âÂÂDamnâ was the only word Brooklyn Technical High School junior, Nick Dibari, could think of when asked to explain the latest NFL lockout in one word.
There was a possibility of no refunds for ticket holders and not being able to cheer on Sunday night football. Now that the lockout ended on July 25, 2011, fans have a 2011-2012 NFL season waiting for them.
NFL players had been locked out from the league since March because of a disagreement between the NFL Player Association and the owners. By no NFL season, it could have caused NFL employees; players, fans and future players to find other jobs, protest the lockout or even sit around watching highlights from pervious games.
For Dibari, it still means getting ready for his junior year of football as quarterback at Brooklyn Tech.
Even though the Jets went further than the Patriots in last yearâÂÂs playoffs, Dibari, would pick Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots over Mark Sanchez, the quarterback for the New York Jets because Brady is his favorite quarterback.
During the lockout, Dibari looked up to Tom Brady for one main reason.
âÂÂTom Brady holds no equal,â Dibari said. âÂÂWatching him play gives me the determination to succeed.âÂÂ
When the lockout was in session, it caused Dibari not to have new memorable moments from his role model. But, when the first preseason game starts, Dibari says he will be watching every move Brady makes. After all, since Dibari looks up to Brady, he looks up to the Patriots.
âÂÂThe Patriots offense holds no equal, so it encourages me to practice to achieve what they have achieved,â Dibari said.
Nevertheless, donâÂÂt count on that lockout to discourage Dibari from striving to want to achieve his goals.
Dibari said he wanted to join Brooklyn Tech’s football team because of the tradition it holds and wanted to take part of the American football experience. After he completed his first over regulation pass in a game against James Madison high school, which his team won, he wants to keep bringing wins for Brooklyn Tech Football because the Patriots went 14-2 last season.
DibariâÂÂs teammate, Strong Safety, Suyeta Griffin, a senior, says his worst moment playing was when, âÂÂI finally got to start against Jefferson and I let two touchdowns go!âÂÂ
Griffin made up for it by hitting the âÂÂcrapâ out of the quarterback from the Grand Street high school.
Prior to the lockout, Griffin said he wanted to work harder with his football team after watching NFL games because the players gave it their all. The two football players that stands out to him the most is Strong Safety Troy Polamalu from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Inside Linebacker Patrick Willis from the San Francisco 49ers.
An intern at MaxPreps, which is a website that follows all of high school sports, Kathryn Blitz said her favorite part about watching the NFL is watching âÂÂyour team when they do not have a chance of winning, then they come back and surprise you.âÂÂ
In spite of that lockout, Kathryn Blitz says she is against the lockout because it âÂÂmakes the NFL look bad because the
league looks like they are against the players.âÂÂ
âÂÂPlayers are playing the game because they love it,â said Kathryn Blitz. She believes that is the main reason why football players play the game of football.
When asked whether high school players or NFL players were more affected by the lockout, she said the NFL players are the most affected because many of them did not earn salaries like Peyton Manning.
However, it is success that Kathryn believes motivates the high school football players.
Dibari and Griffin say their football team gets motivation from each other. Dibari could possible see the NFL in his future, but Griffin does not want to go into the NFL when he is older. Not because of that lockout though.
The NFL League Office was not available for comment.
Fans were unsure if there was going to be an NFL this season; people should have listen to Griffin from the beginning,
âÂÂThere will be a season! You donâÂÂt just stop the NFL.âÂÂ