Posted on 01/20/2014 11:16:36 AM PST by deks
I don’t care if it is banned or not. I watch maybe 3 games a year (if you aggregate the time I watch portions here and there). I spend no money on football outside the electricity my wife uses to watch her team the few times we get them on the basic cable package channels.
Years back I watch every weekend, I have better things to do and so do my sons.
I will argue that the last 10-15 years or so it is all about money, period.
...at the high school and college level, it’s ‘all about the money, period’...?
I disagree. I played at the college level and had two diagnosed concussions in my career. One was serious. By today's standards of a concussion, I expect I may have had many many more. Why? You know the term "getting your bell rung"? I know what that is. It's when you take a hit to the head and things get confusing for a few seconds. You actually do see stars of sorts. There is a ringing in your ears and you are disorientated for a few seconds. You do get an instant headache for a few minutes but it goes away after a play or two. There are differing degrees. But from varsity football on, I would guess this happened to me (and likely many others) about once a game (not every game but close)and likely during practice once a week. I never wanted to give an opponent the satisfaction of seeing that a hit hurt.
Maybe I have done some damage to my brain. I certainly don't feel it (my wife may have a different opinion). But what I learned in football and the character I am today, I attribute a good measure to my experience in football. See my previous post about the game in this thread.
It was always 6 seconds of action followed by minutes of spitting, scratching, etc.
...for spitting and scratching between the action, baseball has football beat by a mile...
Maybe 20 years ago, it is all about the Benjamins.
“You learn humility and leadership”. Maybe a handful of players per team, the rest do not.
“The amount of miserable preparation, hard work, dedication and mental toughness that comes with the occasional (by comparison) glory builds the character of a man.” Again not so much. There are some that learn the lesson. Most do not and it in no way it compares to character formed in combat military action, in no way shape or form.
Yes, but not for the players yet. It is all about booster money and recruitment. It is about grooming those players that have the potential to play the big show. Hence it is all about money.
At the professional level and for all but the players, I might agree. But I tell you, FRiend, for most of the players at the pro level, the work and dedication that it takes to stay competitive will weed out those in it for the money after a few short years. Most of those guys HAVE to still have some love for the game to do what they do. Many get out early when that love starts to wain. The Jeff Saturday's and Brett Favres of the world (for instance) loved the game.
That is the minority.
Let me restate that. Football is about as close as you can come to what experience you might get in the military. And actual combat is in a class all it's own. And that was not my original idea. A combat veteran actually told me that.
I suppose I am speaking in generalities based on my own experience. I would argue that "most" due and "some" do not learn the lessons. The % goes up at the higher levels of the game (College and pro for instance). The difference in the game between high school and college is astonishing. I imagine the difference between college and pro is also a huge jump.
Most of the great players when the money discussion comes up will repeat the old line that the money is for Monday through Saturday, Sunday they do for fun and love of the game.
I have a similar background to yours. Many games, our trainer had a bottle of Tylenol in the sidelines so she could give me a half time dose to help relieve the headache that had developed in the first half from “dishing out punishment” to opposing players.
I have no doubt that my short term memory has been negatively impacted. Perhaps we should plan to compare notes about our cognitive condition in twenty years... Assuming we can both remember how to log into our accounts.
For the record, I have four sons. None of them played football. We encourage running, which they are fantastic at.
I loved that Pro’s versus Joe’s for a few episodes when the poser played against the pros. Hilarious.
Hence it is all about money.
...everything on this earth that is more complicated than the actual state of nature revolves around money, and the more of it the better...why is football any more ethically challenged than any other enterprise...
If true you cannot argue, “for the love of the game”.
If true you cannot argue, “for the love of the game”.
...I am making no such argument...I didn’t particularly like playing football...my question to you is why is it pertinent to bring up money, as an element of ethics, when at the seminal point of football development, in high school, 90 per cent of the players are perfectly aware they will never make one dime from playing the sport...
...and today, this is especially true for white scholastic players...
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