NFL Meetings: Lots of Talk, Little Substance

PALM DESERT —  It costs $18.95, tax and a small gratuity included, for breakfast at this swank hangout for the NFL’s annual meetings, and while the football owners can certainly afford it, they opted instead to swallow NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s feel-good pablum Monday morning.

Although NFL attendance decreased for the first time in eight years this past season, Tagliabue dished the mush with convincing aplomb.

He got so carried away with the happy talk, however, that he said it not once, but twice: “I think there is a strong feeling that officiating is very good in the league.”

What game has this guy been watching?

He told club officials that the key question confronting them at these annual meetings was, “How do we better serve our fans?” which suggests a new wave of personal seat license campaigns are probably being designed.

He went on to say that “progress is what this meeting is all about,” although the Oilers can’t decide if they will play this season in Houston or Memphis, and while they belong to Nashville there will be no progress on that subject at these meetings.

Officiating, meanwhile, is the only subject of consequence being discussed at these meetings primarily because they have to talk about something.

Is this progress? The NFL will vote today to bring back instant replay, a two-challenge system, costing coaches their timeouts if they elect to review a play. But since coaches hold timeouts as dearly--more dearly than their own children--the impact of this instant replay plan will almost be non-existent.

No sir, instead of moving forward as suggested, the NFL is regressing: Dick Vermeil and Mike Ditka will coach, dropouts Bubby Brister and Randall Cunningham have been given tryouts, and The Fridge wants to make a comeback, undoubtedly inspired by Tagliabue’s pronouncement that all is well in the NFL.

Nope, no mention of football returning to Los Angeles, although city officials have this real neat-looking toy model, and colorful drawings all around a hospitality room, which lacked pretzels, chips and soda.

The Coliseum is the only site in Los Angeles presently drawing NFL attention, much to the consternation of Hollywood Park’s R.D. Hubbard, who was in attendance here.

In keeping with the upbeat spirit around here, the Coliseum task force will have a public relations firm release positive survey results today suggesting that most everyone in Los Angeles County is waiting money-in-hand to purchase club seats. Sounds like the handiwork of Tagliabue.

The Coliseum task force, working hard to change deep-rooted perceptions of the Coliseum and its surrounding neighborhood, has assembled a financing plan to account for the $230 million needed to build a new stadium within the walls of the present facility.

Although working with NFL officials to fashion a financial plan, which will include public money, they are not expected to formally pitch such a finance plan until the May owners meetings in San Diego.

Early indications from those who understand what’s involved in the financing plan believe it will be rejected, falling far short of what will be required to win serious NFL attention.

But who knows, Tagliabue thought the officials had a good year.