The collapse of the 49ers in the second half of the Sunday night game against Chicago, the primetime debut of San Francisco's new home in Santa Clara, presages a long, difficult season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was supposed to be there but he was a no show; he wanted to avoid the fallout from the League's botched handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence imbroglio. Since this past Sunday the situation has grown worse, with new players joining Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson in the lineup for aggravated assault against women and children.
This violence has always been there. What's different? What's different is that the National Football League is the center of a fragmenting national identity. The NFL is a huge business; it is the only reason most people watch broadcast television anymore; it is the only thing we do in common as a nation.
That means the players are on a new level now; they are more akin to prominent politicians and movie superstars. There is an eager market for their dirty laundry.
The San Diego Chargers domination of the vaunted Super Bowl Champion Seahawks defense also points the way to a long, bruising season. There will be no coronations.
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