Bob Costas predicts a dire future for football

[CaptainCrunch]

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2017/1...es-brains.html

talks about the possible end of Pro-football as more stories of CTE come out. But this story also speaks to the CFL, the the NHL and most sports that are considered high speed collision sports.

I've said it a lot and this article goes to that truth. Football whether its pro, college, youth, American and Canadian lost the public relations battle. The sport doesn't help itself when parents are watching the Pro's taking tourist hits and using head first techniques, of course they're not going to let their kids play.

I know that at a youth level that football is taking a hit in the battle for youth players and leagues and coaches need to do a better job of promoting safe play.

It'd be a shame if one of my favorite sports goes the way of boxing.

but the next generation might see the end of most sports.

Soccer has concussion issues as does hockey, football, rugby, MMA, Boxing and most other sports.

[troutman]

Which Is More Dangerous, Rugby or Football?

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/10/rugby/504143/

So which sport is more dangerous? Rugby players wear far fewer pads, but it’s those pads that enable and embolden someone to hit another player with greater speed and force—and it’s the sudden stopping, not the impact itself, that causes the brain to crash into the inside of the skull, causing a concussion. Rugby players don’t wear helmets, but rather scrum caps, which do little more than prevent cauliflower ear—though again, it’s the helmet that allows for harder hits and a harder projectile, so helmets can be more dangerous for players than caps.

The Redditor also points to a 2008 study showing lower rates of injury in college rugby than college football.

Football may have a bigger concussion crisis, and a higher injury rate overall, but rugby has a distinct and serious problem: spinal injuries.

[troutman]

Rugby's concussion problem: Headache that won't go away

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/sport/...nfl/index.html

[troutman]

THE MANAGEMENT
OF CONCUSSION IN
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/f...ion_Man_v7.pdf

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by troutman

Which Is More Dangerous, Rugby or Football?

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/10/rugby/504143/

So which sport is more dangerous? Rugby players wear far fewer pads, but it’s those pads that enable and embolden someone to hit another player with greater speed and force—and it’s the sudden stopping, not the impact itself, that causes the brain to crash into the inside of the skull, causing a concussion. Rugby players don’t wear helmets, but rather scrum caps, which do little more than prevent cauliflower ear—though again, it’s the helmet that allows for harder hits and a harder projectile, so helmets can be more dangerous for players than caps.

The Redditor also points to a 2008 study showing lower rates of injury in college rugby than college football.

Football may have a bigger concussion crisis, and a higher injury rate overall, but rugby has a distinct and serious problem: spinal injuries.

Apples v Oranges


It is very difficult to find a good comparison between the two, specifically because they are played at the highest level in the same country.

Also, Scrum Caps are to stop cuts, players don't generally wear them because of their ears.

[jayswin]

Hockey has a huge advantage in that it still has a watchable product without hitting that the sport is already preparing for at every level. Hell, I watch some games in the NHL now where there's large periods of time with next to no hitting.

I personally find it a lot more boring to watch, but it shows that it's going away and the fans are still there for now.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Hockey has a huge advantage in that it still has a watchable product without hitting that the sport is already preparing for at every level. Hell, I watch some games in the NHL now where there's large periods of time with next to no hitting.

I personally find it a lot more boring to watch, but it shows that it's going away and the fans are still there for now.

And the NHL has more options. It could increase rink size, go 4 on 4, put the two line pass back in, remove tag up offside. There are pros and cons to all but at least there are options. I can't see what the NFL can do.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Hockey has a huge advantage in that it still has a watchable product without hitting that the sport is already preparing for at every level. Hell, I watch some games in the NHL now where there's large periods of time with next to no hitting.

I personally find it a lot more boring to watch, but it shows that it's going away and the fans are still there for now.

Hockey has changed fundamentally over the last few years. The concern though is that we're seeing a lot of empty seats in a lot of places, if you consider Canadian Markets to be fortress markets there has to be concern with Vancouver, and Ottawa, and even Montreal has empty seats.

Now part of it is I believe the changes to the game, a larger part is the cost to attend.

I will say this, in terms of watching hockey, when I do watch it, I tend to switch away to other shows and then switch back to catch up on the score and to watch a bit, then I'll flip away.

But during that game against the Ducks with the physical intensity, the hits, the fights, I didn't turn the channel once.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

And the NHL has more options. It could increase rink size, go 4 on 4, put the two line pass back in, remove tag up offside. There are pros and cons to all but at least there are options. I can't see what the NFL can do.

there are very few rule changes that they can do.

I mean, a greater emphasis on things like tourist hits, head lead hitting is a start.

Improving equipment helps, but its a collision sport things are going to happen.

What has to change now is mind set and teaching. How to hit safely, and that the big hit while it looks amazing and dramatic isn't the best hit.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Hockey has changed fundamentally over the last few years. The concern though is that we're seeing a lot of empty seats in a lot of places, if you consider Canadian Markets to be fortress markets there has to be concern with Vancouver, and Ottawa, and even Montreal has empty seats.

Now part of it is I believe the changes to the game, a larger part is the cost to attend.

I will say this, in terms of watching hockey, when I do watch it, I tend to switch away to other shows and then switch back to catch up on the score and to watch a bit, then I'll flip away.

But during that game against the Ducks with the physical intensity, the hits, the fights, I didn't turn the channel once.

Me either, and yeah I do wonder if hockey's skill is enough to keep buts in seats without the roughness. A lot of Americans watch hockey simply because they love the fact that there's a sport where all hell can break loose and guys are constantly scrumming and all that.

The Canadian ticket sales has way more to do with the high prices and ebs and flows of Canadian team success than anything.

Montreal - Constantly sold out for decades until their GM's ineptness hit a boiling point this year...and they're still officially on a decades long sell out streak

Vancouver - Was never a great hockey market despite population. They had 11-15k for years and years in the 80's and 90's. They sell out when they're a Cup contender and not when they aren't

Hell, their attendance has actually skyrocketed even this season now that fans see hope in young stars

Ottawa - An arena outside the city, they've had lots of years going back that were similar to this and last season. They've also had a few years at times of lots of sold out games when they were a true contender.

[jayswin]

Overall though I think the bigger issue is that the NHL is going the same way as every spectator sport:

Leagues/Owners know the gravy train is running out and rather than lower prices to make live sports affordable and attempt to create a new market that works they're instead going to stab at the dying medium and get whatever they can before it dies.

[Sylvanfan]

You see a team like Tennessee rewarded for getting Travis Kelce out of a game on Saturday...coaches don't have much interest in getting that out of the pro game. 15 yards to take the one guy you can't match up out of a game? Teams will always go for it. 5 more yards than offensive pass interference. Severe Penalties don't have much consequence in the NFL. Make it like a red card in soccer and enforce it...than maybe coaches don't want their players head hunting.

[Scornfire]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

You see a team like Tennessee rewarded for getting Travis Kelce out of a game on Saturday...coaches don't have much interest in getting that out of the pro game. 15 yards to take the one guy you can't match up out of a game? Teams will always go for it. 5 more yards than offensive pass interference. Severe Penalties don't have much consequence in the NFL. Make it like a red card in soccer and enforce it...than maybe coaches don't want their players head hunting.

This is a big one for me, helmet to helmet hits should incur steeply escalating fines and suspensions.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Scornfire

This is a big one for me, helmet to helmet hits should incur steeply escalating fines and suspensions.

I can't say I follow football as it doesn't interest me, but I think with any contact sport the sport will go through certain lawsuits which will change the game to a large degree. In hockey, fighting in the near future will likely incur stiff penalties to really take it out of the game as it can be argued it's not part of the actual game. It takes a couple lawsuits to say that injuries were foreseeable and the league was doing nothing to mitigate it. For football, I'm sure any helmet to helmet contact intentionally will be penalized heavily. Aside from that, I'm sure in the future leagues will make players sign iron clad waivers preventing payouts from occurring from participating in the contact sport. I'm not sure if cities will outright ban the sport as there's a lot of money to be made.

[Jason14h]

With TVs getting bigger and clearer (and cheaper) sitting at home watching a game gets better and better while going to a game gets more expensive and longer....

I wonder why fans of every sport are staying away...

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

You see a team like Tennessee rewarded for getting Travis Kelce out of a game on Saturday...coaches don't have much interest in getting that out of the pro game. 15 yards to take the one guy you can't match up out of a game? Teams will always go for it. 5 more yards than offensive pass interference. Severe Penalties don't have much consequence in the NFL. Make it like a red card in soccer and enforce it...than maybe coaches don't want their players head hunting.

I agree. You take a head shot? That player is now out of the game and you have to play the rest of the game with 10 players. That'll do it.

[chedder]

Isn't it true that most of the long term damage happens to linemen due to the hundreds, if not thousands of repeated head traumas over a career? The spearing tackles are aweful and sensationalized but only a small part of the issue.

Back on topic, I think the problems with big sport are entirely time and price. Too long and too expensive. And I say this as a flames and stamps season ticket holder.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by chedder

Isn't it true that most of the long term damage happens to linemen due to the hundreds, if not thousands of repeated head traumas over a career? The spearing tackles are aweful and sensationalized but only a small part of the issue.

Back on topic, I think the problems with big sport are entirely time and price. Too long and too expensive. And I say this as a flames and stamps season ticket holder.

I wouldn't argue with that at all.

So now that becomes a question of can we change the technique and can we improve the equipment?

[Sainters7]

They really have to re-teach players how to tackle at a grass roots level, in terms of the traditional wrapping someone up low and pulling them to the ground. None of this battering ram style just launching yourself at someone headfirst like 85% of tackles these days it seems. Football players tackle like big horn sheep during mating season.

Get that stuff out of the game and it may be a lot more palatable to future generations

[White Out 403]

Costas nails it. Football is on the way out, it wont be 5 years or 20 years but its on the way out. Its too dangerous and it will probably sink to the level of rugy in NA, where you can watch it but it will be small time potatoes. And I love football.