The potential for the NFL labor battle to get ugly always was there.

When you have two groups of people fighting over a huge pile of cash, civility often goes the way of single-wing offenses and leather helmets.

But this squabble is getting downright nasty.

And the fans — you know, we who rejoice when the NFL returns each summer and shed a tear when it is over in February — are the ones who will be damaged the most.

Get used to the idea of the 2011 football season being at the very least shortened and at the very worst shaved like Hines Ward’s scalp.

It’s going to be a sad day in early September when NFL stadiums are empty.

It’s going to be even more depressing when CBS is airing figure skating instead of Steelers games.

Sure, there are other things to do on Sundays in the fall and winter, like mowing the lawn, fixing the house, spending time with the family.

Who wants to do that?

We want to sit down on the coach and watch grown men — very well-paid grown men — crash into each other violently.

We want to yell at calls that go against our favorite team, even if they are good ones.

We want to moan when they lose, cheer when they win.

We want to watch highlight shows at night (on mute, of course, so we don’t have to hear Michael Irvin talk over Rich Eisen and, well, everyone else).

We want our fall and winter routine. We won’t get it.

The offseason is ruined as well.

The NFL has become a yearlong interest for me. In a typical year, I relish watching the NFL Combine in late February.

I have an eye fixed on free agency, wondering who will make the big signings.

As the draft approaches in April, I visit mock draft sites and try to predict who my favorite team will choose, then usually yell in disgust when they pick a complete loser (cough, Aaron Maybin, cough).

During the summer, I wait anxiously for draft picks to sign and for preseason games to begin in August.

This year, I just can’t get into any of it.

There is no free agency, of course. The draft won’t have the same impact because there is no guarantee the players selected will play a down in 2011.

Everything is hollow. Every tidbit of nonlabor NFL news has a huge cloud hanging over it.

The only entertainment that can be gleaned from the NFL these days is all the rhetoric coming from both sides.

The owners blame the players. The players blame the owners. The (former) NFLPA is telling the potential top picks to stay home and not attend the draft.

I guess they forgot what it felt like to be chosen, to walk up to the stage and slip on their team’s hat. They want to deprive draftees of that while at the same time sabotaging their rookie seasons.

Nice. Maybe I won’t miss the NFL as much as I think.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.