Football Decline

[bud33345]

Since education is important to you let me drop some knowledge on you right now. NONE and I mean NOT A SINGLE ONE of those other sports even EXIST or ARE EVEN OPTIONS for kids WITHOUT FOOTBALL programs. Without gate money and sponsors that football brings to schools you can forget your precious volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, cross country, cheerleading, marching band, golf, swimming, and track and field programs. Maybe you and people with your thinking that do that 2+2=5 math that they teach these days, dont understand simple economics. I tell you one thing, I much rather see my kids decide to risk getting brain damaged by football than the brain damage I see on a daily basis and the zombie of kids and adults who's minds have become little more than mush with no life or any spirit in their eyes. To me, that's EMBARASSING as a society!

 

[Lawn12Dog]

Since education is important to you let me drop some knowledge on you right now. NONE and I mean NOT A SINGLE ONE of those other sports even EXIST or ARE EVEN OPTIONS for kids WITHOUT FOOTBALL programs. Without gate money and sponsors that football brings to schools you can forget your precious volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, cross country, cheerleading, marching band, golf, swimming, and track and field programs. Maybe you and people with your thinking that do that 2+2=5 math that they teach these days, dont understand simple economics. I tell you one thing, I much rather see my kids get brain damaged by football than the brain damage I see on a daily basis and zombie of kids and adults who's minds have become little more than mush with no life or any spirit in their eyes. To me, that's EMBARASSING as a society!

I agree with you 100 percent. A few years ago my local high school team was in the 3rd round of the baseball players.....maybe 100 people there....tops . If that was football 5 or 6 k easy .

 

[ForsythCo]

Since education is important to you let me drop some knowledge on you right now. NONE and I mean NOT A SINGLE ONE of those other sports even EXIST or ARE EVEN OPTIONS for kids WITHOUT FOOTBALL programs. Without gate money and sponsors that football brings to schools you can forget your precious volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, cross country, cheerleading, marching band, golf, swimming, and track and field programs. Maybe you and people with your thinking that do that 2+2=5 math that they teach these days, dont understand simple economics. I tell you one thing, I much rather see my kids get brain damaged by football than the brain damage I see on a daily basis and zombie of kids and adults who's minds have become little more than mush with no life or any spirit in their eyes. To me, that's EMBARASSING as a society!

Then you've failed your kids. Congratulations.

 

[ForsythCo]

I haven't heard not one educational alternative from you people either. Most of these kids ain't going to the pros or college regarding sports. Get them involved in something that will.

Join the chess club.

 

[patsfball]

You got plenty more men with long term problems due to smoking, vaping, etc. Eyes are being damaged by sitting on the screens of computers and cell phones. These cases are by the thousands. The brain issues are very small in number compared to these.

 

[bud33345]

Then you've failed your kids. Congratulations.

Yeah this is where you lose. My oldest son is 18 years old with a associate's degree and is an executive producer at a sports radio station in Greenville. He has more ambition, spirit, and fire in his eyes than 98% of the kids you see these days. My youngest has played varsity football since he was a freshman, does track and field and volunteers any chance he gets from soup kitchens, wounded warrior projects, or even if it's just spending time at a nursing home . He has a 3.8 GPA and has 2 D2 offers and 1 D1 as a junior. So once again your "education" has failed you.

 

[bud33345]

I haven't heard not one educational alternative from you people either. Most of these kids ain't going to the pros or college regarding sports. Get them involved in something that will.

Join the chess club.

Their is nothing wrong with the system in place we just have to weed out the hair brain professors and social justice weirdos that have infested the university system and has made themselves and everyone around them a victim. These are the same people that have kids believing socialism is a form a social media. They are weak and exemplify zombie behavior. Straight out of the walking dead, they create crisis where non exist.

 

[LetsGetIt7]

I haven't heard not one educational alternative from you people either. Most of these kids ain't going to the pros or college regarding sports. Get them involved in something that will.

Join the chess club.

Your right most of them won’t even play past their senior year, but football teaches way more than the game. It teaches accepting people that are different than you. Working together to achieve a common goal, overcoming adversity, the list will go on and on. Walk into a football locker room and look around at all the different colors, sizes, and shapes, and then come back and say they aren’t involved in something positive. If the world would handle things the way they are in a good locker room it would be a better place.

 

[bud33345]

Your right most of them won’t even play past their senior year, but football teaches way more than the game. It teaches accepting people that are different than you. Working together to achieve a common goal, overcoming adversity, the list will go on and on. Walk into a football locker room and look around at all the different colors, sizes, and shapes, and then come back and say they aren’t involved in something positive. If the world would handle things the way they are in a good locker room it would be a better place.

Not only that, take a minute and talk to any of those kids in a good lockeroom. Most of them talk about anything else but themselves and are engaging with a smile on their face. Far different than the 23 year old with a bachelor's in English trying to sell you a tracphone in a strip mall beside the chunkie cheese's.

 

[Lawn12Dog]

I will always say just at the high school level football has way way more advantages......being part of a team, learning to earn what you get ....pride in your school etc....but with Gronkowski, Favre, aikman and others speaking out on the issues idk what the future holds.

 

[bud33345]

I will always say just at the high school level football has way way more advantages......being part of a team, learning to earn what you get ....pride in your school etc....but with Gronkowski, Favre, aikman and others speaking out on the issues idk what the future holds.

Those guys made business decisions when it comes to pro football. With fame comes scrutiny. With scrutiny comes social pressure. With social pressure comes speaking out about a sport they have loved their whole life to satisfy the ones that sign the checks. They want to keep the fame. They want to keep there social status. They want the scrutiny and pressure to speak out against football to go away. It's a business decision just like when they decided to play pro ball. None of those guys have anything to gain by standing up for football with the way the sport has been targeted by the media and SJWs the last few years. Just more annointment when all they want to do is enjoy the fruits of there hardwork. They can lose endorsement deals and broadcast jobs by not speaking out to the tune of the narrative that has been set. It's about their brand. Not the football brand now that they are on top of the hill.

 

[dogs79]

Yeah this is where you lose. My oldest son is 18 years old with a associate's degree and is an executive producer at a sports radio station in Greenville. He has more ambition, spirit, and fire in his eyes than 98% of the kids you see these days. My youngest has played varsity football since he was a freshman, does track and field and volunteers any chance he gets from soup kitchens, wounded warrior projects, or even if it's just spending time at a nursing home . He has a 3.8 GPA and has 2 D2 offers and 1 D1 as a junior. So once again your "education" has failed you.

Perfect example of how a football community can help these young people is Javonte Williams. Four time state champion. 4.0 GPA as a freshman at Carolina. When asked after South Carolina game did he think he was now the #1 back,he said all three of us are #1. He knows his roots,has great values and works hard at everything he puts his mind to. We are seeing a lot more kids in our football community grow as people than ever before. Our youth are respected in our community and respects us in the community. We love our football community

 

[bud33345]

I love your football community too dogs!! Lol

 

[ocdavis31]

I love high school football. Played it, my son played, and every man in my family did. If I didn’t love the game, I wouldn’t spend time on these forums.

But, having said that, the future of football is not either/or. It’s not about eliminating the game. But it’s also not about refusing to accept that the way I played it fifty years ago isn’t necessarily the best way...and absolutely not the safest. Everybody I played with has physical issues from football not related to CTE or concussions.

So what’s the answer? I believe it’s about better, smarter technique. About better equipment. About coaching more attuned to the fact that the more blows the more risk. So changing practice habits. Minimizing the risk...not eliminating it. Maybe more rule changes. I support the targeting rule for head to head contact. The elimination of chop blocks or horse collar tackling. Perhaps it could even mean changing or eliminating punt and kickoff returns. Maybe it means waiting much later to start kids playing the tackle version of the game. That shouldn’t lessen the enjoyment of the game.

I was a manager for UNC when Bill Arnold died of heat related illness at practice. That tragedy has changed the way coaches, trainers and doctors approached hydration in the sport. But that made it better. It didn’t ruin it. To assign political motives to genuine concern about the way the game is played is naive at best, dishonest at worst.

 

[bud33345]

I love high school football. Played it, my son played, and every man in my family did. If I didn’t love the game, I wouldn’t spend time on these forums.

But, having said that, the future of football is not either/or. It’s not about eliminating the game. But it’s also not about refusing to accept that the way I played it fifty years ago isn’t necessarily the best way...and absolutely not the safest. Everybody I played with has physical issues from football not related to CTE or concussions.

So what’s the answer? I believe it’s about better, smarter technique. About better equipment. About coaching more attuned to the fact that the more blows the more risk. So changing practice habits. Minimizing the risk...not eliminating it. Maybe more rule changes. I support the targeting rule for head to head contact. The elimination of chop blocks or horse collar tackling. Perhaps it could even mean changing or eliminating punt and kickoff returns. Maybe it means waiting much later to start kids playing the tackle version of the game. That shouldn’t lessen the enjoyment of the game.

I was a manager for UNC when Bill Arnold died of heat related illness at practice. That tragedy has changed the way coaches, trainers and doctors approached hydration in the sport. But that made it better. It didn’t ruin it. To assign political motives to genuine concern about the way the game is played is naive at best, dishonest at worst.

There are alot of those measures being taken now. Each team has trainers that limit the amount of time kids stay in pads and the amount of hitting that is done in practice. These trainers tell the coach how far they can go with the kids these days. Fact is, heat related issues in practice are all but eliminated from being a major medical concern in the summer months due to this measure. Its alot different from when I played myself. In those days your equipment barely stayed on you and your helmet was about as efficient as a five gallon bucket on your head. If your got knocked out during a play or in practice you were given a smelling salt and went right back in. That is far from the case in today's game. The game is as safe as it has ever been. The great thing about football is that it brings people together. From teammates to fans and Americans from all walks of life. I am certain their is an agenda to separate us as a society. Football has been one constant that has brought massive amounts of people together for many generations and all of a sudden it's coming under attack. With the low numbers those attacks have been succeeding no matter what argument you want to site for football's decline. To say "it being political is naive" is not comprehensive thinking to the factors and agendas that have been laid out before us over the last few years with regards to football. My son had a topic on his show the other day about how a former NFL player was for NFL being flag football. That sounds like trying to eliminate the game to me.

 

[btango]

I was a manager for UNC when Bill Arnold died of heat related illness at practice.

48 years ago this month.

oc, do many of the players from when you were there have physical issues that probably resulted from the game?

I know a few have surprisingly died of heart attacks before they turned sixty.

 

[ocdavis31]

48 years ago this month.

oc, do many of the players from when you were there have physical issues that probably resulted from the game?

I know a few have surprisingly died of heart attacks before they turned sixty.

Quite a few....probably most. Ankle, knee, neck, shoulder issues mostly. Granted, many of my friends have problems that also likely resulted from pounding on asphalt basketball courts 250 days a year. But we’ve all learned a lot over the years about how to avoid some of that. So, hopefully, we support better measures for our kids and grandkids.

I definitely don’t want football to go away. But I cringe when I see a seven year old with his head down trying to tackle somebody while wearing a helmet that his neck isn’t developed enough to support.
Two of my best friends are pediatricians who spent forty years as team doctors for the Bulldogs. Probably gave more free physicals than the population of our town. Roamed the sidelines for seven state championships. So I listen when they talk about how we start our kids way too early in football. I listen when I watch an interview with Tim Green, former all-pro with the Falcons. Or many other former players who speak out about ways to improve the game they love. And I definitely don’t buy that they are selling out because of some nefarious social agenda. Many of these guys have seen their friends and mentors die or walking around not knowing who their friends and family are. Who better to advocate for change than those guys who have played the game at the highest level?

What bothers me most about our not so civil discourse these days is “what aboutism”. On any topic it’s not about what needs to improve. It’s “well what about soccer?”. Or “what about that politician from the other party?”. Just because there are too many concussions from girls heading a soccer ball doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t look at the game we all love with a critical eye, with the purpose of ensuring that kids will always have a chance to absorb all the positives it has to offer.

I have a son who graduated six years ago. Decent player, all-conference a couple times. He showed no interest in football until the seventh grade. I’m thankful for that. Saved his mom and I from making some tough choices.

 

[Squirrel Gravy]

Football participation, I think, is affected by three major things that has mostly been touched on in this thread.

1. Concern over head injury, which is valid but i believe the improvements being made are necessary and effective. I don't think it alleviates the concern for many parents who are on the fence, however, and I also don't believe that people engage science/research on a deep level when making these kinds of decisions. People react impulsively and many parents err on the side of caution. (I prefer to err on the side of awesome, FWIW).
2. Competition with other activities: Just like how we have a million TV channels, streaming options and other digital media instead of the three big channels, there are so many activities and things going on for kids to get wrapped up in. I want my kids to do all the sports, learn music at a high level, hunt and fish and be involved in all the church and community things, but at some point there is a limit. They won't have a childhood if we do it all and there is so much more available than there used to be. All the sports are year round now if you are willing to pay the money. Football is just going to get cut out of the picture for people who aren't diehards.
3. Consolidation of schools / rise of homeschooling. With bigger schools come the reduced opportunity to compete for each potential student athlete. Why would the average built kid who merely likes football play the sport when they know the talent pool at the school will keep them on the sidelines? I played at a small 3A, now 2A, school with about 1000ish students. I was an undersized lineman who never would have seen the field at a larger school with a bigger talent pool. As school sizes grow, guys like me get cut out of the picture. Also, homeschooling is growing like crazy. Maybe these aren't the people who would be playing football anyways, but they certainly aren't now.

 

[Frank Lost Password]

Parents and kids are lazy these days.

 

[DeBoer31]

Since education is important to you let me drop some knowledge on you right now. NONE and I mean NOT A SINGLE ONE of those other sports even EXIST or ARE EVEN OPTIONS for kids WITHOUT FOOTBALL programs. Without gate money and sponsors that football brings to schools you can forget your precious volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, cross country, cheerleading, marching band, golf, swimming, and track and field programs. Maybe you and people with your thinking that do that 2+2=5 math that they teach these days, dont understand simple economics. I tell you one thing, I much rather see my kids decide to risk getting brain damaged by football than the brain damage I see on a daily basis and the zombie of kids and adults who's minds have become little more than mush with no life or any spirit in their eyes. To me, that's EMBARASSING as a society!

"Did we just become best friends????" said Brennan to Dale

 

[Ooooner]

Then you've failed your kids. Congratulations.

You're a snowflake, aren't you?

 

[ForsythCo]

You're a snowflake, aren't you?

As in unique? I guess.

 

[Lawn12Dog]

Those guys made business decisions when it comes to pro football. With fame comes scrutiny. With scrutiny comes social pressure. With social pressure comes speaking out about a sport they have loved their whole life to satisfy the ones that sign the checks. They want to keep the fame. The want to keep there social status. The want the scrutiny and pressure to speak out against football to go away. It's a business decision just like when they decided to play pro ball. None of those guys have anything to gain by standing up for football with the way the sport has been targeted by the media and SJWs the last few years. Just more annointment when all they want to do is enjoy the fruits of there hardwork. They can lose endorsement deals and broadcast jobs by not speaking out to the tune of the narrative that has been set. It's about their brand. Not the football brand now that they are on top of the hill.

That my friend is a very good point....this game gave them a world 99.9 percent of folks will never know.....I, as most, struggle from paycheck to paycheck to make it ....but these guys mak

Football participation, I think, is affected by three major things that has mostly been touched on in this thread.

1. Concern over head injury, which is valid but i believe the improvements being made are necessary and effective. I don't think it alleviates the concern for many parents who are on the fence, however, and I also don't believe that people engage science/research on a deep level when making these kinds of decisions. People react impulsively and many parents err on the side of caution. (I prefer to err on the side of awesome, FWIW).
2. Competition with other activities: Just like how we have a million TV channels, streaming options and other digital media instead of the three big channels, there are so many activities and things going on for kids to get wrapped up in. I want my kids to do all the sports, learn music at a high level, hunt and fish and be involved in all the church and community things, but at some point there is a limit. They won't have a childhood if we do it all and there is so much more available than there used to be. All the sports are year round now if you are willing to pay the money. Football is just going to get cut out of the picture for people who aren't diehards.
3. Consolidation of schools / rise of homeschooling. With bigger schools come the reduced opportunity to compete for each potential student athlete. Why would the average built kid who merely likes football play the sport when they know the talent pool at the school will keep them on the sidelines? I played at a small 3A, now 2A, school with about 1000ish students. I was an undersized lineman who never would have seen the field at a larger school with a bigger talent pool. As school sizes grow, guys like me get cut out of the picture. Also, homeschooling is growing like crazy. Maybe these aren't the people who would be playing football anyways, but they certainly aren't now.

I agree with you 100!

 

[West17]

Ok so my opinion on this. The decline is due to the medical non sense. I have seen the movie and don't agree completely with the concussion theory. Thats why parents are steering thier kids away. Show me a study of the human brain frome these scenarios
1. A person that died from alcohol and drug abuse
2. A football player that didn't partake in alcohol and drugs (including steroids).
3. A football player that abused drugs alcohol and steroids through his career.

If someone can give me a link to that I may change my mind. All of us that played football in high school alone or went on to play in college 25 - 30 years know we suffered multiple concussions and near deadly blows and are just fine. Do I think its not healthy to your brain? Yes I do but I think there are other underlying issues that contribute to someone taking thier own lives or the lives of someone else. Just leave football along let the kids play. Its safer now than its ever been. Alot of high schools nowadays hardly go full contact in practice anymore. My two cents and some may not agree but I'm entitled to my opinion

 

[PBBear51]

 

[Eastcoastman1957]

Intrest in football is way down. Not coming back. Cell phones big problen. Walking zombie stundents.

I coached football for 9 years in late 90s thru 2007 and I can honestly say,kids and parents have changed so much. You can't even give constructive criticism anymore. Parents have shielded them to the point where any face to face contact with coaches or teachers,are mind boggling to them. They stay on social media all day and night. Most kids don't work at all,have no responsibility anymore. They think the world owes them a living,or grade equal to other students wheather they earned it or not. This PC crap,yes I said it is so bad for people and University systems are teaching our kids this stuff. When kids get out of school they can't adjust to real life problems. Football teaches way more than X and O it taught how to be a man and deal with life's problems,be a leader,help other people that are struggling. But,things have changed now,not for all the kids but most. They don't have responsibility at home,nor do they want any. I bet if your school parking lot is full of new trucks and cars kids drive,that's fine if parents want to but can we teach them some responsibility, and respect for others? I'm not saying parents are wrong,just times have changed. My hats off to each and every coach for doing their best to teach these young men something. And yes L love high school football hope it will grow in numbers instead of declining .