Bob Costas predicts the demise of football
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
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Not going to read about what he said until I know this: Did he pick up the required reading before speaking this time?
SMH
SMH
I don't think football has any choice but to continue to legislate (for lack of better word) hitting out of the game. It may end up resembling something more like flag football. The older generation is going to scream about this, but if you can only appreciate football with the intense hits, you are not going to have football in the long term.
I appreciate the athleticism and strategy of a football game and could still enjoy it if the big hits were taken out. Not sure if that means eliminating tackling altogether, or just making hard contact illegal.
I appreciate the athleticism and strategy of a football game and could still enjoy it if the big hits were taken out. Not sure if that means eliminating tackling altogether, or just making hard contact illegal.
This is the future of FB. Imagine selling out the Beav for this.
I still believe the answer is any attempt to hit without tackling will be banned... and I believe this is the fix.
No more running into people with your shoulders and heads. Must effectively form tackle.
Even under the existing rules it could be considered a personal foul to run full speed at someone and run into them with your shoulder or helmet
LdN
Costas is spot on. I've been saying this for several years. Given the recent study on brain injuries, the outlook is dismal. As more and more information comes out, fewer and fewer parents will allow their kids to play football. Unless something drastic changes, it's a dying sport.
Well then, Sandy should put the brakes on that $500M do-over of Beaver Stadium.
Yep. So do cameramen.
But you can start with the obvious which is the high speed collisions with RBs and DBs.
LdN
Football will be gone, in the year 2525 if man is still alive. .........
A lot of the new rules are helping a lot, a lot less devasting injuries. Before it was a weekly occurrence to see a motionless WR and in the NFL a quarterback was knocked out with a broken this or that every week. Keep making these changes and it will be fine, at least CFB will be fine. The NFL as some other problems.
How will CFB be OK? The number of entry level kids is headed down.
I find it hard to believe that this trend will reverse.
It will be many years before things hit rock bottom, sure, but that day will come.
I played club rugby after college, and simply removing helmets and requiring form tackling will vastly reduce head injuries in my opinion. It’s amazing how much your mindset changes from being a human missile.
Regardless of the reason, if the NFL goes down CFB won't be far behind. What motiviation will many of these guys have to put in the grind and put their bodies at risk if there's no chance for a payoff? Maybe it'll exist in some form but I'm guessing it won't be the same level of talent.
A few years ago, a few of us were having this discussion, and I agree that there has been better emphasis on proper tackling.
The problem that I have is that, despite the physics of contact, there has been an effort to make these athletes more "aerodynamic." Uniforms are designed to promote a faster athlete. One of the solutions could be to slow these guys down by putting more pads on them. But, that would not be visually pleasing to those who've gotten accustomed to bigger, faster, stronger.
He’s right that the football bubble will burst, but I would suggest that the CTE is only part of the reason (albeit a BIG part). The nfl has ignored its foundation for a while now, and a lot of fans are walking away because the product just isn’t as good as it used to be.
Love football but find myself conflicted. Oh well... deposit is already down for my season tix next year.
Perhaps football as we know it today may come to an end during the next 50 to 75 years but it will never go away completely. There's too much money in football and the rich will see to it that it continues in one form or another. Unfortunately it will be much worse for the players because once the NFL collapses there will be no players Union, no contract negotiations and no concussion guidelines. The hits will be harder than ever and the rating will go literally through the roof.
During the very early 80's the buzz was that boxing was too dangerous and had to be outlawed, so Championship fights went from 15 round fights to 12 round fights. Remember when Senators said that UFC and MMA fighting would never be tolerated in the U.S. Today it's more popular than ever.
During the very early 80's the buzz was that boxing was too dangerous and had to be outlawed, so Championship fights went from 15 round fights to 12 round fights. Remember when Senators said that UFC and MMA fighting would never be tolerated in the U.S. Today it's more popular than ever.
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I played with a leather helmet my freshman year of high school. They handed us out the plastic ones my sophomore year. NO comparison. Leather helmets will get people killed.
People think this is rugby. There is no foreward pass in rugby. Have an unhelmeted rugby player lay out for a foreward pass 30 yards downfield full speed with an unhelmeted DB running at him full speed ready to knock the ball out, and you have the makings of fractured skulls, not concussions.
Robots will eventually displace human football players. Just a matter of time.
Bob Costas is a liberal loser. LIBERAL. YES, I BROUGHT POLITICS to this. He has worked for the most liberal news Network forever. I played football, cracked head, and ok....... LIBERALS WONT QUIT
All contact sports will go the way of the Dodo. It is already happening. Look at the boom of E-Sports. Ridiculous as it may sound. When an NFLer dies as a result of a hit, that will spell the end. Boxing began its decline when the Korean died in the Mancini fight.
There was a 30 for 30 on this type of game. It was based in Texas, where they just couldn't get enough people to play due to small schools
That is patently obvious.
I live in PA. In my area, youth participation rates in full contact football are down 40% to 50%. Many people see no reason to let their 6-12 year old kids play full contact football. There has been a dramatic increase in flag football. Who knows what the future holds.Maybe they'll find a way to diagnose the condition while you're alive. Maybe they'll find a way to significantly reduce the condition. If not, I agree with others that football as we know it will go the way of the dodo.
Eliminating the three point and four point stance will be the next major rule change. It may be a good one if you consider how much damage two opposing 300+ lb. linemen do to each other's brain when the ball is snapped.
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A tragic ending to one of the greatest fights ever. If my memory serves me right I think I saw that fight on channel 4 NBC.
Agree with him that, barring significant player safety improvements, the general trend will be slowly away from football, and the sport could well become ghettoized.
That said, have to wonder what his take might be on the direction of MMA, which is nothing if not organized brain damage for profit.
That said, have to wonder what his take might be on the direction of MMA, which is nothing if not organized brain damage for profit.
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I am in favor of changing the helmet, but, the old leather ones are not the answer. To increase interest and, therefore, revenues which are necessary to fend off the inevitable lawsuits; we need a complete change in the paradigm. Imagine the buzz generated by the revolutionary Schutt "Pickelhaube 2020" (see illustration below). These actually replaced leather helmets in the field and it would be a travesty to make such a step backwards again as we try to make the game we love safer! 
This year may be the last year my high school alma mater plays football. We are a very small high school but rich in tradition. We have won 22 State Titles over the years, the last one being in 1992. Injuries have nothing to do with our football program shutting down, instead it has everything to do with demographics. We now have a very large Asian and conservative Jewish population neither of which allow their kids to play. Most recently, West Windsor a high school powerhouse in the 70's & 80's shut down their football program due to a radical changes in demographics. I'm not dismissing the injury angle but in the North East the biggest threat to football is a new population that does not play. Would love to know if B. Costas has an opinion on this Issue.
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The issue is definitely overblown. Was at reunion last year. We are in our 50s now. Many of my buddies played all four years college. Varying length of time in nfl from dozen + to being camp fodder for 4-5 seasons. Everyone is healthy and productive. Including the guy that used to crush metal garbage cans with his head.
Some football numbers are down, bad info is one reason, other is demographics to include all school sizes in general are down with more choices and more year round sports, like fall baseball etc. Many kids are becoming specialized athlete's now too. Which is unhealthy as well.
The 90s hurt football when coaches started teaching spearing to tackle and the leagues stopped calling it as a penalty. Including PSU.
Note: I didn't say concussions are a non issue. It is an overblown issue based on poor science and other motives.
Costas is a putz.
Some football numbers are down, bad info is one reason, other is demographics to include all school sizes in general are down with more choices and more year round sports, like fall baseball etc. Many kids are becoming specialized athlete's now too. Which is unhealthy as well.
The 90s hurt football when coaches started teaching spearing to tackle and the leagues stopped calling it as a penalty. Including PSU.
Note: I didn't say concussions are a non issue. It is an overblown issue based on poor science and other motives.
Costas is a putz.
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Actually, as a side note to that, does it seem like Americans are getting smaller? Due to the higher influx of Asians and Mexicans/Central Americans, it seems like people aren't nearly as tall as they used to be. Especially the closer you get to big cities.
And it seems to vary from city to city. The average male in the Pittsburgh area definitely looks bigger and huskier than the average male in someplace like Boston.
