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It's no surprise we are seeing fewer kids playing at the K-12 level as parents just don't want to take the risk. I don't blame them. Wouldn't want my son doing

It's no surprise we are seeing fewer kids playing at the K-12 level as parents just don't want to take the risk. I don't blame them. Wouldn't want my son doing it either. Who wants to push their child on career path where there are good odds you retire in your 30's with brain damage? Increasingly I am thinking that football is one of those things that people a hundred years in the future are going to think we were totally crazy for ever popularizing, sort of like how today we think gladiator fights were horribly barbaric. I don't know that better equipment and rule changes can solve everything.

at-fates-hands 12y ago
>>> I don't know that better equipment and rule changes can solve everything. Doesn't matter how good the equipment is, it's your body which is handicapped from the outset. It's because your brain floats in the cerebrospinal fluid, there's no way to effectively "anchor" your brain from crashing around in your head during concussions and hard hits. Anybody playing contact sports is at risk, and even sports you don't think of as contact sports are at risk as well. Baseball's not considered a contact sport, but you see concussions there all the time. The problem in all of these sports is the players are getting bigger and the sport is moving faster. I still remember Wayne Gretzky talking about how we finally decided to retire. He was talking with his father, who asked him if he was going to play one more year. This was his response: "Dad, I can't compete anymore. The players are getting bigger and faster every year." when Wayne retired, he was 6' and 185lbs. \ The AVERAGE hockey player nowadays is closer to 6'3" and is well over 200lbs. The LA Kings famously had a line where all three of their forwards were 6'3" and weighed 220lbs the year they won the Stanley Cup in 2012. Take a look at their roster - they only had 4 guys under 6': http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAK/2012.html http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAK/2012.html
- cdr 12y ago
  Gretzky retired in 98-99. It did take 15 years, but NHL hockey implemented rules to make the game less brutal and it seems to be working. Players crashing into each other head first is not an inherent part of the game like it is with American football. Sure concussions occur, but it's got to be a fraction of what happens in football. http://www.wsj.com/articles/professional-hockey-has-become-a-gentlemans-game-1425333413 http://www.wsj.com/articles/professional-hockey-has-become-a... "Much of the decline can be attributed to fewer players going to the box for the game’s more violent infractions. Charging, boarding, roughing and cross-checking are being called at the lowest rates since 2001-02, according to Stats. It seems that the NHL’s plan to crack down on violent penalties this season is working."
  - at-fates-hands 12y ago
    I agree and would also add that the increased speed of the game has lessened the amount of bad injuries. Goons have pretty much been eliminated and there' only room for really skilled guys - which means a lot less hard checking and chippie play. Although the occasional rivalry game will produce more hitting and hard checking. You can see the Wild v. Avalanche this past week or the Flyers v. Penguins last month which included a ton of PM's and four fights - a rare occurrence these days.
greedo 12y ago
I expect that at the college and NFL level, we'll see the demographics shift even more to minorities. If your only ticket out of a bad neighborhood is the NBA and NFL, (realistic or not) then you'll take/ignore the risks. The amount of money involved in football from college to NFL is simply astounding, and it's hard to see it being disrupted, especially when it relies upon a labor pool of young men who aren't the best at evaluating risk.
riggins 12y ago
I'm surprised it hasn't dropped more. This article pegged it at a 9.5% drop. http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/popwarner/pop-warner-youth-football-participation-drops-nfl-concussion-crisis-seen-causal-factor http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/popwarner/pop-warne...

at-fates-hands 12y ago

>>> I don't know that better equipment and rule changes can solve everything. Doesn't matter how good the equipment is, it's your body which is handicapped from the outset. It's because your brain floats in the cerebrospinal fluid, there's no way to effectively "anchor" your brain from crashing around in your head during concussions and hard hits. Anybody playing contact sports is at risk, and even sports you don't think of as contact sports are at risk as well. Baseball's not considered a contact sport, but you see concussions there all the time. The problem in all of these sports is the players are getting bigger and the sport is moving faster. I still remember Wayne Gretzky talking about how we finally decided to retire. He was talking with his father, who asked him if he was going to play one more year. This was his response: "Dad, I can't compete anymore. The players are getting bigger and faster every year." when Wayne retired, he was 6' and 185lbs. \ The AVERAGE hockey player nowadays is closer to 6'3" and is well over 200lbs. The LA Kings famously had a line where all three of their forwards were 6'3" and weighed 220lbs the year they won the Stanley Cup in 2012. Take a look at their roster - they only had 4 guys under 6': http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAK/2012.html http://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/LAK/2012.html

cdr 12y ago
Gretzky retired in 98-99. It did take 15 years, but NHL hockey implemented rules to make the game less brutal and it seems to be working. Players crashing into each other head first is not an inherent part of the game like it is with American football. Sure concussions occur, but it's got to be a fraction of what happens in football. http://www.wsj.com/articles/professional-hockey-has-become-a-gentlemans-game-1425333413 http://www.wsj.com/articles/professional-hockey-has-become-a... "Much of the decline can be attributed to fewer players going to the box for the game’s more violent infractions. Charging, boarding, roughing and cross-checking are being called at the lowest rates since 2001-02, according to Stats. It seems that the NHL’s plan to crack down on violent penalties this season is working."
- at-fates-hands 12y ago
  I agree and would also add that the increased speed of the game has lessened the amount of bad injuries. Goons have pretty much been eliminated and there' only room for really skilled guys - which means a lot less hard checking and chippie play. Although the occasional rivalry game will produce more hitting and hard checking. You can see the Wild v. Avalanche this past week or the Flyers v. Penguins last month which included a ton of PM's and four fights - a rare occurrence these days.

greedo 12y ago

I expect that at the college and NFL level, we'll see the demographics shift even more to minorities. If your only ticket out of a bad neighborhood is the NBA and NFL, (realistic or not) then you'll take/ignore the risks. The amount of money involved in football from college to NFL is simply astounding, and it's hard to see it being disrupted, especially when it relies upon a labor pool of young men who aren't the best at evaluating risk.

riggins 12y ago

I'm surprised it hasn't dropped more. This article pegged it at a 9.5% drop. http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/popwarner/pop-warner-youth-football-participation-drops-nfl-concussion-crisis-seen-causal-factor http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/popwarner/pop-warne...