I have had a theory going for about ten years now:
In high school, lacrosse will replace football as the contact sport of choice for middle and upper clas families.
The reasons are:
1) boys crave contact sports
2) there are comparatively fewer head injuries
3) moms are being brainwashed that every football player will be paralyzed or get a concussion.
It has been playing out before my eyes. It’s happening.
That said, they are pussifying my beloved amateur sport too. If my players from 10-15 years ago played today’s players they would dominate — unless they played by today’s rules.
I played Lacrosse in high school/academy and even got a scholarship for a D2 school. The only reason why i played it was that i had the hots for the coach’s daughter and wanted to impress her.
My son played lacrosse because there wasn’t football. We all fell in love with the sport. In one game, a ref called a foul and announced the player’s number and said “attempted murder.” It was pretty much it, but great, great fun to watch, and a fascinating American history to it.