Note from Roger Goodell: REDUX

 To NFL Fans:

To meatbags with disposable income:

Now that another remarkable NFL season has concluded, let me express my gratitude on behalf of all 32 NFL teams for your incredible support. Record numbers of you watched at home, made your way to the stadium, and connected with the NFL in numerous other ways during the 2011 season. Your love of football is what makes the NFL special.

Remarkable in the fact that we didn’t think there would be a season last summer, but the crafty NFLPA had more money than we thought they did to survive a lockout. We’re grateful consumers chose to forget about our embarrassing labor incident and came back to us and our advertisers. As they say, love is blind (especially when cities dependent on tax revenue are held hostage by billionaire owners attempting to become trillionaire owners).

We are proud of the quality of the game today. From the individuals and team skills on display in every game to the record-breaking achievements of future Hall of Famers, the 2011 season was extraordinary on many levels.

Most of these records were set by kickers David Akers, Stephen Gostkowski, Sebastian Janikowski and quarterbacks Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Cam Newton and Eli Manning, all of whom will surely will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by the simple fact that none of them are named Cris Carter.

It finished up with some of the most exciting playoff games of recent years leading to a tense, drama-filled Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots that was the most-watched show in the history of television. What a tribute to our players, coaches, and fans!

Reaching from the depths of your plush couch to grab the remote with your doughy hands, pushing down with your never-seen-a-day-of-manual-labor-thumb and turning on your television is the most amazing tribute our highly-conditioned athletes could ever wish for if they could remember what they wished for.

As good as it’s been, I believe the NFL’s best days are ahead.

In London.

Our responsibility in leading the league is to protect and enhance the bond between our game and the passionate fans who sustain it. We know we have to earn your trust every day and prove we are worthy of your amazing support.

Which is why you can only get the NFL SundayTicket on DirecTV, why the NFL Network beefing up its 2012 schedule to include 13 games despite not being carried by some of the largest cable operators in the United States, and why we enforce Draconian blackout rules. We’re protecting the league by not letting you see the league.

Our commitment to improve everything we do is ongoing. We are not done yet. From the game on the field to the fan experience at home — and everything in between — there are ways we can do even better. We owe it to you, the fans, to believe in better and strive for more. Our game has always evolved and that will continue. I encourage you to visit our new web site – NFL.com/evolution – to explore how the game has improved over the past century.

Teddy Roosevelt does not approve of this ad.

There are more good changes to come.

Until there is a provision that calls for full-time professional referees, we’re going to have to disagree on the definition of “more good” change.

Our mission is captured very simply in these four words:
Forever forward. Forever football. Thank you once again for your passion and commitment to the game we all love.

Unless it’s a lateral.

Roger Goodell

“Lord Rog”