My chat with Mike Tunison -- Your Questions Answered

[daullaz]

Hey guys,

I've just posted an "Interview with Mike Tunison" on the front page. He's the co-founder of Kissing Suzy Kolber and the author of a just-released book entitled The Football Fan's Manifesto. Please give it a read, and post your questions here.

Thanks,
R.J.

[spodog]

Nice interview. Here are my questions for Mike -

1) Does he anticipate we will see a labor lockout by the owners in 2010?

2) What year does he think we will finally see the NFL with a team in Los Angeles again?

[moochman]

I think MT brushed against the crux of the NFL conversion to the NoFunLeague. "Knowing me, I’d probably sign off on a bunch of stuff that would leave the league liable for a host of lawsuits." The league is strong enough financially that concerns over ligation are being emphasized over fan entertainment value. I could have sworn I saw a celebration penalty for a player jumping into the crowd, ala the Packers. And the whole team celebration penalty I never understood. When a team does something great, I want them to be joyous, to celebrate the moment. Maybe the fans in the seats will do the same, since that is what they go to games for: to cheer. But the league doesn't want celebrations because, I feel, the lawyers that have taken over the multi-billion dollar business is too concerned over players inciting fan violence, and thus possibly ligatious incidents. The lawyers are more concerned with protecting the money than they are at making it.

I would like to ask MT how much longer will it be before we see stands with fans who sit on their hands when the home-town heroes score and blandly hand the ball to the zebra and walk back to a sideline debriefing?

[PuntinFool]

Hmmm ... I can see why he'd like to open up a few elements regarding the NFL, but I'm just not a fan of Twitter and its foreseeable implications. Does Tunison think that it's possible that by letting players 'tweet' during the game it might actually take away from the game itself? I'm there to watch football not read half-baked comments like 'ocho scorez agaaaaaain!!1!!'. Also, the way news travels, coaches and players might have to deal with a mid-game off-the-cuff tweet by a disgruntled player. That's just not what one should be focusing on during a professional ballgame.

Just for fun, we know that the Raiders, Skins, Browns etc have some very colorful fans in terms of costume. If a new team was forming, what would Tunison name the team based on how crazy the fans could look?

[Smipims]

Does he think Michael Vick will be a starter within the next 2 seasons?

How does he feel about rookies getting more guaranteed money then proven veterans?

[chromeX]

My questions are:

1) How do you feel about NFL games being played in other countries?

2) Should all NFL contracts be guaranteed?

3) How would you handle rookie contracts?

[buffalobillsrul2002]

Here's my question: How do you think the UFL is going to affect the NFL? Will they further the product by becoming a "AAA" league for the NFL? Will they simply compete with the NFL and eventually force a merger? Or will they simply co-exist....?

[daullaz]

Keep 'em coming guys. Only a few days left. We'll run a few articles over the weekend, and then we'll have the winners posted soon after.

[aaawall91]

How would he feel about an expanded schedule? (longer season)

[moochman]

How would he feel about an expanded schedule? (longer season)

And/or shorter preseason.