I was born and raised to love football (specifically Giants football) and played up until my freshman year of college. Named after the great Lawrence Taylor, I loved the thrill of throwing my body around on defense. I was not a big kid by any means, 5'7" 165 lb. max throughout high school. How did I earn my stripes and get on the field? My ability to tackle, my speed, and having no regard for my own body.
As a junior, I started to get reps on the varsity kick off team as the "wedge buster".
As you can see above, the "wedge" is formed in front of the kick returner. Sometimes the players making up the wedge even linked arms, or held hands on their way up the field. I was that orange arrow. My job was to run full speed, be the first one there, and break up the wedge that was set. How did I take on 5 bigger guys at once? Dive into them, try to twist my body in mid air to take out as many of them as possible. (The wedge on returns has been outlawed since 2010 in all levels I believe)
Safe? Most definitely not. But this is what I signed up for. This was football. Hard hitting, smash mouth, body sacrificing, football.
I cannot remember any time I actually got a concussion busting up wedges. Is it possible? Of course it is. Especially with these new regulations that have come out following the new concussion studies. There is no "getting your bell rung" anymore. There is no "seeing stars". All of that gets you taken out. At one point during a game, I was literally seeing double for two straight plays, I shook it off, and kept going.
This article isn't about me, a fully healthy 26 year old. I just gave my personal experience, incase you have never played the game before.
The article is about my fear that football is slowly dying... An article written on ESPN.com in 2013:
"The nation's largest youth football program, Pop Warner, saw participation drop 9.5 percent between 2010-12, a sign that the concussion crisis that began in the NFL is having a dramatic impact at the lowest rungs of the sport."And it's not only Pop Warner:
"USA Football, a national governing body partially funded by the NFL, said participation among players ages 6 to 14 fell from 3 million to 2.8 million in 2011, a 6.7 percent decline."It is not only youth football. participation at the high school level did not see an increase in numbers for 5 straight years, until 2014.
The number 1 reason behind the decline is because of the media coverage regarding the NFL concussion issue. Unfortunately, it is football that has been getting getting all of the bad press. Suicides by former players that test positive for CTE make national headlines, and this is what the parents see.
I decided to write this article when I saw that 24 year old Chis Borland, a rising star linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, decided to retire. What was his reason? From ESPN Outside the Lines:
"I just honestly want to do what's best for my health... From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk...I just thought to myself, 'What am I doing? Is this how I'm going to live my adult life, banging my head, especially with what I've learned and know about the dangers?'"Type "Chis Borland" into google and take a look at all the news outlets that covered this story. Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, Huffington Post, to name a few. These aren't sports networks, these are national news outlets.
I will bet that parents across the country have seen these types of articles, and make the decision to keep their children out of football; before they even start.
The thing is, football has tweaked the rules considerably in favor of player safety. It has become so ridiculous, that I wouldn't even want to play defense. Take a look at the defenseless player rule. I'll put the most important parts here:
"(1) A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass
(2) A receiver attempting to catch a pass; or who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player
(3) A runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped
(7) A quarterback at any time after a change of possession
(8) A player who receives a "blindside" block when the blocker is moving toward his own endline and approaches the opponent from behind or from the side
1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player's head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him
2) Lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/"hairline" parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player's body."
And it doesn't stop there. I mentioned the wedge rule, you are not allowed to touch the Quarterbacks head. "Illegal use of hands, hands to the face" is something you will hear at least 5 times during a regular NFL game for a penalty on the line of scrimmage.
But parents will say, "Well look at Chris Borland! He retired at 24! He's a football player! It's just not worth it!"
As a parent, do you want your child to be an athlete? Which sport would you like them to play?
Hockey? Full speed collisions on ice, sometimes into boards.
Lacrosse? Even less padding in the helmet than football. Not to mention the titanium pole coming down on you.
Baseball? Ever catch a line drive off the head? How about a fastball from a pitcher?
Soccer? Full speed going up for a ball. Head on head collision, no helmet.
Wrestling? Takedowns, slams, whiplash.
Field Hockey? That ball hitting an unpadded head. Not good.
Cheerleading? Has a girl ever been dropped before?
Track? Seems like your best bet, and I have nothing against track. You can always trip on a hurdle, or not hit the pad on the pole vault, though.
The point is, kids can get concussions playing practically any sport.
Let's say you take your kid out of athletics all together due to these risks. Do you remember how important sports were to you growing up? What they taught you? How they shaped you into the person you are today?
Not an athlete? I'll fill you in.
Athletics as a youngster is a must. It gets the child out of the house and exercising, instead of sitting at home, on the couch. It teaches the child the importance of team work and togetherness. Especially in high school, maybe not all teammates are the closest of friends, but they are brothers (in my school at least). They always have each others back on and off of the field. A great way to get through high school, where a few bad social experiences can break you.
Teamwork and leadership help in numerous ways throughout all walks of life. From school projects, to the work force, the ability to work as a team, or maybe even lead one, is paramount to achieve success.
I realize football is a dangerous sport at all levels, but so is practically every other athletic event. It is when children become adults that the risks become very worrisome. IT IS AT THIS POINT that your child can make his OWN decision with the research available. Even earlier than Mr. Borland did. There is no reason for parents to completely prevent their children from playing a sport that they want to play.
My hometown has slowly went from thousands of fans at football games, to thousands of fans at lacrosse games. Football is not top dog anymore, and I can guarantee that has spread throughout the country. Think of the impact that will have on the NFL, or even NCAA football 10 years down the road? 10 years down the road, the top high school athletes may have never touched a football before. The NFL athlete will not be the freakish athletes we are used to today. Talents will level out. Entertainment value will go down.
I thank you for making it thus far in the article, or as I now see it, a rant. As a diehard football fan, I am just genuinely worried about the future of the sport I love.
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