HILE PICKETING the Bengals' training facility with his teammates 20 years ago last week, a delicious thought came to Boomer Esiason. "I'm going to sit down in front of this scab bus and really make my point," one of the highest-paid players in the NFL said to himself. Esiason plopped down on the pavement, preventing the bus from picking up the replacement players the Bengals employed during the NFL strike. It wasn't quite a Tiananmen Square moment, but the message was clear: Players would strike until they got what they wanted.
The most sordid chapter in the 88-year history of the NFL played out for three weeks in 1987. Five years after a 57-day strike shortened the '82 season to nine games, the owners were determined not to be held hostage.
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