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Personally, I applaud his candor and backing it up by leaving association with the sport as we know it. I have shared the change of mentality from "Oh wow!" big

Personally, I applaud his candor and backing it up by leaving association with the sport as we know it. I have shared the change of mentality from "Oh wow!" big-hit, Bill Romanowski/Ronnie Lott type viciousness to, well, cringing. Not to shy away from MMA or Boxing or Hockey - trauma is trauma - but the change feels like something I've witnessed in my lifetime. With a personal twist, I've never been able to play due to handicap, and now, decades later, some who did play are suffering effects similar to my injuries. It's uncanny how brutal that sport actually can be to the body - especially young, growing bodies and minds. I don't like watching rock heroes of mine dying, nor sports heroes like Junior Seau - but they can help change culture. When people won't let their kids play a sport, its days are numbered, save for some communities that will probably see it as a ticket out for a long time. Oh, I almost forgot my idea/essay I put forward a while ago about re-engineering the equipment for the modern physics of the athleticism (speed + force): https://thelacesout.com/how-us-football-can-improve-player-safety-entertainment-via-technology-40fb97757e01 https://thelacesout.com/how-us-football-can-improve-player-s...

Jesus_Jones 9y ago
I'm about in the same position. As a middle aged guy, the past 10 years I have watched more and more nfl football, and I'm becoming increasingly leary. I hate seeing a big hit. Take that part out and I can continue to watch. But it's hard to see how they can take the hitting out, it's such a part of the game.
- dpeck 9y ago
  Big hits in general aren't what is causing the long term injury. CTE seems to disproportionately effect linemen that seldom experience a "big hit" but hundreds of small impacts every day during practice and play. The brain injury is most concerning, rules can adjust and technology gets better to mitigate the larger impacts, and outside of outlier catastrophic events I think many who have played will trade worn out joints and broken fingers for the experience of playing the greatest of team sports at the sub division 1* level but the mental harm is something entirely different and seems unlikely to be able to be fixed with it being anything like the gridiron football that's been played to this point. *Caveat on level because D1 and above you're making all sorts of sacrifices and trade offs that aren't something those outside of it can appreciate or even understand.
  - fish_fan 9y ago
    Right, even a ball to the head can cause CTE. It almost seems like playing with heavy padding, helmets, etc has caused more injuries by encouraging players to deal and take this small injuries.

Jesus_Jones 9y ago

I'm about in the same position. As a middle aged guy, the past 10 years I have watched more and more nfl football, and I'm becoming increasingly leary. I hate seeing a big hit. Take that part out and I can continue to watch. But it's hard to see how they can take the hitting out, it's such a part of the game.

dpeck 9y ago
Big hits in general aren't what is causing the long term injury. CTE seems to disproportionately effect linemen that seldom experience a "big hit" but hundreds of small impacts every day during practice and play. The brain injury is most concerning, rules can adjust and technology gets better to mitigate the larger impacts, and outside of outlier catastrophic events I think many who have played will trade worn out joints and broken fingers for the experience of playing the greatest of team sports at the sub division 1* level but the mental harm is something entirely different and seems unlikely to be able to be fixed with it being anything like the gridiron football that's been played to this point. *Caveat on level because D1 and above you're making all sorts of sacrifices and trade offs that aren't something those outside of it can appreciate or even understand.
- fish_fan 9y ago
  Right, even a ball to the head can cause CTE. It almost seems like playing with heavy padding, helmets, etc has caused more injuries by encouraging players to deal and take this small injuries.