The Impending Dismantling of the Superbowl Saints

I guess it's inevitable that the players who constituted a world champion team would be hot commodities in the open market.

But I have to say that I find the casual lack of loyalty to be a bit unseemly. It rubs me the wrong way. What happened to the days when teammates who gelled so well together such as to win a championship would be loathe to leave such a good thing. Really, if I were part of a championship team, I'd want nothing more than to keep that team together so as to continue winning championships.

But today's NFL players just don't seem to have that mindset. It's the green that speaks to them, not the drive to be champions. Seriously, why would Hargrove even ponder going to such a perennial loser as the Detroit Lions? And why would Bell hitch his future to an aging and declining Eagles franchise? For that matter, why would Fujita head for the Browns? Why would these folks want to leave a team like the Saints that is at the top of the NFL and just starting to crest for teams that wallow in the dregs? Only one reason I can see: the green.

That's what speaks to players these days. Call me cynical, but I don't buy any NFL player's pretensions to be moved by value of championships as a good in itself beyond how such championships can boost their personal bank accounts.

I guess it's true when they say it's a business, not a sport. And I find that depressing. Give me the Friday Night Lights of High School football over the "business" of the NFL any day.