Monday, September 8, 2008

Gene Upshaw Patch - Is this the best the NFL can do?

Haven't we seen the "GU63" patch before? Oh yes, the Washington Redskins did basically the same thing last year when Sean Taylor was killed.


I think the NFL is creating a bad pattern here. When a player, former player, or official in the league or NFLPA passes, the NFL reaches for their Krylon Spray Paint and Avery Label Maker. Is this the best the NFL can do?

Thanks to the Real Sports Bloggers for bringing up the subject.

If the NFL wants to do something significant to mark the accomplishments of Gene Upshaw's life, then they should do more than run to Home Depot for spray paint and a stop at a scrap booking store for stickers.

I think it would have been better to set up a Gene Upshaw fund to help the research of pancreatic cancer and set up some kind of "for every TD scored the NFL donates $." Or at least do something with Upshaw's associated charity, Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland. This way, the NFL could use its muscle to actually make a difference, instead of making a new jersey patch.
Maybe they are doing more, but after searching the web, I couldn't find anything.

2 comments:

Gellman said...

First off, I hate adding patches to jerseys universally, especially with all the lame ass stuff already on there with the captains patches. It creates a lot of problems for sure(Jets, Lions, etc).

However, I believe the NFL has done all the things you wanted to do including the ones you didnt. I think they are preparing to make a large donation if not having the type of thing you wanted with the money going for each sack or TD.

We wont hear much about it, but I guarantee it happens.

James said...

Gelman - Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are right and they do something like that.

I don't understand why the NFL wouldn't want us to hear about any contributions they may make. "Awareness" is one of the primary goals of any charity organization. They do such a great job with the United Way and Salvation Army - more should be done for Gene Upshaw.

I'll keep searching for info on what the NFL is doing for Gene - let me know if you find a link out there.

Thanks again.