Posted on 08/09/2013 4:55:05 AM PDT by Dysart
Gang-bangers are comprising more and more of college football and NFL rosters....see Aaron Hernandez.
Secondly, the equipment, training, and medical treatments for these players is exponentially better than it was 30 years ago... an accidental coincidence? Or is it more likely that the "marketplace" (or league) sought to improve player conditions and safety. No liberals, no government edict, no liberal pansies were required to make those improvements.
Not everything is a left-wing conspiracy.
We have allowed government (liberals, government edict, and liberal pansies) into every facet of our lives but only when someone dares mess with the most precious of all American institutions do people wake up and realize this? Cry me a river. When people have gone to jail over Fast and Furious, IRS-Gate, Benghazi, and Treason for arming Syrian based Al Qaeda, then we can talk about football.
“I think there are movements within movements”
The left tends to purge their ranks after they have won. Conservatives tend to purge their ranks before they can win.
Excellent analysis.
I nominate this for most insightful post of the thread! This is the big picture. To bring it back to football - whatever problems it may cause, it is a uniquely American sport, and thus a manifestation of traditional American culture which the left seeks to undermine and destroy. Any culture or society has imperfections, injustices and potentially harmful traditions. The genius of the left is to put over the idea that such problems indicate a fundamental defect of the society that can only be resolved by more socialism/communism, increased regulation, and more centralized control.
Indeed, it is. Not very many people outside the US appreciate or even understand the game.
I have read that tag has been banned at some schools for being too violent.
Common Sense, I had to laugh as I saw your screen name. You might consider changing it with the number of ad hominem attacks and leaps of logic you make with Durus’ and my posts.
Also, your point about better equipment, training, and treatment brings in the law of unintended consequences. There is a fundamental flaw in the changes in football that players, organizations and fans need to be aware of. The increased safety equipment makes it more likely there will be some long-term injuries.
I should also say that with high school sports the trend is not toward fewer injuries, but more. Years ago, teenagers worked more dangerous jobs, were less supervised, and had less equipment. Yet today, the number of teens I see with fractures and having joint surgeries is going up.
Now before you make another leap of logic and say I am advocating a nanny state solution, notice I am only describing the reality, not proposing a solution. I believe in informed consent and following through on contracts and insurance commitments. That is a conservative view. I am not advocating anything beyond that.
Football keeps getting bigger and bigger. This is partially because of the amazing growth among female fans. If this is the libs’ goal, they’re doing a terrible job at it.
Me, I seldom watch an NFL game. I prefer baseball and take the other six months off from sports.
I do think this article overstates things, though.
America’s cold civil war has two sides: the city slicker leftists vs. the suburbanite conservatives. Football is a warfare themed suburbanite sport. People that grow up in a city tend to be much shorter and smaller than those that grow up in the suburbs or beyond. The left fears football because it trains their opposition for battle, and not just the soldiers but more importantly the civilian spectators that fund the battle. If the civil war ever goes hot, the leftist city slickers will lose.
Is that because of football, or because more youth are eschewing football in favor of "extreme" sports, like skateboarding?
But that's the most exciting part of a soccer game.
Two reasons:
1) It is unnecessarily complicated to those with no football knowledge. The "tuck" rule, safeties, pass interference penalties when a player is looking back at the ball vs. when he is not, onside kicks, illegal motion penalties, etc, etc, etc.
2) It can be pretty boring to watch for those used to sports like soccer or hockey. Hike the ball, run a 5-8 second play, play stops for 45 seconds-minute, repeat. Add in penalties, time outs, TV time outs & a 3 hour football game only has about 15 minutes of actual action (*yawn!*)
(I say this as someone who has always loved & will continue to watch football).
I find soccer and hockey to be boring. Sure, there's a lot of moving around, but hardly any scoring--zero-zero ties are not uncommon in soccer.
It’s kids that are in the regular sports: baseball, basketball, volleyball, and football. Because of changes in the rules, they are playing non-stop year-round, and it becomes too much for their young bodies. In addition, the intensity of play and weight training has been ramped up significantly. The result is bigger, faster, stronger young athletes with bones and tendons that can’t keep up.
I had an athletic director at a university tell me they are seeing an increasing number of recruits who simply cannot play in college because their bodies are worn out from constant physical stress. In addition, I am seeing an increasing number of talented athletes who are dropping out of sports while in high school because it’s simply too much and not worth doing any more. We are asking kids in music and athletics to sacrifice their bodies and time in ways that most adults would refuse to do.
How many of you would work in jobs that required you to work 24 hour days, never travel except during a set two-week period once a year, demand full physical exertion for extended periods of time, and regularly yell at you and humiliate you in front of thousands of people. This all happens in high school sports.
There are some good coaches out there, but there are also too many bullies that are stroking their own egos rather than trying to help build strong young men and women.
Nailing someone good with a ball -- wasn't that the whole point of dodgeball?? Lol -- it was like a firing squad. BUT, good for growing a set, which was the whole point of the exercise.
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