The Work is never done… Roger Goodell Commissioner of the NFL

In all sports there are commissioners, but in the US in the four major sports the commissioners are always under a microscope. From drug scandals to off the field issues commissioners have a very difficult job and a tough task to keep their sport up and running. Many times the commissioner gets the tough job of discipline of players and coaches, to keep the peace between unions and to make it all run smoothly without a problem. As we have seen in the past this can be a difficult task and some are just not up to that task. As a fan of the game, I have seen the best of times and the worst of times but there is one man that I am increasingly impressed with as he continues to make decision after decision.

Roger Goodell came in to the NFL, and I didn’t know much about him, but after some time I am learning more and more. In the decisions that he makes, not only does he seem to put in depth thought into them but he also follows his heart. For many the NFL is looked upon as just a business but to Goodell it seems that it is much more. His decisions agree with them or not, are based on what is best for the players, the coaches and the league and he truly cares about the fan. I am impressed with how he carries himself and how he has high expectations for his league and seeks a league that has high standards. The Commissioner has made great strides, almost like a politician, he goes around the nation making his case that the NFL is the best league in sports and how he is looking to redefine what being a commissioner is all about. For the most part it is working and you can see the effect it is having on the league, the players, and the fans.

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There was a specific time that I saw Commissioner Goodell was not like any other commissioner, it was draft day and as we know the commissioner of the league always calls out the names of the draftees for the first round. As Goodell called out the names of these excited college players, I noticed that these guys were coming to the podium some with smiles, some with tears in their eyes realizing their dreams have come true and as they came up they met the same man, Commissioner Goodell and there the commissioner, in all his power and in all his upstanding met these young men and wrapped his arms around them and embraced them, not as players in his league but as young men who now are in his family. That is what Commissioner Goodell is looking to promote in his NFL, a sense of family and a sense of responsibility not only to the players but to us the fans.

By Sam Adams
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer