The beginning of the end of football as our national sport.

[Adios]

People have been dying playing the game since it was created and you expect it to go away. No, the "pansies" will just go play soccer but will still watch football.

A top rugby player just made a switch to the NFL.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

In some towns, (Southington, for example) youth leagues are stronger than ever due to the popularity of the sport at the high school level. As to Co-Op teams, they can also be used as an indication of the growth of the sport. I'll cite 2 examples: St. Paul High in Bristol had a decrease in enrollment in the last decade and numbers were too small to field a team.As luck would have it. Lewis Mills in nearby Burlington, which never fielded a team wanted to start on up. At the same time, the State tech schools wanted to start football teams. Thus for a short period there was the Co-Op team of St. Paul-Lewis Mills-Goodwin Tech (New Britain) until such time as St.Paul's enrollment increased & the other 2 schools could build up numbers to field teams independently.
Example 2: The current Co-Op team of Cromwell-Portland. Portland has never had football until this union. Cromwell, a small school, is currently at a low enrollment. I envision this team as a Co-Op until Portland can stand on its own. First they have to get a feeder system up to the point where the kids have the skillset to contribute in High School lebvel.
I know the concussion issue makes this a two edged sword, but Co-Ops can also be seen as an example of growth of the sport. Twenty years ago, schools in the Farmington River Valley (Avon, Simsbury, etc.) didn't field teams. Now they do. (Simsbury, when they started their youth league, partnered with the Southington Midget Football League for games & practices, until their enrollment numbers merited standing on their own).

I know for a fact that Southington has combined its youth Rec program with 2-3 other towns because of decreasing participation.

 

[coachcap]

I know for a fact that Southington has combined its youth Rec program with 2-3 other towns because of decreasing participation.

Southington has two youth programs. the aforementioned SMFL & the Southington Valley Midget Football League (SVMFL). The two coexisted for years & play a schedule against each other. They are independent of Pop Warner. About a decade ago, one of the two (SMFL) wanted to play against other towns (SMFL). The other wanted no part of travel teams. Parents in town are given the choice of where to send their kids to play flag football (5-9 y.o.). Those that want to feed into travel teams choose one, those that don't choose the other. (It's interesting that kids that play lacrosse, which travels, tend to play in the travel league)

 

[Chuck]

Totally unscientific, but I live in a small NJ town that has a traditionally strong football culture. We are a soccer family. We have a couple kids in the program that would have skipped to football this year, but their parents didn't allow it. We also have a few kids in town that did move to football where the parents are keeping a close eye on them. I'll be curious to see if football starts losing kids as they get older.

I don't think football will go the way of boxing, because the effects are not as obvious, and the object of the game isn't to beat your opponent's brain in. They should be able to continuously improve safety.

I do think soccer has an opportunity to pick up some ground. Kids start competitive soccer earlier than I did. At 7 years old they are playing at a pretty high level compared to the past. Also, while not like the culture of the NFL, they have lots of options for watching world class soccer on tv. By the time it's time to put pads on in football, many are pretty into soccer. Interestingly, a few of the football players are playing because they weren't happy that they got moved down to a lower soccer team.

We also now have a number of kids that choose lacrosse as their primary sport and they're not playing football. Those definitely include a few kids that would've picked football in the past.

 

[uconndogs]

I truly believe US football will look much more like rugby than traditional football within the next 10-20 years. This issue is not going away.

Personally, knowing what I think I know now, I would not have allowed my son to play youth football and would have discouraged him from playing high school football. He got rung up a couple of times in high school and then in college he got his bell rung playing rugby. My wife and I sat him down and suggested he hang up the cleats which he did. Even at the tender age or 20 he understood the risks.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I am wondering if that is just in CT, or is this downturn throughout the country? I really don't know, I'm just asking.

I don't know either.

Football has crossed from being a dangerous sport where there is a high likelihood of injury, to a sport where multi-year participants in it will likely suffer brain damage. That is a major change in perception that has happened in the last few years, and has implications both to participation, and legal implications. I expect that within a few years, school and town insurance carriers will demand that parents sign a release stating that they know their child will likely suffer permanent brain injury as a result of their participation in football. How many parents are going to sign a piece of paper that says that?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Totally unscientific, but I live in a small NJ town that has a traditionally strong football culture. We are a soccer family. We have a couple kids in the program that would have skipped to football this year, but their parents didn't allow it. We also have a few kids in town that did move to football where the parents are keeping a close eye on them. I'll be curious to see if football starts losing kids as they get older.

I don't think football will go the way of boxing, because the effects are not as obvious, and the object of the game isn't to beat your opponent's brain in. They should be able to continuously improve safety.

I do think soccer has an opportunity to pick up some ground. Kids start competitive soccer earlier than I did. At 7 years old they are playing at a pretty high level compared to the past. Also, while not like the culture of the NFL, they have lots of options for watching world class soccer on tv. By the time it's time to put pads on in football, many are pretty into soccer. Interestingly, a few of the football players are playing because they weren't happy that they got moved down to a lower soccer team.

We also now have a number of kids that choose lacrosse as their primary sport and they're not playing football. Those definitely include a few kids that would've picked football in the past.

I am in a North Jersey borough, also. My boys play soccer primarily because I played soccer myself and I admittedly pushed them in that direction. At the same time, my wife is against them playing football. While my boys do play soccer, they also play basketball and baseball and I have thus heard some parents express concern about football. That said, the numbers in the town's football rec program are good; but, not great. Considering that there has been an overall drop in the overall school age population in town, no surprise there. The sport that is hurting is baseball and that is primarily due to lacrosse even with the High School team being pretty good.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

My wife and I sat him down and suggested he hang up the cleats which he did. Even at the tender age or 20 he understood the risks.

My wife keeps tell me the same about soccer; but, while blowing out an ACL (or two in my case) sucks; long-term head injuries are a much bigger concern. I play in an O30 adult soccer league and, unlike competitive levels (high school, college, pro), there are very few contested head balls, which is where a large majority of concussions in soccer come from. Everyone basically knows that we each have families to supports, jobs to do, etc. and it's just not worth it for rec soccer.

 

[pj]

Soccer players get significant head trauma, the brain damage is almost as severe as football players. The one good thing about soccer is they don't make you bulk up.

 

[J187Money]

I don't know either.

Football has crossed from being a dangerous sport where there is a high likelihood of injury, to a sport where multi-year participants in it will likely suffer brain damage. That is a major change in perception that has happened in the last few years, and has implications both to participation, and legal implications. I expect that within a few years, school and town insurance carriers will demand that parents sign a release stating that they know their child will likely suffer permanent brain injury as a result of their participation in football. How many parents are going to sign a piece of paper that says that?

I'd sign it. It isn't like I don't know it anyway. I was happy my son didn't play young. He is playing in HS now. I'm not really that concerned about it.

I'm also not sure I'd go with "likely"...that's a little strong.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Soccer players get significant head trauma, the brain damage is almost as severe as football players. The one good thing about soccer is they don't make you bulk up.

True; but, the big difference between the two sports is that violent collisions in football occur just about every play where as it soccer, it is not a core part of the sport. In soccer, you don't see two players running full speed, lowering their heads, and ramming into each other just about every play because 1) its a foul, and 2) the player with the ball would be dispossessed just about every play. Generally, soccer players try to avoid running into each other.

In soccer, concussions occur from three primary sources.

1) The first and worst impact injury is when two or more players all go up for the same head ball resulting in head to head, head to arm/elbow (sometimes done intentionally), and then the subsequent fall. The rules have cut back on the violence as going over the back, pushing, and flying arms are now called as fouls and sometimes cards. Not sure what else can be done without eliminating that type of play, which would change the sports; but, not kill it like eliminating tackling would do to football.

2) Second is heading in general, which gets a lot of press; but, is, in my opinion over blown, at least for adults. Proper technique in terms of how and where to hit the ball with one's head shoudl not result in a concussion. I have played soccer for 30+ years and have not receive a single concussion from heading a ball. Broken nose, yes; but, that is a result of poor technique. Concussion from an elbow, yes; but, that is a foul. That said, there is some evidence that kids should not be heading the ball until they reached adulthood due to the incomplete physical development. The same could be said of tackling in football in general.

3) Third is accidental or indirect such as hitting one's head on the turf hard after a tackle or taking an unexpected shot to a bad spot in the head (my last two concussions in soccer were from this - taking a hard shot to my temple from a soccer ball that I was not expecting and did not have time to either avoid or turn my head into it to use my forehead). Allowing protective equipment can help (see Petr Cech) reduce potential injury; but, this happens in every sport - baseball, hockey, even tennis.​

 

[CallMeBruce]

People have been dying playing the game since it was created and you expect it to go away. No, the "pansies" will just go play soccer but will still watch football.

A top rugby player just made a switch to the NFL.

Don't you have something to go drool on?

 

[MilliniumPrince]

The rates for concussion in youth soccer are about even with those in youth football and hockey. In girls soccer the rate is higher. No one is paying attention, so it isn't as well known.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Soccer players get significant head trauma, the brain damage is almost as severe as football players. The one good thing about soccer is they don't make you bulk up.

The rates for concussion in youth soccer are about even with those in youth football and hockey. In girls soccer the rate is higher. No one is paying attention, so it isn't as well known.

My neighbor's 12 year old daughter got a concussion playing soccer on Saturday. It is a sport where they encourage you to head the ball after all.

 

[microfich]

The NFL is here to stay.

Athletic players are bigger, stronger and faster while bone and ligament limitations vs. stress remain the same. The number of severe injuries have to increase as the bulk/strength/speed of athletes increases. Amongst the thousands of high schools, with a limited local number of these superior athletes, this is not as apparent. Into college and even more obviously into the pros the instance of major injuries will grow higher and higher over the years. Beyond concussions, which may be able to be reduced somewhat by equipment, other stress/impact injuries will only trend up.

Fans love the violence when it's not them being hit. Why did Mike Tyson bring in viewers? Why did the Raiders of the '70s build a fan base unlike any other? The answer is the strong possibility of eyeballing legal and dominant violence onto another human being. Would you watch these same gargantuan athletic NFL players playing two hand touch? The NFL greed machine generally cares about reducing injuries only as far as the justice system requires compensation and thus far, only concussion cover-up and ignorance makes for headlines.

Injuries will not be the end of the NFL. There will always be enough big, fast, violent and athletic players. Coaches demand the highest combination of speed and precision violence from their players. The NFL will survive long term by continuing to market their physical specimens while simply increasing roster size.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The NFL is here to stay.

Athletic players are bigger, stronger and faster while bone and ligament limitations vs. stress remain the same. The number of severe injuries have to increase as the bulk/strength/speed of athletes increases. Amongst the thousands of high schools, with a limited local number of these superior athletes, this is not as apparent. Into college and even more obviously into the pros the instance of major injuries will grow higher and higher over the years. Beyond concussions, which may be able to be reduced somewhat by equipment, other stress/impact injuries will only trend up.

Fans love the violence when it's not them being hit. Why did Mike Tyson bring in viewers? Why did the Raiders of the '70s build a fan base unlike any other? The answer is the strong possibility of eyeballing legal and dominant violence onto another human being. Would you watch these same gargantuan athletic NFL players playing two hand touch? The NFL greed machine generally cares about reducing injuries only as far as the justice system requires compensation and thus far, only concussion cover-up and ignorance makes for headlines.

Injuries will not be the end of the NFL. There will always be enough big, fast, violent and athletic players. Coaches demand the highest combination of speed and precision violence from their players. The NFL will survive long term by continuing to market their physical specimens while simply increasing roster size.

But, where will the NFL gets its players from and how badly will the quality suffer is the talent pipeline below a handful of elite college football programs dry-up due to lawsuits and fear?

 

[microfich]

Quality will suffer but few will notice. Lawsuits will only occur due to cover-ups. No one is making the players play and risk injury.

 

[tzznandrew]

Quality will suffer but few will notice. Lawsuits will only occur due to cover-ups. No one is making the players play and risk injury.

Right, but it seems like there may have been cover-ups already. League of Denial, all that.

 

[Adios]

Don't you have something to go drool on?

I am not a soccer fan. Boring game. Soccer was intended (and still is) for the "droolers" back in the day. Enjoy. And to assume I am not internationalized is quite, uh, short-sighted.

 

[microfich]

Right, but it seems like there may have been cover-ups already. League of Denial, all that.

You got that right in spades.

 

[Adios]

The NFL has thrived on controversy since the very beginning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_lore

Just like college football.