the majors; and he might have been a bit cocky for the Reds' liking. My guess is he's traded to the mets, where as a fourth outfielder he brazenly guarantees a win over theorioles.:)

As for an actual timeline, not sure I'd have time, I already have a couple baseball ideas partly done that haven't been worked on in a while, and our onlien missionary work has expanded to include chat now, which keeps me busy till there are more volunteers.Which doens't pay the bills on earth but it's still loads of fun and I can build treasure elsewhere.

However, anyone esle is welcome to hve a go at the timeline. One f the problems is that it's harder with the draftand all than it is with baseball, much more organization is required. Also, I don't know who would be commissioner instead of Rozelle, and the choice would have an impact on things.

So, go for it.

Well, with the Reds' pitching in 70, I don't know how they beat the Pirates. Namath's guarantee would have fallen flat in that case.

As for expansion, I don't think that a new commissioner would have expanded. Now, if Bert Bell's death can somehow be butterflied away, I did read in an old football magazine that he did promise Billy Sullivan a Boston team before he died. If that is granted in 60 or 61, and if they bring another city in with them (like Dallas and Lamar Hunt), then more expansion would be likely by the late-60's if those teams work out.

Maybe Minny and Houston come into the fold, and then more expansion happens by the mid-70's to cities like Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, and another team in New York. We could also see a new league sprout up any time between the mid-60's and the mid-70's. Maybe Gary Davidson starts the WFL earlier.
 
Top