Boston Globe Magazine: Why You Should Stop Watching Football

fxkane said:

It's amazing that about 90% of responses here are so over the top defensive. I guess it means the guy has struck a nerve.

The most effective response is the acknowledge what's true about the piece and about football, and yet accept one's own position as a fan too. I never flaunt being a sports fan, and am guilty if i spend too much time with sports, but I continue on as I do with other things in my life that I am half-trapped in, and realizing all the down sides, from sheer commercialism to heavy masculine display to the upside of entertainment, strategy, and racial interest so much a part of the NFL and the NBA.

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Tunescribe said:

You need to understand the Globe context. It's not just this one piece.

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fxkane said:

It's amazing that about 90% of responses here are so over the top defensive. I guess it means the guy has struck a nerve.

The most effective response is the acknowledge what's true about the piece and about football, and yet accept one's own position as a fan too. I never flaunt being a sports fan, and am guilty if i spend too much time with sports, but I continue on as I do with other things in my life that I am half-trapped in, and realizing all the down sides, from sheer commercialism to heavy masculine display to the upside of entertainment, strategy, and racial interest so much a part of the NFL and the NBA.

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Joker said:

agreed....I think he's a semi-Commie

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goheels22002 said:

Last paragraph: "But the central reason remains the most basic: because consuming as a form of entertainment a game that causes human beings to suffer brain damage is wrong. It would be convenient to ignore this fact or rationalize it away. It would also be immoral."

Immoral? Strong stuff. Morality is about Good vs Evil. The leap he makes is that watching football is Evil because people get injured playing the game. People are dying at alarming rates in accidents while texting. Is texting evil?

Slippery slope, Mr. Almond. People get injured in every sport. Therefore, all sports are evil?

Almond is wrong that anybody involved in football, including fans, are ignoring or rationalizing away serious injuries. Almond ignores entirely and gives no credit to anyone for advances in helmet and pad technology, rules changes, training for coaches at every level to teach techniques to reduce head and neck injuries, etc, etc.

Mr. Almond should take a few minutes to investigate his subject, and come down from his pulpit and work to find solutions to problems he cares about.

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AzorianPats said:

Want more proof? They replaced Gregg Bedard with Ben Volin. They clearly couldn't give a **** about us by giving us Volin!

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Joker said:

I just submitted MY piece to the Globe and I'm anxiously awaiting their reply....

Why Our Air Should Be Stopped From Breathing...by Joe Kerr-MSNBCBS

It's all around us, this stuff we call "air" and yet we pay almost no notice to how absolutely addictive this stuff really is. Ever try to NOT breathe this crap for more than a few minutes? Unbelievably dangerous! You can actually die trying to go cold turkey from this crap. It's outrageous the effect this stuff has on everybody and I think it's high time we outlawed it and made Oxygen Anonymous meetings mandatory for every citizen of every country in the world. This has got to be stopped!

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patchick said:

So the Patriots went out and aggressively lured Greg Bedard away from his long-time employer to cover the Patriots, and he was such an awesome hire that he got an offer he couldn't refuse from a national outlet. And the first guy in after him is way worse.

Ergo, the Globe has a secret agenda against the Patriots.

QED?

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Mike the Brit said:

If someone tells me that they won't watch football and they're off to volunteer in a field hospital in Liberia, well ... respect. If someone writes a slack, cliche-filled hack article for a rag that thinks the Red Sox are front-page news ...

FWIW, the thing that gives me pause is PEDs. The league's anti-PED policy is a joke and the size and strength of the players makes it evident that they are in universal use. And there's no doubt in my mind that the mortality figures are the consequence of PEDs both directly and indirectly (by making hits that much more violent). If there were anything I could do to take them out of the game, I would.

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AzorianPats said:

Little league baseball across the country is dying out. Kids are finding the sport to be too slow paced and boring. Kids don't want to play or watch games anymore. There's a huge problem in baseball, and I don't know if there is anyway to fix it.

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JR4 said:

First texting while driving is bad(evil if you wish) and it is against the law in many states and countries around the world.
Texting while driving as been outlawed for all drivers in the following states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota,[29] Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada. New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont,[30] Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Many responses here do exactly as he said "rationalize it away"

"People get injured in every sport. Therefore, all sports are evil?"
yes injuries do happen in sports. A broken arm, knees blown out etc. Many such injuries will
have long term consequences. But injuring the brain can have long term consequence that
dramatically effects the quality of life as the injured enters the fall of their life. While many
who are watching football will retire to have freedom and joy in those years, the brain
injured football player with consequences will struggle and many will die and not be able
to enjoy the same things. All so we are entertained with a very violent sport.

I love football but I must admit the writer makes a point. So comes down to integrity.
If we believe the cost of football in terms of the lives that will suffer brain damage is
acceptable ... then we watch as unconscionable spectators of blood bathing gladiators.

If on the other hand we do not believe the cost is acceptable and continue watching then
we condemn ourselves to be lacking integrity.

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• Football will get less dangerous over time, and this is a good thing, even if -- as is likely -- it diminishes the joy of the sport. The current levels of harm are just way too high.
• Football imitates war and other undesirable behavior, and this is a good thing too. Better to sublimate than to have the real version.
• Communities have often been sold a bill of goods about stadium financing. So be it. Voters and governments are, on the whole, wising up about that somewhat.

PatsWickedPissah said:

No, I suspect he's a Loyalist!

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