Opening Drive 2019: Introduction to NFL Season Preview
Here we are, ready to make our autumnal sojourn though the NFL season. There seems to be a little more buzz entering 2019, as many fan bases are excited to watch their teams take the field. The Cleveland Browns enjoyed a turnaround campaign last year, and the offseason acquisitions made waves, as this moribund franchise seeks to build upon their 7 1/2 game improvement from a winless 2017. The Chicago Bears, invigorated by new head coach Matt Nagy but heartbroken by an improbable missed field goal in the playoffs, are eager to make 2019 far more memorable for the right reasons. The Green Bay Packers are in the midst of change, with a new head coach and an impressive free agency haul, as Titletown looks to break a two year postseason drought. The Kansas City Chiefs, a game away from the Super Bowl, rebuilt their defense to better complement league MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes as they look to push one game further than last year. And the New England Patriots, the team of the Millennium Generation, are the team to beat as they look to add yet another Lombardi Trophy to their already overloaded trophy case, which could be the final one before Tom Brady rides off into the sunset. The season looks to be intriguing, and that is what we will examine in the Opening Drive 2019 series. But before we delve into that, this is a very special occasion for the National Football League.
The NFL celebrates its 100th season
The National Football League will be celebrating its centennial season in 2019, with the Green Bay Packers playing the Chicago Bears on the premiere game on Thursday Night Football. This game is traditionally reserved for the Super Bowl champions to raise their banner in front of their home fans, but the league's oldest rivalry will take center stage on this occasion. While today's fans only view the NFL as a billion dollar entertainment industry juggernaut and ubiquitous in popular American culture, that was the furthest from anyone's mind when the NFL was founded.
Created as an organizing body for professional football, the American Professional Football Association began in a Hupmobile showroom in Canton, Ohio among a number of team owners, who also played in the games as well. Scores of teams were founded, ran for a short time, then folded due to incurring insurmountable financial losses. Every team fought to keep their heads above fiscal water, as pro football's popularity did not make significant progress until the end of World War II. In fact, the last NFL franchise to fold happened in 1957, a scant three years until a television rights contract with CBS would change the fortunes of both entities. Network television found a new ratings gold mine and the NFL received a reliable, lucrative revenue stream that would ensure not only its survival, but give the game a place to thrive. From there, the popularity of the NFL grew to become America's predominant spectator sport. Over the years, competing leagues have come and gone, unable to replicate the NFL's consistency in revenues, television ratings, and live attendance.
Now, here we are, commemorating this milestone that even the most optimistic of the league's founding fathers could not have envisioned. Every team will celebrate their history, from the league's oldest team in the Arizona Cardinals (founded in 1899) to its newest in the Houston Texans (founded in 2002). This is a special time, even if many may take it for granted.
