Big game? Who cares - The NFL, and football in general is worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some valid points hidden in that looney-tune rant,

But people loose all credibility when they say that 'football is dying'

It's not. It's thriving. And post-pandemic, youth football participation is increasing.

the game is changing and its locked in as the nation's top sport

Talk about losing credibility - you claim that youth participation is increasing when it's declining:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns

And it will continue to do so - the talent pipeline is drying up as informed parents who understand the real risks to long term brain health opt for more sensible options for sport.

They(NFL) are making a hard pitch for flag football, which I'm sure is increasing, and they are pitching this to woman, which by any measure is welcomed but at the same time only shows how desperate they are.


They game will still need to substantially and fundamentally change more if it is to remain viable in the long term.

PP was correct --- youth participation is up a lot. That article is not correct. We had more people starting right after the pandemic than we have had in years. And I am in the suburbs.

Also flag football is tearing it up both boys and girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some valid points hidden in that looney-tune rant,

But people loose all credibility when they say that 'football is dying'

It's not. It's thriving. And post-pandemic, youth football participation is increasing.

the game is changing and its locked in as the nation's top sport

Talk about losing credibility - you claim that youth participation is increasing when it's declining:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns

And it will continue to do so - the talent pipeline is drying up as informed parents who understand the real risks to long term brain health opt for more sensible options for sport.

They(NFL) are making a hard pitch for flag football, which I'm sure is increasing, and they are pitching this to woman, which by any measure is welcomed but at the same time only shows how desperate they are.


They game will still need to substantially and fundamentally change more if it is to remain viable in the long term.

The NFL is making a hard pitch at flag football? What in the eff are you talking about? You know nothing about the game, what draws people to it or what the future holds for it. You’re a nut who wants ro regulate fun out of life. Piss off.

And why would the NFL pitch anything to “woman” (sic)? Who gives a flying f$ck what women think about a game that does not involve them beyond the token annoying female sideline reporters we all hate.

Flag football is one of the key future drivers of NFL football. NFL has invested tons of money to create new fans of the sport. Why do they care about women? 51% of the country. Control more than 51% of the spending. NFL knows without female fans -- too many moms keep sons out of football. Flag football is an effort to make both male and female fans --- keep people playing the game themselves. And it is working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some valid points hidden in that looney-tune rant,

But people loose all credibility when they say that 'football is dying'

It's not. It's thriving. And post-pandemic, youth football participation is increasing.

the game is changing and its locked in as the nation's top sport

Talk about losing credibility - you claim that youth participation is increasing when it's declining:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-01-24/youth-football-participation-declining-amid-safety-concerns

And it will continue to do so - the talent pipeline is drying up as informed parents who understand the real risks to long term brain health opt for more sensible options for sport.

They(NFL) are making a hard pitch for flag football, which I'm sure is increasing, and they are pitching this to woman, which by any measure is welcomed but at the same time only shows how desperate they are.


They game will still need to substantially and fundamentally change more if it is to remain viable in the long term.

PP was correct --- youth participation is up a lot. That article is not correct. We had more people starting right after the pandemic than we have had in years. And I am in the suburbs.

Also flag football is tearing it up both boys and girls.

Your single data point anecdote notwithstanding, you are just wrong here in terms of looking at the big picture.

Despite any recent upticks, high school participation in 11 a side takle football is down from its peak from 15 years ago.

Additionally, younger ages have seen an even steeper decline in tackle football participation than at the 11-player high school level. Based on data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the institute’s State of Play report shows that from 2020 to 2021, participation in tackle football for kids ages 6 to 12 declined nearly 18%. Since 2016, the institute says, tackle football participation rates for this age group have decreased 29%

https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022_SoP_National_ParticipationTrends.pdf


Again - informed parents are making the decision that it's just not worth the risk for their younger children to play tackle football.


Your point about flag football is correct, participation in it is up across all ages and for both boys and girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fly Eagles Fly!!!

lol!

[Anonymous]

Yet more data on health disparities along racial lines:

Racial Disparities and Player Health

Health disparities, defined by the Department of Health and Human Services as “differences in health outcomes that are closely linked with social, economic, and environmental disadvantage […] often driven by the social conditions in which individuals live, learn, work, and play,” are a major concern in our country. We examined whether disparities in health (physical and cognitive impairment, pain, depression, and anxiety) affect quality of life for 3,747 former players of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.



https://footballplayershealth.harvard.edu/for-former-players/results/racial-disparities-and-player-health/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The whole enterprise leverages historical racist plantation construct and is, in and of itself, systemically racist, exploitative, and most of all, detrimental to the long term health and brain health to mostly minorities who play.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

Eff the NFL

Whereas blacks comprise roughly 13% of the population in the USA overall, they make up 70% of the NFL.

If we look at the makeup of positions, Center and QB are really the only positions that are more "white" as a percentage.

https://theundefeated.com/features/the-nfls-racial-divide/

There are now about one third of the teams with starting QBs who are black(up from 5 in 2017) but this still then begs the question of the imbalance of ownership, leadership and management vis-a-vis the player makeup.

So, even given the health repercussions of the game, one could possibly make an argument in its favor if the ownership, leadership and management looked even just a hint of what the player makeup looks like, since there is real danger and detriment to long-term health and brain health/function for those who step on the field. But it doesn't . Not even close:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-racial-divide-one-chart-154059660.html

There is another aspect to this that I won't get into in detail but that is Government "promotion" of this morally corrupt enterprise through favorable tax code, tax incentives and other regulation and zoning.

Another related discussion/debate would be the big business of College Football and its exploitation of minorities vs. the risks of health and brain health as discussed above and how they(and indirectly state governments via tax dollars) subsidize the NFL.

I don't have a solution to propose. Personally, I think that the NFL/Football as it currently exists is dying. It's decline or evolution may be decades in the making but it will need to change drastically or become extinct. I think this is something that people should be aware of but I find in discussing it, most people really haven't given this much thought.

What say you, DCUM?




zyxt

So gauche and vulgar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The whole enterprise leverages historical racist plantation construct and is, in and of itself, systemically racist, exploitative, and most of all, detrimental to the long term health and brain health to mostly minorities who play.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

Eff the NFL

Whereas blacks comprise roughly 13% of the population in the USA overall, they make up 70% of the NFL.

If we look at the makeup of positions, Center and QB are really the only positions that are more "white" as a percentage.

https://theundefeated.com/features/the-nfls-racial-divide/

There are now about one third of the teams with starting QBs who are black(up from 5 in 2017) but this still then begs the question of the imbalance of ownership, leadership and management vis-a-vis the player makeup.

So, even given the health repercussions of the game, one could possibly make an argument in its favor if the ownership, leadership and management looked even just a hint of what the player makeup looks like, since there is real danger and detriment to long-term health and brain health/function for those who step on the field. But it doesn't . Not even close:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-racial-divide-one-chart-154059660.html

There is another aspect to this that I won't get into in detail but that is Government "promotion" of this morally corrupt enterprise through favorable tax code, tax incentives and other regulation and zoning.

Another related discussion/debate would be the big business of College Football and its exploitation of minorities vs. the risks of health and brain health as discussed above and how they(and indirectly state governments via tax dollars) subsidize the NFL.

I don't have a solution to propose. Personally, I think that the NFL/Football as it currently exists is dying. It's decline or evolution may be decades in the making but it will need to change drastically or become extinct. I think this is something that people should be aware of but I find in discussing it, most people really haven't given this much thought.

What say you, DCUM?




zyxt

So gauche and vulgar.

Yes, you could say the NFL is gauche and vulgar, among other things.

[Anonymous]

Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The whole enterprise leverages historical racist plantation construct and is, in and of itself, systemically racist, exploitative, and most of all, detrimental to the long term health and brain health to mostly minorities who play.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/league-of-denial/

Eff the NFL

Whereas blacks comprise roughly 13% of the population in the USA overall, they make up 70% of the NFL.

If we look at the makeup of positions, Center and QB are really the only positions that are more "white" as a percentage.

https://theundefeated.com/features/the-nfls-racial-divide/

There are now about one third of the teams with starting QBs who are black(up from 5 in 2017) but this still then begs the question of the imbalance of ownership, leadership and management vis-a-vis the player makeup.

So, even given the health repercussions of the game, one could possibly make an argument in its favor if the ownership, leadership and management looked even just a hint of what the player makeup looks like, since there is real danger and detriment to long-term health and brain health/function for those who step on the field. But it doesn't . Not even close:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-racial-divide-one-chart-154059660.html

There is another aspect to this that I won't get into in detail but that is Government "promotion" of this morally corrupt enterprise through favorable tax code, tax incentives and other regulation and zoning.

Another related discussion/debate would be the big business of College Football and its exploitation of minorities vs. the risks of health and brain health as discussed above and how they(and indirectly state governments via tax dollars) subsidize the NFL.

I don't have a solution to propose. Personally, I think that the NFL/Football as it currently exists is dying. It's decline or evolution may be decades in the making but it will need to change drastically or become extinct. I think this is something that people should be aware of but I find in discussing it, most people really haven't given this much thought.

What say you, DCUM?




zyxt

I say you are a nutcase and this thread doesn't belong in sports. i think jeff should delete

Not op.

What the hell makes you the boss of the world here. What op said is true and we all know it. There is so much resentment too in management whenever anyone pushes making it more representative. F off you fascist.
Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Playing football is voluntary. I’d love to see some non-white old men owners.

This, and at this stage you really can't argue that anyone is being tricked into it or doesn't understand the risks. If you have ever talked to a pro football player, they are all in and have zero interest in people like OP "protecting" them from making money playing a game they love and have chosen to play.

Also, pro football players are adults who belong to a union and get a decent amount of financial education and support (from their union, from college programs, etc. -- there's a big push to make sure pro athletes have the tools they need to manage money and make good choices). Most of the major pro leagues in the US (baseball, NBA, football) have good protections in place to help players plan for their time after playing, get access to quality health care, take care of their families, etc. Are the leagues perfect? No. But they have strong unions that work to protect players, which is more than can be said for 99% of workers in this country.

Compare that to sports where the athletes are often minors, are subject to many of the same physical risks, and there is an actual history of true abuse and exploitation. Women's gymnastics, for instance. The US gymnastics team employed an actual pedophile FOR YEARS who was allowed to treat girls as young as 9 or 10 years old without another adult present, while these girls were staying at training facilities away from their families. You want to compare the NFL to the plantations system? NFL players get paychecks, are adults, and can leave whenever they want.

Anyway, the fact that the owners are mostly rich guys born to rich parents is an indictment of the American class system, not football itself. We could eliminate the NFL tomorrow and those guys would still be rich and still find a way to take advantage of their wealth in order to put other people (especially people from poor backgrounds, especially POC) under their control. That's how our capitalist system works. Again, at least NFL players have unions! And make decent money. How about all the rich white guys who own news outlets and pay journalists, who perform a vital public service, poverty wages and gatekeeper so mostly only other rich white people can enter the industry? What about all the rich white guys who own manufacturing companies that outsource all their factories to countries with minimal labor laws and employ children and people in poverty to crank out consumer goods? What about all the rich white guys who control the American food industry and exploit migrant workers for cheap labor while also railing against immigrants in their politics?

The idea that the NFL is somehow a problem and people should stop playing/watching a game they enjoy because of social justice is laughable. I get it, you don't like football. That's fine, go find something else to do on Sunday and leave us alone.

What about... what about.. what about... What a crap load of avoidance of the issues with football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

Brain damage and an early death in exchange for your loved ones never having to worry about money is a choice that a lot of people will continue to make

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

Brain damage and an early death in exchange for your loved ones never having to worry about money is a choice that a lot of people will continue to make

Except for most of the players it is not true that their families will never have to worry about money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

Brain damage and an early death in exchange for your loved ones never having to worry about money is a choice that a lot of people will continue to make

Except for most of the players it is not true that their families will never have to worry about money.

You have to get the second contract. The NFL is smart and they make sure the average career length is short of most long term benefits kicking in. Any player who makes the NFL is arrogant to think they are the exception because they have been for their entire lives up to that point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recent findings(2/6/2023):

Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied

The Boston University CTE Center announced today that they have now diagnosed 345 former NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) out of 376 former players studied (91.7 percent). Among those diagnosed in the last year are two former players who once represented the teams paired in this Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII matchup – former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Rick Arrington, who played three seasons for the Eagles from 1970-73, and former Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ed Lothamer, who played for the Chiefs in the very first Super Bowl and was a member of their winning team in Super Bowl IV.

For comparison, a 2018 Boston University study of 164 brains of men and women donated to the Framingham Heart Study found that only 1 of 164 (0.6 percent) had CTE. The lone CTE case was a former college football player. The extremely low population rate of CTE is in line with similar studies from brain banks in Austria, Australia and Brazil.

[...]

More:

https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/

Brain damage and an early death in exchange for your loved ones never having to worry about money is a choice that a lot of people will continue to make

I don't think you really understand how much money would be needed to meet this condition vs. how much the vast majority end up accruing in their careers.