What the hell has happened to the NFL? Everything is an absurd fine. Right from the get go, I want to be clear that I am not condoning all fine-able actions, but why can\’t the \’no fun league\’ just laugh at itself every once and awhile. Chad Ochocinco, who has given the league more money in fines than an average person will make in their lifetime, likes to have fun and joke around. Last week, he was joking around with an official and tried to \”bribe\” him with a $1 bill. Everyone knew it was a joke, because you need a lot more than $1 to bribe a professional referee. Maybe a dollar would work on a Little League ref, but certainly not the highly trained officials the NFL spends hours training. The league fined him 20K and their reasoning was that he used the word \”bribe\” and they don\’t want people to think it is okay to bribe an official.

The latest installment from the \’we can\’t take a joke department\’ is Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams being fined 250K for flipping the bird while celebrating a win at Buffalo. Bud Adams is 86 years old and the team he owns just dominated the Buffalo Bills. Why can\’t he celebrate by waving obscene gestures? It is a social norm in society to allow older people to say whatever the hell they want simpley because they are old and \”don\’t know any better\”. Why shouldn\’t older NFL owners have that right?

Okay, so maybe flipping the bird multiple times while alternating hands is inappropriate and there should be disciplinary action taken, but when will the league understand that every time someone speaks or shows disgust is not just another opportunity to collect money from rich players. Football is a sport that seeks to entertain it\’s viewers and by fining everyone left and right, games are becoming much less entertaining to watch. Honestly, the only reason anyone still watches the Bengals anymore is to see what antic Ochocinco will pull out of his hat (or sock) each week.
AP Photo/Wade Payne