How long does football have left?

Kyle McMahon

Registered User
May 10, 2006
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People are kidding themselves if they think football is going anywhere, even if the evidence that playing football directly correlates with CTE becomes indisputable. People do stuff far more dangerous than playing football for far less money.

Heck, do a poll of the people in this forum. See what percentage would trade their regular day job for a multi-million dollar NFL contract, even knowing all the health risks associated with football. I suspect the overwhelming majority would. I certainly would.

The only difference I expect to see is that eventually significant numbers of players will come into the league, play the length of one contract to set themselves up for life financially, and retire after three of four seasons.
 

Voight

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Feb 8, 2012
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CTE is a major issue but there will ALWAYS be kids who still want to play football. AT the end of the day even if you fail to make the NFL, you can still get a college degree and not be left with piles of debt.
 

chicagoskycam

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Nov 19, 2009
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I can see all the schools below college at some point getting rid of it due to liability. Kids will have to participate through leagues outside of school.

As far as the NFL you have boxing and MMA that cause similar injuries. The NFL is not going anywhere soon, they just need to be upfront about the injury risks which they have yet to do. Stopping kick offs or punt returns could help but it doesn't matter when 6 to 7 guys on each team run into each other every play. I feel like some people are more susceptible to CTE and once they can identify this it may help.
 

patnyrnyg

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
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I just watched the movie “concussion” and then reading up more about the subject, I read out of 111 players tested for CTE, 110 of them were positive for CTE.

In further research, some high schools used to put out 4 teams are now barely able to fill one squad. Less and less parents are letting their kids play football.

There’s been cases of star wide receivers with interest from NFL clubs switching to soccer .

How close is BU to testing for CTE when the person is alive? 5-10 years ?

Where does football go from here?


Sorry if this has been talked about - I just watched the movie today.
How many people has BU tested that never played pro ball? How many that just played in college? HS? Pee-wee? How many that have never played any contact sports? Strange that those numbers are not advertised.
 

shmglsky

Registered User
Jul 10, 2012
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How many people has BU tested that never played pro ball? How many that just played in college? HS? Pee-wee? How many that have never played any contact sports? Strange that those numbers are not advertised.

BU worked in a morgue. If he had noticed anything strange re: the general population it would have been stated.

If I'm remembering correctly this was sort of a side hobby of his (been awhile since I've read the book).
 

BruinsFan37

Registered User
Jun 26, 2015
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Good chance it goes (mostly) extinct at the pop-warner level in our lifetimes, and many high-schools and colleges drop it, but Div IA (FBS) College Football and the NFL aren't going away -- they make too much money. And as long as a person can make millions playing a game there will be someone willing to do it. All that will happen is that players will sign a waiver/consent form stating that they understand the risks of playing football and the game will continue much as it does now.

Wouldn't entirely be a bad thing if the minimum age was increased to 18 for full-contact football. The brain is still developing at that point (and well beyond it too depending upon which study you look at), and 18 is the legal point where a individual can make choices for themselves as they're (legally -- in the US) not considered a minor for contracts -- and waivers/consent forms.
 

patnyrnyg

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
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BU worked in a morgue. If he had noticed anything strange re: the general population it would have been stated.

If I'm remembering correctly this was sort of a side hobby of his (been awhile since I've read the book).
So, none? Yes, that is a valid scientific study.:eyeroll:
 

DanielPlainview

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Apr 28, 2009
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Was curious and put this together. Thought I'd share.

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Aside from a dip during the recession, the league has held pretty steady at about 17m butts in the seats and 96-98% capacity since 2004. I think it's doing fine, though I think the Chargers are going to drag things down a bit until they get out of LA.
 

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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The NFL is not going anywhere. Colin Kaepernick helped the dip we saw in the ratings but that was for a very short time. So if it can survive that then it will survive injuries.

Look, it doesn't matter the era, football is always rough. People get this feeling that football ought to be more for the faint of heart. It isn't. Ask Alex Smith. Freak injuries will happen. The players know this and all of us would play a season in the NFL even if it meant getting drilled by a 300 pound guy that can run fast. The money is too enticing.

The truth is you can't make the game safe. You just can't. Perhaps it was rougher in the 1970s and 1980s and cheap shots were more prevalent but try watching the modern game from the ground level and see the speed out there. It is amazing more guys don't get hurt. But you can't prevent it.
 

Rhodes 81

grit those teeth
Nov 22, 2008
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The hurdle football will have to overcome is how to legislate hits to the head out of the game. We've already seen it in hockey with an increased focus on penalizing hits to the upper body (and everyone realizing that hitting is a piss poor way to play defense). But in football, there's not much you can do to stop the repeated hits linemen take on every play. You could do no pad flag football, but that isn't really something anyone wants to see.

However there will always be enough people willing to go through it as long as there are $50 million contracts on the line.
 

SouthGeorge

Registered User
May 2, 2018
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NFL is dying and they know it. That's why they were rushing to get Brady to tie Jordan in Championships.
 

Newsworthy

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Jan 28, 2018
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CTE is not going away. NFL has had an adverse effect on the NHL as well.
That is a big reason why we see fighting and certain types of hits pretty much banned. Some may miss the sideshow where enforcers had a role that most teams employed. The instigator penalty is something that has been instituted to discourage fighting and concussions and lawsuits are major factors.
 

DanielPlainview

Registered User
Apr 28, 2009
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I don't think CTE mainly comes from the big concussions as much as the accumulation of small hits. A better helmet can make a huge difference there, especially if it's used from HS up
 
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SlickShot

Registered User
Feb 8, 2019
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Football will always be here. This situation won't hurt football. It's been going on like this for years but there will always be people who choose to play football and improve their game.
 

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