Posted on 05/19/2012 7:08:29 AM PDT by Dysart
Should consenting adults be allowed to play football?
Prior to a debate on the subject at New York University earlier this month, 53 percent of the audience opposed a ban on college football (and just 16 percent supported). Following the debate, 53 percent of the audience supported a ban.
That dramatic opinion shift comes in the wake of several decleaters to the game's reputation.
BREAK
One rarely sees neighborhood kids in pickup football games anymore. They're too busy playing video games, text messaging, and friending strangers on Facebook. The unhealthy aversion to football (and other sports not named "soccer") has little to do with head injuries and much to do with an indoor society that's lost its head. Surely strenuous outdoor activity is a fine remedy for what ails climate-controlled, obese, antiseptic adolescence.
Playing football is good for you. Being a wuss isn't.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Author's asertion that we are in the midst of the lastest victimhood meme in the Obamanation, and its apparent war on football, has merit. Hell, I played football for many years and I'm none the worse for where...;0)
>>One rarely sees neighborhood kids in pickup football games anymore.
You rarely see kids playing anything these days. How can they? Helicopter parents, dawn to dusk day care and structured play all keep kids in a cage for their entire childhood and they are only let out for “approved” and “supervised” activities. Obama is not the problem on this one. He is just more than willing to extend their “managed childhood” for them to age 26...and in the case of Julia, far beyond.
They were trained to be happy in their cage by their parents. Their parents (usually their “single” mom) made them good, little socialists for Obama to exploit for life.
This attack on football has nothing to do with “safety” - it has to do with changing American culture from Active to Docile. A docile society is easier to control than an active one.
With the right coach, football is fine. Like any other sport, poor coaches can ruin football.
True enuff. Coaches are leaders out there. But I kept waiting for the punchline...and it never came.
Sorry. My friend’s older brother was killed playing football. Way back in the 60s. They didn’t have good helmets and his helmet came back and broke his neck. Ruined my friend. He idolized his brother. We all did. Took any fun out of football for me.
And as long as there is informed consent regarding the risks of playing the sport let adults make their choice. Further, there may be unexplored means of minimizing associated risks(without altering the game as is the current track), so maybe something good can come of the falderal. We cannot remove all risks in life, nor is it desirable.
I had but one concussion playing football at age 13. As an adult, two more in motorcycle accidents and another after a utility pole jumped out in front of my car two years ago. Stuff happens. And I'm perefgtly nrmel.
I understand your frame of reference then. Protective gear steadily improved form ~70’s to 2000ish. I’m unaware of major upgrades since. It’s hard to imagine these guys playing the game with leather “helmets” and not much else back in the day. Though it was a different game then.
A centenarian was recently asked what the biggest change was that she had seen in her lifetime. She said it was not jet planes, space shuttles, television or the Internet, but the fact that children are no longer seen playing outdoors, which she thought was a very sad development.
Personally I’d settle for consenting adults to play football, as long as there is proof they are informed of all known risks prior to playing on any sort of formal team (whether school, neighborhood league or professional).
If they choose to take those risks, that’s their business, and the benefits may well outweigh the risks, anyway.
As for minors I’d advocate flag or touch football, you can learn all the stuff except the tackling parts.
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