Football Gone in 20 Years?

[PatsWickedPissah]

Lem Barney: Football will be gone in 20 years

It's off season and this may be an extreme viewpoint but with the threads about Goodell wanting to eliminate kickoffs and the myriad rule changes ongoing and as we learn more about the science of concussions, I would not take the bet against this. Then I'll probably not be here in 20 years.

 

[Raymond]

My opinion would be, the NFL will change the rules as it deems necessary to continue the cash cow in any way possible.

This will continue long, long after Lem Barney is dust in the wind.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

i could see more and more studies coming out talking about brain damage ect that could kill the sport in 20 years..but it's such a big $$ maker..who knows

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

My opinion would be, the NFL will change the rules as it deems necessary to continue the cash cow in any way possible.

This will continue long, long after Lem Barney is dust in the wind.

May I suggest extreme lingerie football as one possibility?

NFL is a $10B industry.

Folks need note that relatively bigger industries have vanished in similar 2 decade timeframes.

 

[Aßßynormal]

I bet Goofball will still be around though, going down with the ship like Captain Smith.

Football needs Federal legislation that limits liability. It's that simple. Goofball should use his energies there, instead of turning this sport into touch football.

 

[TriplecHamp]

lol there is about .5% chance this happens. There are far more dangerous, and far far less profitable organizations that the NFL and NCAA. This simply wont happen.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

It won't be the NFL getting sued that'll make football go away. It'll be a bottom up thing from parents not letting their kids play in school, and schools and Pee Wee/Pop Warner leagues dropping football (or going flag-only) because they won't be able to afford the liability insurance premiums otherwise.

Especially when/if more data rolls in (as it appears to be starting to) about the long-term effects of concussions and repeated sub-concussive blows on teens and pre-teens.

 

[Dr Pain]

I love football and played at a very high level through college. I did have 3 or 4 concussions and have memory loss from two of them where it was as if I woke up sometime later and don’t remember what happened. My son who would have easily been playing in college if he took up football, was never that interested and I never brought it up ever. If I had said to him that he should play he would have. He mentioned playing a few times but I never responded. Didn’t tell him no but I didn’t say that’s a good idea either.

Whats my point? There will be no middle class or above playing football and it will just be the poor. There will be enough players as long as they don’t expand the league. Someone is going to die in the game soon. The players are just too fast and too strong and the consistency of a brain is the same if you are 100lbs or 350. Look at boxing which is another sport I loved. In the 60s-80s it was huge. Can you even name a current boxer now?

 

[primetime]

This article doesn't make the boxing analogy but some do (in fact, it was made right above this post while i was typing!!). It's a terrible analogy though, because boxing's demise can be tied to integration when black athletes were able to earn money in sports that didn't involve punching each other until their heads burst. There's no imaginable event that can change the landscape of American sports the way that integration did.

Federal legislation to limit liability is one of those things that would be just heinous. There are lots of jobs that do require massive sacrifices on the parts of their workers. Miners, construction workers, etc. Even jobs that require mental sacrifices (dentists with high suicide rates, lawyers work 90 hour weeks and burn out)... the key is compensating people for their work, making sure the work environment is as safe as possible (as the NFL has attempted to do), and having in place a retirement system where injured workers are not forcing themselves to go back to work to earn wages at the risk of their future quality of life. This means pensions, disability, medical coverage (not just for those who are eligible for Medicare), and workforce retraining.

That said, I would also be extremely hesitant about allowing my children to play football.

 

[Joker]

I love football and played at a very high level through college. I did have 3 or 4 concussions and have memory loss from two of them where it was as if I woke up sometime later and don’t remember what happened. My son who would have easily been playing in college if he took up football, was never that interested and I never brought it up ever. If I had said to him that he should play he would have. He mentioned playing a few times but I never responded. Didn’t tell him no but I didn’t say that’s a good idea either.

Whats my point? There will be no middle class or above playing football and it will just be the poor. There will be enough players as long as they don’t expand the league. Someone is going to die in the game soon. The players are just too fast and too strong and the consistency of a brain is the same if you are 100lbs or 350. Look at boxing which is another sport I loved. In the 60s-80s it was huge. Can you even name a current boxer now?

this is horrible...you mean someone may even die soon??? that's it...OUTLAW the NFL immediately!!!..."...hic...hey buddy, you got a light???...thansk pal...hey barkeep, what's the damages???...8 Buds?...hey wait a minute, I only had six...wasshatalkinaboud, man....wheresh my keys?..i gotta get outta here fast...."

peopel smoke and drink to the tune of a million + deaths a year...I don't see anyone outlawing the tobacco or liquor industries...playing NFL football is a conscious choice...every player knows the pros and cons...the league will disappear when people put more value on their health than making millions of dollars...which means ,most likely, never....

 

[Dr Pain]

this is horrible...you mean someone may even die soon??? that's it...OUTLAW the NFL immediately!!!..."...hic...hey buddy, you got a light???...thansk pal...hey barkeep, what's the damages???...8 Buds?...hey wait a minute, I only had six...wasshatalkinaboud, man....wheresh my keys?..i gotta get outta here fast...."

I guy I work with son is paralyzed from high school football. I love football but I don’t want my son playing. I don’t have a problem if you do or you let your kid. It is not a choice I would make.

Whitworth will pay for funeral of boy who died from football injuries | ProFootballTalk

This will happen in an NFL game. No one knows how the public will react. It happened in 60 and 63. There was not 7x24 tv back then.

 

[Joker]

I would never want ANY of my family to play NFL football...that wasn't my point....if you can't see that, I won't belabor my point because it's far down the list of things that are important to me as a Pats fan.

 

[Dr Pain]

I would never want ANY of my family to play NFL football...that wasn't my point....if you can't see that, I won't belabor my point because it's far down the list of things that are important to me as a Pats fan.

The thing is it’s not just NFL, its college, high school pop warner etc… take a look at the top high school prospects and then check the NFL drafts 3 – 5 years out and you will see many/most wash out. Many owing to injuries. I had my worst concussion in high school not college. If I run a school district I am not sure football would be a priority.

 

[Joker]

well, maybe the soccer moms will finally get the break they been looking for since the 80's. Dry up the developmental river and the game will strangle itself out of existence. Outlawing it is preposterous.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Simply put, the game will eventually—and more likely sooner rather than later—have to change.

I disagree with the idea that waivers are a good idea; you're just passing the buck to young players who may or may not be able to make educated decisions about their future.

 

[RayClay]

He's right about eliminating the helmets-at least the hard shell missiles they have today. There was one soft shell model that kind of deteriorated, but you can't tell me a concerted effort or competition to make a soft shell helmet wouldn't bear fruit. Nobody's going to tackle helmet first in a soft helmet, not repeatedly anyway.

 

[Se7eN]

Football is simply too profitable, even at a high-school level. It will adapt to public demand instead of dying out.

 

[Lifer]

"Shana...they bought their tickets. They knew the risk. I say..let 'em crash"

 

[Quientus]

He's right about eliminating the helmets-at least the hard shell missiles they have today. There was one soft shell model that kind of deteriorated, but you can't tell me a concerted effort or competition to make a soft shell helmet wouldn't bear fruit. Nobody's going to tackle helmet first in a soft helmet, not repeatedly anyway.

Not being an American, but wasn't the soft helmets they used in the 50's/60's (?) replaced because hard helmets provided better comfort (and protection) ?

I do agree with the sentiment, however, Unfortunately I think it will not happen ...

 

[Rob0729]

In 20 years, players will be playing with their own personalize force field like they have on Star Trek. Well probably not that advanced, but I assume the sports technology in 20 years will be that they have equipment that can eliminate concussions in football or reduce to very, very few.

I assume at some point in the next ten years or so that the sports equipment will outpace the injuries caused by the sport and there will minimum risk for serious injuries that could be life changing like what we see from concussions in the NFL. When that point is reached, I expect the rules to start to lax on hitting.