Some Thoughts at the End of the 2011-2012 Football Season

As CNBC's Jim Cramer is well aware, for whatever reason football and economics/finance go together like coffee and cigarettes or like turkey and stuffing. As such, I wanted to offer some thoughts with respect to football, economics, and finance at the end of the 2011-2012 football season.

I.  The Super Bowl

I thought Super Bowl XLVI was a fitting end to an exciting football season. Between Tim Tebow, the Green Bay Packers, and even Michael Vick, I thought it was a great season. It's only been a little over a day since the Super Bowl, and I'm already looking forward to the 2012-2013 season. It's interesting to consider that Madden 12's simulated prediction of Super Bowl XLVI was pretty much right on the mark and came true. From Yahoo! Games: "Madden had predicted the Giants would edge the Patriots, 27-24. In reality, the Giants won by a score of 21-17." Akin to the real match, the Madden simulation came down to a last minute field goal.

I'm happy for the New York Giants and their fans in their exciting win over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. It was a great game, and though I am a Cleveland sports fan, I'm glad that Eli Manning got the opportunity to defeat Bill Belichick and Tom Brady in the Super Bowl again; it was a great game to watch. And in taking into account what Cleveland fans have had to watch all football season, it was quite refreshing to watch two teams on the field that actually know how to play football. As many Browns fans have lamented, in watching the Browns play football it's like the team's playing a different sport in comparison to the rest of the NFL.

Whereas it may have been refreshing for Browns fans to see the former Browns' coach Belichick lose in the Super Bowl, one cannot help but think that it is quite pathetic that some of Cleveland's most memorable sports moments come at the expense of former players and coaches. Being a Cleveland sports fan, I am happy for New York Giants' fans as I have often wondered what it would be like to root for a hometown team that wins the national championship. The only time in my life where my "home" team went on to win the national championship was in the 1996-1997 NFL season with the Green Bay Packers...and that was only because I adopted the Packers as my "home" team when the Browns left for Baltimore. That's another bright side for Cleveland sports fans to this past football season: At least the Ravens didn't make it to the Super Bowl.

II. The Cleveland Boohoo Browns

I do have to discuss for a moment the Cleveland Browns in being a severe sore spot with respect to what was a great 2011-2012 NFL football season. Finishing with a record of 4-12, one has to wonder what the future of the Browns will entail. To say the least, the Browns appear to be a completely backwards football team. As per Cleveland comedian Mike Polk's comments earlier in the season, "Did you happen to see that Packers-Chargers game today? It's like they're playing a different sport than you are!" Polk: "We just want you to look better than a Division III high school team." What is sad is that even Cleveland Browns sponsorship is backwards. In Northeastern Ohio, we will hear how "Heinz HNZ is the official ketchup of the Cleveland Browns." Heinz ketchup? Like the Heinz ketchup of Heinz Field in Pittsburgh?! And so, those of us in Northeastern Ohio may wonder, if you purchase Heinz ketchup, are you supporting the Cleveland Browns or the Pittsburgh Steelers? What's next, renaming Cleveland Browns Stadium "PNC PNC Stadium"? Given the growing number of Steelers fans in Northeastern Ohio, why not just rename the team, the "Cleveland Little Steelers" or the "Cleveland Steelerettes" or the "Cleveland Steelers B" and have the team wear Steelers jerseys & helmets? Heck, many Northeastern Ohioans would already have the fan merchandise for such a change!

As for the future of the Cleveland Browns, I have to be honest: It does not look good. The Cleveland Browns have major problems. As it is, many Cleveland fans are abandoning the team. Here in Northeastern Ohio, you see a lot of Steelers fans or Bengals fans; it's because the Browns have been doing so poorly; it can feel embarrassing at times being a Browns fan. I've spoken to a few individuals in Northeastern Ohio who have seriously suggested backing the Cincinnati Bengals while the Browns figure themselves out -- Browns-boycotting Bengals backers. To put it into perspective, when I go to the mall, I see more Steelers jackets than Browns jackets. Even the sports commentators in Cleveland are getting tired of the Browns' predicament.

Whereas other teams like the Detroit Lions or the Buffalo Bills at least have a respectable past with decent players to look back on like Barry Sanders or Jim Kelly, Browns fans do not have that. Aside from maybe Joshua Cribbs, the Browns have lacked an offensive playmaker for some time. This is a substantial part of the problem with the expansion team Cleveland Browns: There is no sunny past to reminisce, and there is no bright future to look forward to. For many youths currently growing up in Northeastern Ohio, the poor playing of the Browns is all they know.

When I heard recently of the Green Bay Packers' public offering where fans could purchase shares of the team, I thought, "Hey, maybe the Browns should do that." I'm not sure if such an option is practical for Cleveland, but one thing is for sure: Something has to change. If things remain the same in Cleveland for the next four or five seasons, I could see the team eventually moving to perhaps Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, London, Canton, or even Columbus. I don't think that would be the end of the Browns though, because I could see a deal being reached with the NFL where the current Browns would move to another city and then the Canadian Football League (CFL) would establish a franchise in Cleveland called the Cleveland Browns. Or, in the alternative, the current Browns organization would just leave the NFL, move to the CFL owing to a lack of proper coaching, cohesion, and talent, and the NFL would then create an expansion team in one of the abovementioned cities.

If the Browns do not improve within the next four or five seasons and continue to have 4-12 seasons, I think such possibilities may have to be considered whereas the Browns' fan base (though strong overall) is declining owing to the fact that the team is beginning to appear illegitimate in terms of NFL football. Yes, illegitimate. With all due respect, you could almost have a laugh track going on in the background when the Browns play; the Browns are nearly becoming an eyesore for the league. In all seriousness, unless the number of Browns fans significantly declines in the coming years, problems with the Browns may very well become a public health/mental health concern in Northeastern Ohio. In light of the above, maybe the Cleveland Browns might want to think about going public.

If it's any consolation to Cleveland fans, going along with the discussion on Madden simulations, in my own personal Madden franchise, the Cleveland Browns won the 2012-2013 Super Bowl XLVII against the Minnesota Vikings last season thanks to the superb running abilities of starting quarterback Seneca Wallace and a computer-generated rookie-of-the-year running back drafted for the 2012-2013 season named Derek Bennett. However, to be fair, the Browns team I played with had evolved over the course of several seasons owing to a few key trades and acquisitions I had made in previous seasons. Plus, we ran a lightning-quick smashmouth Wildcat offense the entire season. If the video game Madden is that close to the real thing, from my experience, a lot of a team's success goes back to smart draft picks, smart management, and quite a bit of luck. Maybe more in the Browns organization should play a little Madden every once in awhile.

III. Football Safety and the Future of the NFL

Viewers may remember a (very well-done) NFL commercial late in the Super Bowl regarding the evolution of football and player safety. I have to say that that NFL commercial was probably was one of the coolest commercials I have ever seen in my life. The commercial began in Canton, Ohio 1906 and went through the progression of rule, football culture, uniforms, and equipment through football history. The ad touched on safety aspects of the game going forward.

I have discussed this topic previously. I still maintain that for the game of American football to remain viable both from an athletic perspective and a business perspective, the game is going to have to get safer. This could include options such as having rugby-style tackles in place of the current norm or less equipment for players. In any event, I do think that if the game is to survive through the century as a viable sport on professional and amateur levels while appealing to international audiences, American football will most likely evolve in the coming decades to resemble modern-day rugby with less equipment, a bigger ball, more inventive running plays with multiple laterals, and more rugby-style tackling. If you could travel in time to the year 2078, you may see a game of American football that somewhat resembles the sport known as "rugby league". Even looking forward to the year 2078, I have my doubts as to whether the Browns would have even gone to the Super Bowl by that point in time, let alone win one.

IV. Why do football and finance go so well together?

Jim Cramer understands how football and investing go well together, like coffee and cigarettes or like card games and drinks; Cramer will often make references to football during CNBC's Mad Money. Given differences between the realms of football and finance, why would this be? I think a possible reason goes back to the idea that a society's sport reflects the society's economic structure. Whereas peasants in the Middle Ages played some form of soccer and Native Americans played various games ranging from lacrosse in North America to a soccer-like sport in Central America, I think there may be a connection between a society's games and its economic structure. In this light, American football reflects the advanced capitalist superstructure with players assigned various roles, a quarterback to lead the team on the field like a manager, linemen to do the rough work like manual laborers, a number of coaches to act as corporate leaders removed from the day-to-day customer interaction, and even an businessman-owner at the top. Karl Marx seems to have noticed this connection between sports and economics in sociological and economic development.

In this light, the fact that football and finance go together like coffee and cigarettes makes perfect sense. And going along with Marx's insights, on the set of Mad Money with Jim Cramer you can even see portraits of Mao Zedong and Vladimir Lenin. I guess it all comes together in the end. Here's hoping next football season is as great as this past one...