The NFL opening weekend was, for a whole bunch of teams thought to be Super Bowl contenders, a complete bust.

But the biggest upset of ‘em all occurred on Thursday when the defending Super Bowl Champs New Orleans Saints faced off against the Minnesota Vikings.

Not the game. It ended as expected with the Saints coming out on top. No – this was about all 32 NFL owners who now know they are in for a tough labour fight. They were the ones who were upset.

Right after the national anthem, and before the season’s kick-off players from both teams strolled onto the field as one and then raised their index fingers into the air in a gesture of solidarity. On Sunday afternoon the players, including four-time MVP Peyton Manning, did the same thing.

“After watching the Saints and Vikings do it, it kind of sent chills down my body,” said Bills safety George Wilson.

It was a Norma Ray moment perhaps unlike any other. With ¼ of the nation’s televisions tuned in to Thursday’s broadcast, it’s hard to think of a more public display of support for unionized workers since Moscow in 1918.

You could tell Al Michael’s didn’t like it when he explained what was going on when he dismissed it out of hand saying, “There’s nothing like a labour statement to start the season. Can we get on with some football please?”

With the current Glenn Beck-ian “socialist behind every house plant” frenzy embracing the nation, it’s hard to imagine the public would embrace the player’s demonstration. At least at one game on Sunday, the crowd actually booed the gesture.

Traditionally, regardless of the sport, the folks who sit in the stands have been against the players in every labour squabble. Fans like their football. The players get paid a lot of money to play football. So when the players indicate they are willing to stand together against the owners, that’s seen by many as a move against playing football.

Except for this time, it’s not.

The players aren’t being the aggressive party here; the owners are because earlier this year they threatened to lock them out. The union has come out publically stating that they will not interrupt play during contract negotiations and will operate under the current collective bargaining period until a new deal is reached.

NFLPA union chief DeMaurice Smith made his stance more than clear: “I don’t really look at this as a battle between millionaires and billionaires. I look at this as a battle between 32 people who can unilaterally shut down our game, and America who digs it.”

Shorter: We want to work. The rich guys won’t let us.

Then there’s this – What’s is stake is a little matter of a billion dollars or rather two billion dollars. Under the deal the league opted out of after last season, players received nearly 60 percent of revenue after $1-billion was kept by the owners.

The NFL wants to increase what they keep to $2-billion, claiming they need the extra dollars to help with increasing stadium costs.

That’s a bit of a jump don’t ya think? Asking the players to allow the owners to double the money they keep, therefore lessening the amount the players get?

The current rabid climate also extends to fat cats. After the TARP, the car industry bailouts and the Wall Street bonuses nobody likes rich guys these days. Rich guys trying to double their money based on nothing more than the wholesale price of hotdogs and such seems a bit greedy.

To say nothing of the fact that the fans know these players have a short playing span in the game, averaging just over 4 years for a career.

Nope – things are different this time around. The nation as a whole is unhappy with rich folks and that makes contract negotiations easier this time for the players.

You can mess with a lot of things in this world, but you never mess with football.

If the owners do that, the players won’t be the only ones giving them the finger.

Cheers – Gavin McDougald – AKA Couch