I’m glad that NFL spokesman Greg Aiello seems to be sensitive to the perception that the NFL and NFLPA* negotiators and lawyers are spending the weekend sipping poolside margaritas. If Aiello is sensitive to that perception, there’s a good chance the folks for whom he works are sensitive to it, too. Which increases the likelihood that both sides will be ready to bust their butts come Tuesday, when negotiations resume.
Until then, I’ll save the oohs and ahhs for the fireworks. So what if the lawyers are drafting documents this weekend? Trading e-mails with attached Word files is an entirely different animal than meeting face-to-face, away from family and friends and home.
Lawyers live for turning the meter on and tinkering with language. They can even do it while sipping poolside margaritas.
So, yes, it would be better if the parties were actually meeting in person. While drafting documents is better than nothing, it’s far closer to nothing on the sliding scale of hard work and personal inconvenience than staying in Minnesota and working directly and in person with the other side to reach an agreement.
Here’s hoping both sides will prove that a deal can still be reached this week even though they opted not to work this weekend.