BOTTOM LINE COMMUNICATIONS
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Kansas City Sports & Fitness (Dec. 2006) "Every time I say it's a game, you say it's a business. Every time I say it's a business, you say it's a game."--- O.W. Shaddock (John Matuszak), “North Dallas Forty” By John Landsberg
You’ll never hear the P.A. announcer
at Arrowhead say, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s introduce the products who will
be representing the Kansas City Chiefs in today’s game.” That would take all
the fun out of it. But, in reality the NFL is a business. And a business is designed to make a profit for its owners. The “product” in reality is its players. And, for the NFL, business is very good and its current batch of products is very popular. However, just like in a normal business, once the product is no longer useful in making a profit there is no need to put money into it. That’s how many of the 7,000 former NFL players feel today. Many feel that since they are no longer useful to the league except to be paraded out for an occasional old-timers halftime show, they are tossed on the scrap heap. That’s pretty much how Conrad Dobler, who once had the reputation as the “dirtiest player in all of football,” feels these days. An offensive lineman, he played 10 years in the NFL, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals and was in three Pro Bowls. It was fun. But today life isn’t so much fun for Dobler. He sounds bitter. And even a bit fatalistic. Forget any hint of political correctness from the 56-year-old. He uses a cane just like his close friend Dan Dierdorf does. During a recent event the league asked Dierdorf and Dobler if they would not use their canes because it might make the league look bad. Both did anyway. Those fun football days in the 70’s and 80’s have resulted in three knee replacements for Dobler, and he is scheduled for a fourth. This year he has spent 90 days in the hospital. He almost died from a pulmonary embolism. He takes narcotics every day. The pain is constant. He can still tell great football stories. As an example, playing against famed 14-time Pro Bowler Merlin Olsen, Dobler dominated Olsen so badly that he boasted, “ If you wanted to see it on instant replay, you had to go to the kitchen because I knocked him so far out of the TV frame.” Olsen went on to do FTD flower commercials and even had a popular TV series “Father Murphy.” In one graveyard scene one of the tombs said, “CONRAD DOBLER. GONE, BUT NOT FORGIVEN.” Funny story. When you talk to Dobler you get mixed messages. He thinks it’s funny that Olsen still resents him. It doesn’t phase him a bit. He still enjoys reminiscing about his playing days. But these days Dobler is resentful the NFL doesn’t really care for its scrap heap of former players like him. “Of about 7,000 former players who played in the NFL, only about 118 are considered eligible for disability,” he says, adding with disdain, ‘They deny everything. Statistically, that makes the NFL the safest profession in the world. It is even safer than being a greeter at Wal-Mart.” His personal medical bills are astronomical. Add to it that his wife, Joy, was paralyzed in a freak accident in 2001 when she fell climbing into a hammock, and things have piled up on him. He is grateful that that golfer Phil Mickelson learned of his situation and is currently paying his daughter’s tuition at Miami University of Ohio. Sometimes folks think these old-timers made millions of dollars like they do today. Dobler's first contract was for $17,000 and his last was about $50,000. He will slip into the conversation if you know any nurses refer them to his small business---Superior Healthcare Staffing---and he can find them positions. Or, if any businesses need group flu shots he can arrange it if they call him at (913) 383-0991. And then he adds that if you know anyone interested in a nice home in Leawood…
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