While college football dominates the attention of Sooner Nation, the professional football season is inching closer as well. With the final stanza of the NFL preseason just days away, talks from within about reducing the length of the four-game gridiron staple are picking steam.

On the whole, a preseason football game serves three purposes: it allows the coaches a chance to whittle down their roster to the league-required 53 players, gives the team’s top units a chance to mesh against a different set of competition and allow fans and coaches alike to cross their fingers in hopes none of their respective team’s starting players get hurt.

As unsettling as it is to think of a star player having his season go up in smoke because of an injury suffered in a game that counts towards nothing in the win-loss columns, the last month of NFL action has claimed several casualties.

Most recently making waves was the season-ending knee injury sustained by New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, largely considered the focal point of the defending Super Bowl Champions’ defense.

Tack on big names like San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman tearing two ligaments in his left knee, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson injuring his left shoulder and Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson suffering a concussion — the effects of the preseason are already setting a bleak, demoralizing tone for several teams.

Other players won’t even run the risk of sustaining an injury or have just grown apathetic to the concept of a preseason.

The 2008 preseason has been void of the NFL’s two marquee players in Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who have opted to rest injuries so they’ll be ready to go for the start of the regular season.

It has become customary for San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson to not take a single carry during the preseason. Entering his eighth season in the league, the 2006 league MVP has only 14 preseason rushes under his belt.

Not to mention it’s unsettling to the face-painted football fan, who has to fork over full price for a preseason ticket, when the team’s first units will likely see less than 10 minutes of playing time.

That’s right: Cowboy fans will pay regular season prices on Thursday to see maybe one quarter of the combo of Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, and three quarters of backup quarterbacks Brad Johnson and Richard Bartel.

It sounds more like a practical joke than anything.

While there’s obviously no way to completely avoid the fateful sports injury, it’s understandable to see why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been so vocal about reducing the length of the preseason to two or three games, while at the same time proposing an additional game or two for the regular season.

It’s not a bad proposition; a three-game preseason and a 17-game regular season would garner more revenue for the league to use towards other internal matters. Fans will still tune in and it keeps the NFL season, excluding the playoffs, to the standard 20 games.

There might be a few coaches who object to the idea of a shorter preseason, but with voluntary offseason workouts beginning as early as March and training camps beginning in mid-July, coaching staffs are still given ample time to narrow down their roster.

Owners around the league have already hinted toward the likelihood of instituting a 17 or 18-game regular season within the next few years.

In the end, if it saves fans and coaches the headache and nervousness of having to worry how their team is going to approach a statistically meaningless preseason, shortening the NFL preseason just might be worth considering.

Matt Welch is a journalism senior.