The Unavoidable Message of 1981

The NFL was a different game

People love to talk about how soft the NFL is today. How by scaling back on the brutality, the game has lost some of its once ineffable character. A closer look, through the lens of the Topps 1981 set, reveals something more. Take a glance and tell me if you detect a theme.

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Try as they might, the photographers at Topps could not harness the joy of football in 1981. Perhaps because there was no joy. There was no football. Quite often, stadiums filled with fans, and players ran out of the tunnel and took … benches. As a fan, you went to the game, watched guys sit, and you liked it. There are zero highlights from 1981 on YouTube, because none exist. Who won the Super Bowl back then? None of us.

Sure, a guy like Luther Bradley might occasionally get a cup of water. But men like kicker Bob Thomas of the Chicago Bears needed more.

For years, Squintin’ Bob was never given glasses. Fans would mail them to him, and they would immediately be stomped on by team officials, even though prescription eyeglasses might have helped him make more field goals.

For the most part, the Bears were “lucky” though. Players were depicted in handsome portraits. Witness Gary Fencik as a proto Steve Jobs or youthful Sam Waterston…

Robin Earl was given an inset photo in order to showcase the many different sides of his personality.

But other players were lost. Without any game film, many were forced to watch The Deer Hunter on the sidelines.

The transistor hack did not always work. Though a few times, truckers could pick up pleas for help on their CB radios. To no avail. It was tough to get their 18-wheelers into cramped parking lots. As a result, teammates often turned on each other.

The message was simple. You are a Colt. This is your family. We will sit here for as long as it takes for that to sink in. We might even move to Indianapolis if you keep this shit up.

Dave Jennings, a tenured punter, was allowed to play with himself.

But readers of this column already know that if you kicked a ball for the Giants in any capacity, you had this privilege.

So, as you enjoy today’s games, think about the Doug Marshes

Mel Grays

And even the guys who were up and moving around, trying to regain the skills they’d already lost or forgotten.

The guys who might make the NFL, never play and then have half their fucking face obscured on their only football card ever made.

Or just dreaming of a chance to actually play again. Knowing no matter how many orange parkas you layered on, you would never feel any semblance of warmth again.

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