Football in the Long Term

[birddogger]

Did anyone see the PBS Frontline documentary on football? I only read a synopsis and some commentary, but many folks believe football's future is cloudy because the sport is being revealed (and reviled by some) as truly dangerous.

I have a hard time believing that football will disappear, especially in Texas where it is revered. But high schools and colleges could begin to face social pressure, unacceptably high litigation risks, or cultural change (i.e., mommas don’t want their babies to grow up to be Cowboys).

And--stay with me here for one more thought-–if football becomes the refuge of the desperately poor and undereducated, the way boxing has, would the pool of qualified applicants diminish to the point where there simply aren’t enough players to go around?

If so, should SMU or any other university put so many eggs in the P5 basket? Or should we focus more on basketball and other “non-contact” sports? Take the long-term view of this, not the next 5-10 years.

And no, I'm really not just stirring the pot during a bye week although that is a favorite pastime...

[PK]

Did anyone see the PBS Frontline documentary on football? I only read a synopsis and some commentary, but many folks believe football's future is cloudy because the sport is being revealed (and reviled by some) as truly dangerous.

I have a hard time believing that football will disappear, especially in Texas where it is revered. But high schools and colleges could begin to face social pressure, unacceptably high litigation risks, or cultural change (i.e., mommas don’t want their babies to grow up to be Cowboys).

And--stay with me here for one more thought-–if football becomes the refuge of the desperately poor and undereducated, the way boxing has, would the pool of qualified applicants diminish to the point where there simply aren’t enough players to go around?

If so, should SMU or any other university put so many eggs in the P5 basket? Or should we focus more on basketball and other “non-contact” sports? Take the long-term view of this, not the next 5-10 years.

And no, I'm really not just stirring the pot during a bye week although that is a favorite pastime...

Well, violence sells. Guess we could go back to gladiators, lions and Christians. All good entertainment.

[birddogger]

We have the Christians, presumably...

[PK]

We have the Christians, presumably...

Need some lions.

[Nacho]

hard to say what will happen to football. it may slowly die due to lack of players willing to give their lives for it. some will play regardless of the dangers. anyone who has options should probably do something else.

btw boxing hasn't died. the klitschko brothers from the ukraine (both phds) have dominated the heavyweight division for years and usually fight abroad. as a result everyone thinks boxing is dead. it just moved.

[East Coast Mustang]

Look at how popular football is right now. It's insane...it's never been more popular than this. People (especially in the South, especially in Texas) will continue to play, watch it on TV, etc.

[blackoutpony]

Football isn't going anywhere, not in the next 30 years at the very least anyway.

Even in crazy California that'd be an insane proposition.

[malonish]

Are you not entertained?

[alyssa]

I watched the show. I said something about it in the thread about Piland quiting football.

[Stallion]

Football is not going away but it definitely will continue to change-and those that don't like it and love to complain about the protective rule changes don't get it. Saw a lot of that with the Mike "I Had No-Evidence" Leach situation

[East Coast Mustang]

Football is not going away but it definitely will continue to change-and those that don't like it and love to complain about the protective rule changes don't get it. Saw a lot of that with the Mike "I Had No-Evidence" Leach situation

Agreed. I think kickoffs will eventually be phased out and more stringent penalties levied for blows to the head

[birddogger]

I offered this up because my son played center on his high school football team. I wasn't real excited about it, either. Fortunately, he did not suffer a concussion, but 2 of his buddies on the o-line did.

Right now, football is king. But how many of you who played or know the information, would encourage your sons to play? And would their mother allow it if she knew the risk? Would anyone prohibit it or steer their boys toward a safer sport?

I don't think boxing is instructive. Yes, it's popular, but so is MMA and other full-contact sports. You don't see college boxing or MMA do you?

I'm just throwing out for debate where football will be when the next generation is ready to play. And will the landscape have changed such that only a handful of colleges are able to field a team of college-eligible players?

[malonish]

Off Topic but MMA has less brain trauma due to the stoppage rules than boxing or football.

Boxing you get 8 seconds to kinda get over the first concussion then the second time is post concussive blows that do more damage. Not to mention the hundreds of punches a boxer takes to the head so the sub-concussive blows build up the brain damage.

MMA if you get rocked and can't defend you're done and the athletic commissions make you stop training contact for a while. Same for boxing with post fight contact I assume.

This is not to say that they are 100% safe. I have seen fighters from both sides go mumble-y after years of fighting, just less in MMA retire with mush mouth than boxing. Not to mention the statistics of death in the ring. Boxing was something like 8-10 a year, MMA has 2 in the last 20 years but both stats could be attributed to flukes.

[SMUPhil]

I think I read somewhere that football participation among kids has been in decline for 20-30 years, and over the same timeframe, soccer and lacrosse participation has increased. A lot of this can be attributed to the safety concerns with football compared to other sports.

Also, didn't boxing 'disappear' because it decided to go largely pay-per-view in the 70's? Makes more money than it did before, but isn't accessible to the public like it used to be back in the day.

[SMU2007]

I hear soccer is about to become the next big sport in america.




-says everyone for as long as I can remember.