This is a good human interest story about the players we love to watch.
Hopefully, we science the heck out of this issue and have some solutions for the potential long term damage these players are absorbing on their brains.
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Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away
- Thread starter Double Barrel
- Start date
This is a good human interest story about the players we love to watch.
Hopefully, we science the heck out of this issue and have some solutions for the potential long term damage these players are absorbing on their brains.
chicagotexan2
Easterby = Little Finger/Cal = Fredo Corleone
Football is either going to go away or smart players will give themselves a very finite career like 4-5 years. I pains me to see men that are just wasting away. Tony Dorsett looks like he's 80 and sounds like he's 90. It is sad to see, but what a hypocrite I am that I still love and can't wait to watch this brutal sport.
PapaL
Loose Screw
Damn that was a painful read. I couldn't imagine not remembering all the little details about my son growing up, the little freckle on my wife's face, or the moments that make you who you are. Like @chicagotexan2 said, it also makes me feel like a hypocrite. Sometimes we don't see "our guys" as people. They're numbers on a field and we're rooting for them to smash the opposition. I don't think you can put a price tag of life of memories or a future of pain. Damn...
Thanks for your thoughtful replies. I've thought about the hypocrite angle, and while I understand the sentiment, I think it's a bit harsh on ourselves.
We are not forcing these men to play this sport, and we certainly are not asking them to do something that we won't do or even let our kids do. I played a lot of street football and both my sons have played football. I'm sure that y'all share similar backgrounds.
I think this issue is still in its infancy as far as public perception and acceptance. It was not that long ago that everyone was in denial about it, including the league and players. Now that we are starting to be open about it, I think a number of things will come from it. We will have a lot of research into head trauma, which will help not just football players, but also other sports, military, and civilian injuries. We will see innovations in equipment. We will see an understanding that maybe letting 5 yo kids bang their heads might not be a good thing, so perhaps a better comprehension of waiting to let kids play when they get older. And we will see understanding by players of when to call it quits and organizations that will place limitations on when to allow players to return after head injuries. Rule changes are already being implemented, and I think better tackling techniques will become very routine, something similar to the rugby tackling that the Seahawks teach their players to use.
I think this country loves football too much for it ever to disappear. We will find ways to make it a safer sport without completely changing the fundamental nature of it. Americans do a lot of things that are risky. Football is just another one of them. This country was born of risk and I think it is in our inherent nature. I'm not worried about the future of the game, and like I said, I don't think we are hypocrites for digging it. JMO, of course.
We are not forcing these men to play this sport, and we certainly are not asking them to do something that we won't do or even let our kids do. I played a lot of street football and both my sons have played football. I'm sure that y'all share similar backgrounds.
I think this issue is still in its infancy as far as public perception and acceptance. It was not that long ago that everyone was in denial about it, including the league and players. Now that we are starting to be open about it, I think a number of things will come from it. We will have a lot of research into head trauma, which will help not just football players, but also other sports, military, and civilian injuries. We will see innovations in equipment. We will see an understanding that maybe letting 5 yo kids bang their heads might not be a good thing, so perhaps a better comprehension of waiting to let kids play when they get older. And we will see understanding by players of when to call it quits and organizations that will place limitations on when to allow players to return after head injuries. Rule changes are already being implemented, and I think better tackling techniques will become very routine, something similar to the rugby tackling that the Seahawks teach their players to use.
I think this country loves football too much for it ever to disappear. We will find ways to make it a safer sport without completely changing the fundamental nature of it. Americans do a lot of things that are risky. Football is just another one of them. This country was born of risk and I think it is in our inherent nature. I'm not worried about the future of the game, and like I said, I don't think we are hypocrites for digging it. JMO, of course.
I understand the hypocrisy feeling, but I don't necessarily share it. When I look at situations in the world where people deserve better, be it bonded labor or human trafficking, and others that people generally turn a blind eye to after maybe reading/seeing something and feeling kinda miserable for a moment, or worse, situations like sweat shops and child labor practices that produce products that any one of us benefit from daily ... well damn, it's just hard for me to get too worked up about men making informed decisions nowadays to put themselves in harms way for incredibly substantial financial gain all the while celebrating and glorifying their own involvement.
This shouldn't whatsoever take away from the fact that we should be working continuously to science the sh*t out of ideas for making the game and it's consequences safer/more reasonable. And my heart certainly goes out to a seemingly great guy like Utecht and what he and his family are going through regardless of anything else that might tell me he knew better.
I'm just not going to frown and feel sorrow when my team scores and celebrates success any more than I'm going to begrudge a guy who decides to call it quits before his second contract because he feels the trade off has been enough already. These are simply all fair in the game as we now know it with the information we all share nowadays and will continue to be so moving forward.
This shouldn't whatsoever take away from the fact that we should be working continuously to science the sh*t out of ideas for making the game and it's consequences safer/more reasonable. And my heart certainly goes out to a seemingly great guy like Utecht and what he and his family are going through regardless of anything else that might tell me he knew better.
I'm just not going to frown and feel sorrow when my team scores and celebrates success any more than I'm going to begrudge a guy who decides to call it quits before his second contract because he feels the trade off has been enough already. These are simply all fair in the game as we now know it with the information we all share nowadays and will continue to be so moving forward.
My only problem with this are
1. The NFL withheld concussion info from the players back in the 70's-80's.
2. The NFL has changed the rules to the detriment of the game to accomodate the concussion issue. The unintended results of doing this are that players are much less likely to report concussion issues in today's game.
3. Instead of changing the rules they should just get players to sign a waiver absolving the NFL of all liability regarding the concussion issues and quality of later life.
1. The NFL withheld concussion info from the players back in the 70's-80's.
2. The NFL has changed the rules to the detriment of the game to accomodate the concussion issue. The unintended results of doing this are that players are much less likely to report concussion issues in today's game.
3. Instead of changing the rules they should just get players to sign a waiver absolving the NFL of all liability regarding the concussion issues and quality of later life.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
That's unacceptable to society.
Not discounting the society part, but it's certainly unacceptable to the NFLPA.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Try starting up a gladiatorial league with waivers. Ain't happening.
But hey maybe if you can get chickens to sign waivers you can bring back cock fighting.
On a side note, please stop hitting the post reply button like a gerbil getting a treat. Hit it once and navigate away. It will be there.
I have friends who participate they seem to enjoy it.
On a side note I just hit the reply button like a rooster wearing only one gaffe.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
Maybe so,, because so many people watch the NFL and the media is so highly involved but its kind of silly when you think about it. I've signed a ton of waivers absolving companies of injuries or my death if an accident happens while I'm doing out of town excursions and stuff like that. I'm taking a huge risk that I'm aware of where I could die. I take the risk though. I really don't see professional football as being anything different. No one has to make that their job if they don't want to.
You also have the UFC which is pretty giant sport now, and believe me they aren't doing jack for their athletes after the sport. Hell, they don't even have a union or anything. It wasn't even until like a year ago that they finally got insurance for injuries while training. People have accepted that just fine.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
You aren't taking any huge risk unless you want to specify you're in some high risk employment. One of our MB members is an underwater oil field repair/recovery guy (pardon me if my description is wrong). That's a risky job.
And that goes to the very point. You are waiving a low risk 'whatever.' Steelbtexan is asking them to waive an inherent risk, a given, a not so much risk but when will it happen. And unlike that oil field diver, it's for entertainment.
Y'all don't believe me, fine. Meet you at the coliseum.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
IT is still a choice though Cak. It is their free will to do whatever it is they want to do. Couldn't we say that about cops? Fireman?
I think high versus low risk is also a subjective thing as well. Everyone doesn't have to be involved in entertainment. Stuntman for the movie industry probably have similar risk factors to some degree I'd imagine.
By the way who is the under water diver? Are you allowed to say? I can understand if not. I'd love to hear some of their stories. I love diving.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Get into the real world.
There's a risk when you fly...less than driving.
There's a risk when you step off a curb of herniating a disk.
Waivers are used for freak things not certainties or close by.
Get all purist ideological if you want. Won't ever be the rule.
I honestly cannot remember the diver's screenname. I used to love diving too but now can't - have a condition which makes me susceptible to that flesh eating bacteria. As the Doc listed off the things I needed to avoid, diving was by far the one that hit me worst.
There's a risk when you fly...less than driving.
There's a risk when you step off a curb of herniating a disk.
Waivers are used for freak things not certainties or close by.
Get all purist ideological if you want. Won't ever be the rule.
I honestly cannot remember the diver's screenname. I used to love diving too but now can't - have a condition which makes me susceptible to that flesh eating bacteria. As the Doc listed off the things I needed to avoid, diving was by far the one that hit me worst.
Texecutioner
Hall of Fame
I'm not proposing it, nor do I have a problem with it. I think the NFL is and always has been corrupt as hell. I was just addressing it for conversation sake since Steel made the suggestion.
For the record, there are a lot of folks out there that think that planes are way more dangerous than cars on a freeway. Not sure why, but they won't ever get themselves on a plane.