Football is now the game everybody’s watching and nobody’s playing — Think any-given-Sunday gladiators, or, if you’re a Boomer:\u00c2\u00a0Rollerball\u00c2\u00a0–\u00c2\u00a0 while soccer is the game everybody’s playing and nobody’s watching.<\/p>\n
The son of a highly regarded high school football coach, I played the sport though middle and high school.\u00c2\u00a0 Truth be told, when my high school days were over, I was relieved to let go of the drudgery of that annual football obligation and turn my attention in college to my true love: lacrosse.\u00c2\u00a0 (Full Disclosure: I also presided over the decision to drop football at the private high school where I have worked — and also attended and played football for — for 45+ years.)<\/p>\n
Although I obviously “get” the rationale for footbaIl’s decline, I also truly hope that the obsession, rational though it is, with the concussion issue will leave some room for some discussion about how we can retain the truly valuable lessons that football — as in, football\u00c2\u00a0alone\u00c2\u00a0— teaches. Three examples follow.<\/p>\n
1. Beyond the obvious\u00c2\u00a0mano mano\u00c2\u00a0“I’m-going-to-run-into-you-and-you’re-going-to-run-into-me” primal courage thing — I know, completely out of fashion these days — no other sport demands as much\u00c2\u00a0humility\u00c2\u00a0due to its team-first ethos.\u00c2\u00a0 Second, no other sport demands as much\u00c2\u00a0trust\u00c2\u00a0due to the “do your job” mindset that every serious football player must understand and accept.\u00c2\u00a0 (e.g., Even if you have the best quarterback on the planet, he must sit and watch hopefully and supportively while his teammates defend the goal line.\u00c2\u00a0 No other team sport demands such specific demarcation of shared responsibilities.)\u00c2\u00a0 Third, no other sport taxes the brain to such a high extent. It’s chess with people. (On the one hand, throughout my playing days, I rarely missed a blocking or defensive assignment.\u00c2\u00a0 On the other, I must also confess that I never fully understood the complicated schemes behind our plays or defensive objectives.)\u00c2\u00a0 Suffice it to say that the completely off-the-mark “dumb jock” stereotype had to have been coined by someone who never played the game.<\/p>\n
So, here’s to hoping that before we kick football completely to the curb, we will give at least some thought to ways that we can preserve some of its invaluable lessons.<\/p>\n
Malcolm Gauld<\/p>\n
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My sons will never play football, given the incidents of CTE. We won’t even let them play soccer as they see it there, too (though not to the same extent).<\/p>\n
And, nope, I will not support\u00c2\u00a0Musk. My preferred\u00c2\u00a0electric is a Rivian.<\/p>\n
Travis Wilson<\/p>\n
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100%. I stopped watching a few years ago when I realized I was too wrapped up my fantasy football team and not enough in the game itself. I also find the player\/ownership structure borders on the time of the plantation, at both the college and pro level. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve taken to watching a game or so a week lately on my pvr with the sound off and my finger on the jump ahead 30 seconds button. I can usually get through a game in about 45 minutes and yes, I do feel badly for the players so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure how much I will continue to watch. Thanks for this article, it certainly gives me plenty to consider.<\/p>\n
Best regards,<\/p>\n
Michael\u00c2\u00a0Craig<\/p>\n
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I’m not so sure tackle football is going anywhere anytime soon. Progressive states might ban it for\u00c2\u00a0kids and implement\u00c2\u00a0stricter rules for high school. The NCAA and the NFL will figure out a way to attract young men to play…The same way the military recruits young men to serve by promising a “future”. According to this article, they’re already recruiting the\u00c2\u00a0same demographic.<\/p>\n
There’s just too much money involved. NCAA’s NIL is at its infancy stage. And the NFL will increase rookie contracts and health benefits to do whatever it takes to attract the players. Tackle football’s Talking Heads will point out that\u00c2\u00a0men’s rugby has a higher rate of concussion and women’s hockey is not that far behind men’s tackle football. And then they’ll come up with more PSA’s to show how well they are mitigating CTE. As long as they can keep making progress, people will tune in.<\/p>\n
Duff Rice<\/p>\n
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Football is an American Sport, uniquely able to keep poorer, more desperate people of the world at bay.<\/p>\n
Boxing has few Americans prominent in the sport, foreign desire, desperation and a means to escape something worse than even the poor in the US pushed Americans out.<\/p>\n
Baseball is increasing multiculturalism from some of the poorest parts of the hemisphere.<\/p>\n
Football has no poorer competition than poor Americans in poor states looking for a way out. It will fall, but will take a while.<\/p>\n
Sean Tighe<\/p>\n
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Are you against kids and older playing soccer?\u00c2\u00a0 Lots of concern about that too.<\/p>\n
Good luck on convincing parents from preventing their kids from playing either.<\/p>\n
Richard Rosenberg<\/p>\n
(Note: That was the point of the article, parents who are not letting their kids play tackle football. Also, because of CTE, I’m down with banning heading in soccer.)<\/p>\n
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Soccer, the largest sport on the globe, suffers from the same CTE issues\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6both men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an another unaddressed elephant in the room.<\/p>\n
Appreciate you.<\/p>\n
Tom Gribbin<\/p>\n
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The termination of football, boxing, cage fighting and gas powered cars may have expiration dates, but not in our lifetimes nor our kids.<\/p>\n
And there are opportunities to grow football outside the US.\u00c2\u00a0 Remember when basketball was dominated by US players?\u00c2\u00a0 The last 5 years league’s MVP award went to foreign born players,\u00c2\u00a0as was this year’s number one overall draft pick.\u00c2\u00a0 The best baseball player today, perhaps ever, is from Japan.<\/p>\n
And as for the world’s favorite sport, soccer, it is also prone to CTE.<\/p>\n
And the same parents wanting to protect their kids from participating in contact sports are also likely the most willing to line them up for dangerous medical treatments, so there’s that.<\/p>\n
Ed Kelly<\/p>\n
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I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been worried about the demise of football ever since I read an article predicting the end of the NFL by the year 2000 all the way back in a 1976 Phila Daily News piece.<\/p>\n
So I started reading per your suggestion. But I stopped when an expert suggested who you voted for president could lead to your son getting brain damage.<\/p>\n
The reverse may mean that the other half children may become overweight couch potatoes after their sex change operations.<\/p>\n
Sorry turned me off.<\/p>\n
Keep up the good work.<\/p>\n
Bob Drumm<\/p>\n
(Note: That was the exact point of the article, that conservatives let their kids play tackle football more than liberals.)<\/p>\n
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There is nothing that can be done to a helmet to change the physics of what happens inside the skulls of players in a collision.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0And as they keep getting faster and heavier, there are worse hits coming in the future than we’ve ever seen.\u00c2\u00a0 Tragedy waiting to happen.<\/p>\n
Michael Alex<\/p>\n
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I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just a guy in (football-crazed) Texas. The Almighty Football doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show many signs of slowing down here. That said, the folks in my social circle are by and large relieved when their sons hang up their cleats. Most before HS and after only two seasons of contact (all flag here before 6th\u00c2\u00a0grade). \u00c2\u00a0As a spectator, even eliminating CTE from the equation (which you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t), I am less and less able to watch with all the horrific injuries on a game by game basis. Training, nutrition, and body construction have increased the force (speed x mass) of the hits beyond what the human body can withstand. At this point it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a blood sport. \u00c2\u00a0I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not good with people getting maimed and\/or dying for my entertainment.<\/p>\n
Tim Wood<\/p>\n
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Glad you’re calling attention to this.<\/p>\n
Like yourself, I no longer watch football, and Super Bowl is less “watching” than passively letting the tsunami of content wash over.<\/p>\n
Sean Murphy<\/p>\n
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Re:\u00c2\u00a0 “the changing face of America’s favorite sport”<\/p>\n
There’s a big assumption in your take on the eventual end of tackle football, and it’s that sports fans\u00c2\u00a0won’t\u00c2\u00a0have the stomach to watch people enact sanctioned violence against each other for our entertainment.<\/p>\n
I don’t see any evidence for that position. NFL football is breaking viewership records and is 4-5x more popular than the NBA, the next most popular sport (check out the ratings when they face off head-to-head if you don’t believe me).<\/p>\n
And here’s what a nationally representative survey of American sports fans found (2023 Kantar Sports MONITOR, April, among 5,000 self-identified sports fans ages 12+;):<\/p>\n
Which describes your preference better?<\/p>\n
22% agree:\u00c2\u00a0 I tend to avoid watching sports in which athletes are at risk of injury<\/p>\n
78% agree:\u00c2\u00a0 I do not mind watching sports in which athletes are in risk of injury<\/p>\n
80% of sports fans agree, “Concussions and brain injuries are an inescapable part of playing professional football”<\/p>\n
45% agree, “Rule changes to protect players from head injuries\/concussions make the game less exciting”<\/p>\n
I don’t know why anyone would bet against the American public’s appetite for violence — especially when they can rationalize it away with, “They knew the risks they were getting into — and are paid handsomely for it.”<\/p>\n
Ryan McConnell<\/p>\n
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I’m glad you think tackle football will come to an end.<\/p>\n
I don’t watch football because of the injury risk. But I love the game, and I always say if the NFL (or the NCAA) were a flag football league, I’d be its biggest supporter. The strategy and athleticism involved in football are wonderful, but it’s NOT worth the long-term consequences.<\/p>\n
My primary sport is baseball, mainly because the concussion risk is much lower. Yes, players get hurt all the time, but unless it’s a freak accident, major brain trauma isn’t generally a concern. I also love that sometimes the injury is a hangnail and, to quote George Carlin, when it rains, we don’t go out to play!<\/p>\n
Cheers,<\/p>\n
Amy Mantis<\/p>\n
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Great post. And spot on.<\/p>\n
A few additional points:<\/p>\n
The availability of insurance is a driver of this issue.\u00c2\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2019\/02\/06\/insurance-costs-youth-sports-football-prohibit-playing-coach-poverty-column\/2772939002\/\u00c2\u00a0I wonder how many high school programs can afford the policy premiums to cover the sport. I wonder how many schools are fielding teams without any insurance. The insurance companies know the truth: the game is dangerous. And they won’t insure it without getting big money, if they will insure it at all.<\/p>\n
Do not look to our national media platforms to educate the public on this issue. CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, ESPN and Amazon Prime are all making too much money to bite the hand that feeds them. An occasional story, yes. (Thank you, 60 Minutes.) \u00c2\u00a0A public health campaign warning of the risks of the game, never. The networks will cry dry tears and take the billions in advertising money.<\/p>\n
Paul V. Nunes
\nRochester, NY<\/p>\n
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I’ve been saying it for years: modern helmets and pads ruined the game. Football is all about mass and gravity now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as opposed to speed, strength, and agility.<\/p>\n
Take away the helmets and pads, and the players will be smaller, faster, and more creative \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and players will stop using their heads as a weapon.<\/p>\n
I won’t go back to American football until the helmets and pads are gone. Until then I am very much enjoying MLS as my favorite sports distraction.<\/p>\n
Best regards,<\/p>\n
Michael Hardy<\/p>\n
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Gotta love the WaPo commentator: an associate professor of sociology from Skidmore.<\/p>\n
Sounds more like the Babylon Bee!<\/p>\n
Participation trophies all around here!<\/p>\n
LOL<\/p>\n
jimed<\/p>\n
(Note: And there you have it, if it’s uttered by an elite college professor it must be wrong.)<\/p>\n
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Hey Bob.<\/p>\n
I gave up on NFL ages ago too. Only thing left that pisses me off about football \u00c2\u00a0is that it pushes back the start of CBS\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 60 minutes on Sunday night on the East coast.<\/p>\n
First world problems\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n
Rob Braide<\/p>\n
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I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, never watch violence as entertainment. Violent people start out stupid and get more so.<\/p>\n
But then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a dog person either.<\/p>\n
Lou Judson<\/p>\n
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I’m a liberal – I get it – but I love football.<\/p>\n
Beth Black<\/p>\n
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Ten years ago, a research study of athletes training for the Olympics asked them \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you could use something that would guarantee you a Gold medal in the Olympics but it would kill you in 5 years, would you use it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Almost 50% said yes.<\/p>\n
The combination of glory and money is a powerful seducer.<\/p>\n
John Parikhal<\/p>\n
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I love the NYT but I think they are in the ivory tower on this one. My son attends the priciest private school in our city and football is booming there and the other private schools. Sure some parents hold their kids out but the kids of a whole lot of upper middle class and above families many of whom are democrats or independents are playing. Just the observations of one guy \u00e2\u20ac\u0153on the ground.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
That said we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let our older son play until middle school (a long way from when I started when I was 6) and he lost that 1st year to Covid so he just played his 3rd year and loves it. My younger son is 9 and is playing flag which the local youth tackle league started offering. The flag league fills up with waiting lists every season. They license NFL team names and jerseys.<\/p>\n
Craig Davis<\/p>\n
(Note: Anecdotal evidence, interesting, but irrelevant to the study\/facts in the article.)<\/p>\n
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Unfortunately, the gambling industry and the remnants of network TV have too much invested in pro football.\u00c2\u00a0 Colleges make too much money in it, let alone the NFL owners cabal.<\/p>\n
The working man has too much invested in his Sundays.\u00c2\u00a0 And the poor black kids need a vehicle out of the hood.\u00c2\u00a0 And the QB lottery is worth playing for the select few because the money is blindingly huge.<\/p>\n
My problem is that the athletes today are far less educated than the generation I grew up with – guys that actually were Student\/Athletes – and as a result, with the stakes so high,\u00c2\u00a0 play calling is by committee so the heroics that could truly inspire us are now scripted by the statisticians and the coordinators.\u00c2\u00a0 And stupidity is rampant.\u00c2\u00a0 And there’s a ridiculously high percentage of players with felony problems.\u00c2\u00a0 I remember when Fran Tarkenton was on the Giants and intentionally ran plays into the baseball infield hashmarks in Yankee Stadium so he could scratch out the next play in the dirt.\u00c2\u00a0 He was a role model.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Gross<\/p>\n
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Great piece. Just wanted to note that the C.T.E. issue extends beyond American football, notably with the sport that most of the world classifies as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153football\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/soccer-heading-brain-injuries-db83f3b292ee255326b6efdf01d8f9e8<\/p>\n
And it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end there:<\/p>\n
Young Amateur Athletes at Risk of CTE, BU Study Finds<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n