Tom Brady's Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

[BradyFTW!]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

Concussions are a fact of life, but you can just as easily get one driving a car, falling down stairs, etc etc. People get them, and most don't wind up with debilitating and long lasting injuries.....some do.

By that logic, you might as well say that there's no reason not to run head-first into brick walls, since head injuries can happen at any time anyways. In reality, things that you described--driving a car, using a staircase--are a) unavoidable, and b) are far less likely to lead to brain injury than playing football.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

I'll be honest here. I didn't think the young kids ran fast enough, or weighed enough or hit hard enough to result in concussions at the ages we see playing at that level.

You really couldn't be more wrong. I don't have to cite any medical text books or reams of data. I knocked a guy my age silly playing tackle football at the age of 11 or so. It took him several minutes to "wake up" and today they would have taken him to the emergency room for a CAT scan and overnight observation; we went to the same school, so I know he returned to his routine the next day. I have little doubt he suffered a concussion and I can only hope it was the only one he suffered in life.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

I'm happy to hear that Brady has only had one concussion that his father is aware of. That's because Brady is smarter than the rest. He knows how to take a hit unlike Rodgers.

And you know that because.....?

I don't think many people read to the very end of the article:

"The answer is yes, I'm concerned. He claims that he's only been dinged once or twice, but I don't know how forthright he's being. He's not gonna tell us, as his parents, anything negative that's going on. I wouldn't be shocked that he would hide that.

"There are distinct personality changes that go along with head trauma. In the old days, it was conjecture. I don't think it's conjecture anymore. And it's Russian roulette. Different people respond differently. Maybe one person avoids it, but not everyone."

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

So I guess the answer is to cloth our kids in bubble wrap and never let them outside. I have never heard such a load of CRAP in my life.

Remember these are the same parents who would "save" their kids from trauma of potential "brain damage", yet will rush out and get their kids a car the day they turn 16 and without a second thought pat them on the head (gently of course) and give them the keys and send them out to play "crash dummy" in 2 ton cars Yeah, that makes sense

WHAT A BUNCH OF ****IES!!! We have truly become a nation of FEAR.....and the newest fad right behind the Taliban, and fat.... is "concussions", Just the thought of having one will kill brain cells. So while he daily hear about every kid who has ever suffered the lasting effect of a concussion, the tens of MILLIONS of kids who, SOMEHOW miraculously managed to avoid permanent damage are silent witnesses to the unnecessary panic we see

So what's the solution; Well folks, football is OVER,....that's for sure That's the first step. Then any of the other contact sports will have to go. Eventually all we will be left are the individual sports like golf....which you will probably have to play with a helmet, because of the risk a ball might hit you in the head

I played 10 years of football, over 25yrs of lacrosse, and took joy in planting my forehead into anything that moved in my AOR. However the only concussion I even had (to my knowledge) was getting hit by a car on my bike. So all bikes have to go, believe me far more concussions (and deaths) have resulted in bike accidents than have EVER occurred on a HS football field.

You know the only benefit from this will come to the union of "slip and fall lawyers", who now will have a HUGE new venue to ply their oily craft. In fact I can hardly wait to go down and see one and see how much money I can make from that concussion I had over 50 years ago.

That's our choice. We can do what we can to make contact sports safer, or eliminate them all....and by doing that we deprive the MASSIVE majority of kids who somehow survive their experience from perhaps one of the important learning experiences they will have in their most critical developmental period of their lives.

BTW- You comment on weight limitations is a good one. I'd love to see the league put some size limits on players. There is no need to build these players up above 300lbs. You just have to see how Light has dropped about 30-40lbs in just a few months to realize how unnatural a lot of that weight is.

Given that the equipment is better than ever. Its the physics that are causing all the concussions we hear about. Eliminate some of the mass from the equation, and the force of the blows will diminish as well.

As far as I can tell, the discussion here is about head trauma in the NFL, not about random events that any of us might experience either growing up or going about our daily lives.

And I'm happy for you that you enjoyed "planting your forehead" into other objects and people with what you feel was no ill effect. Many are not so fortunate.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

while football is rolling in the dough as a spectator sport, participation is taking a nosedive

be interesting how it plays out in the long haul

That is a very good point. My guess is that it will become even more of a socio-economic divide than it is now, where middle class kids like Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr., will be less likely to play but corn-fed lads from the rural mid-west and plains states and kids from the rural and urban south will continue to play.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

Like football, ken has probably fotgotten more about his own concussions than most of us will ever know... And he played the game in another era.

He has a point about the size and you could include speed in the equation when it comes to the evolution of the game. Trouble is you have a better chance at restricting or eliminating KO's and mandating padding and limiting contract to the head by rule via penalties and fines than you have of eliminating PED's and restricting size or speed from the game. As the CBA of 2011 and the NFLPA since signing off on it has underscored.

Culture change isn't ever easy, as ken also underscores.

And FWIW getting back to the original premise of the thread, Brady's dad concluded that he would probably let his son play the game if he truly wanted to. He'd just be very careful and make sure he grasped the significances of all the potential consequences. I think his son already does. Some fans here, especially in game threads, lament Brady's lack of mobility outside the pocket and seeming unwillingness to just run with the damn ball when the opportunity is clearly presenting itself... Maybe because as an insurance brokers son he's adept at calculating risk vs. reward.

Good points all, Mo.

And you've finally come up with a potential upside to Brady's legendary immobility , even if I have to admit I've seen him taking some God-awful hits stepping up in the pocket.

I hope that Brady's dad is part of a close cadre of people whom he consults as he decides how long to play the game. There are very few people who actually know what is really going on with any NFL player, let alone one who plays on a notoriously secretive team. Despite his protestations below, I suspect that Brady, Sr., is one of those who do.

From everything I read, Brady is also very close to his sister, who is a person of strongly-held opinions. And, he is married to one of the few NFL "WAG's," who is not going to be intimidated by the media and what people might think of her if she urges her husband to do something unpopular.

So, all in all, I think he's going to make a good decision when the time comes to make it.

From everything he says, there is no doubt that Tom Brady wants to play as long as he possibly can; there has certainly been no noticeable drop-off in his skill set as he enters his mid thirties. As a Patriots Fan, I selfishly hope that that is in his own best interests.

I'll be the first to admit that I have no way of knowing whether it is in his own best interests. He doesn't need the money and I am sure he could surround himself with the resources to help him deal with the short-term trauma of leaving the Game even when he still had a lot of gas in the tank, if that turns out to be the right decision for him.

I get the impression that a lot of people didn't read the article all the way to the end:

"And Brady Sr. remains worried for his son, a two-time league and Super Bowl MVP and one of the faces of the NFL.

"'Absolutely," Brady Sr. said. 'That never goes away. The answer is yes, I'm concerned. He claims that he's only been dinged once or twice, but I don't know how forthright he's being. He's not gonna tell us, as his parents, anything negative that's going on. I wouldn't be shocked that he would hide that.

"'There are distinct personality changes that go along with head trauma. In the old days, it was conjecture. I don't think it's conjecture anymore. And it's Russian roulette. Different people respond differently. Maybe one person avoids it, but not everyone.'"

I thought that Kurt Warner's view was particularly interesting and that Brady Sr.'s endorsement thereof was noteworthy. I have to admit that, listening to Warner these last couple of years, I feel that I am definitely listening to someone whose mental capacities are impaired (of course, his critics will say that "they always were," but I'm not so sure).

 

[patfanken]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

And I'm happy for you that you enjoyed "planting your forehead" into other objects and people with what you feel was no ill effect. Many are not so fortunate.

Not many, but "some". That's the problem. The current climate makes it seem like every kid who plays football at any level is going to wind up with permanent brain damage. That's just not true.

I am not denying that concussions occur. I do however question the current panic about them. There isn't even a clear definition of what constitutes a concussion, or how they affect you long term. The fact that Seau's suicide was immediately linked to concussions without any viable evidence is just an example the "shoot first" and THEN gather the evidence mentality. Maybe its all part of the "blame" culture. What ever the problem, its more important to BLAME someone or something, than it is to solve the problem.

Maybe keeping your kids from playing football is A solution to protect kids, but it certainly isn't the only one. And football is far from being the only activity where concussions can occur.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

I certainly won't criticize any parent that decides they don't want their son to start playing football because of concerns over concussions. However, some of the worries IMO are based on circumstances that statistically are very rare.

Some people are looking at some of these 10-15 year NFL veterans having struggles later in life and worrying that their son could have the same problem down the road. Again, I won't tell this person they are wrong for being worried but in the end, what are the odds?

5.8% of high school seniors that play football will go on to play at the NCAA level. (1 in 17)

0.08% of high school seniors that play football will go on to play in the NFL. (8 in 10,000)

How many kids that start football in 7th grade continue to play through their senior year? Maybe 1 out of every 3 or 4? So that would put the odds of a 7th grader going on to play in the NFL at around 2-3 in 10,000.

Considering the majority of former players don't have lasting brain issues after their career is done, the odds get even smaller.

If a study is done on football players that never played beyond high school and it shows a high risk of lasting issues from concussions, then the recent panic on this subject will be much more justified. As of right now though, the panic is based on NFL veterans that had long careers. Again, the chances of a 7th grader going on to have a long career in the NFL is getting close to the odds of someone dying from a lightning strike.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

Not many, but "some". That's the problem. The current climate makes it seem like every kid who plays football at any level is going to wind up with permanent brain damage. That's just not true.

I am not denying that concussions occur. I do however question the current panic about them. There isn't even a clear definition of what constitutes a concussion, or how they affect you long term. The fact that Seau's suicide was immediately linked to concussions without any viable evidence is just an example the "shoot first" and THEN gather the evidence mentality. Maybe its all part of the "blame" culture. What ever the problem, its more important to BLAME someone or something, than it is to solve the problem.

Maybe keeping your kids from playing football is A solution to protect kids, but it certainly isn't the only one. And football is far from being the only activity where concussions can occur.

On "many" vs. "some," I'll concede that neither of us knows what we're talking about because the data have not been kept or analyzed. So, you might be right or I might be right.

Your second paragraph highlights a major issue. The science around head trauma is really not all that well developed. There are a few technical definitions of concussion, but no one has studied the impact of other, undetected because un-diagnosed injuries to the head. So, we really don't know what the typical kid playing High School or Pop Warner football has gone through.

We agree on Seau. I think that emotional and environmental (his restaurants) issues played a major role in his tragedy. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that head trauma was irrelevant, but I think there was a lot else going on.

Your final paragraph makes a lot of sense too. My nephew plays Rugby for a University. They tackle and trip each other at full speed without the benefit of helmets or meaningful padding. I asked my sister-in-law, who was strongly opposed to her son playing football, about the apparent contradiction and she had nothing to say in response.

But, if you're asking whether I'd encourage one of my sons to play tackle football, the answer is "Probably no." If he convinced me that it was really important to him, I'd probably go along with it subject to conditions.

 

[ProudestRyno]

Re: Bradys Dad Wouldn't Let TFB Start Football Again

I have to admit I have begun to think about this. I have had a few concussions in my life playing and now that I am approaching 50 I can’t help but wonder if there is or will be an effect on me. My son is big but he never expressed a real desire to play just an occasional curiosity so I never had him play. His high school coach was always after him. Right now at 17 he is around 260 and well over 6 feet. He can already repeatedly bench 225 pounds combo like. Despite this size and strength, it won’t help him at all with a brain injury, in fact with his mass he would be more likely to be injured as there is no way to gain extra strength in brain tissue. A friend told me about his nephew playing in a league at college where they have a 172 lb. maximum weight limit. It is called Spirit football. He says the games are fantastic. This may be what the NFL becomes and it could be a great game.

Congratulations...?

 

[Why?PJ]

So I guess the answer is to cloth our kids in bubble wrap and never let them outside. I have never heard such a load of CRAP in my life.
Remember these are the same parents who would "save" their kids from trauma of potential "brain damage", yet will rush out and get their kids a car the day they turn 16 and without a second thought pat them on the head (gently of course) and give them the keys and send them out to play "crash dummy" in 2 ton cars Yeah, that makes sense
WHAT A BUNCH OF ****IES!!! We have truly become a nation of FEAR.....and the newest fad right behind the Taliban, and fat.... is "concussions", Just the thought of having one will kill brain cells. So while he daily hear about every kid who has ever suffered the lasting effect of a concussion, the tens of MILLIONS of kids who, SOMEHOW miraculously managed to avoid permanent damage are silent witnesses to the unnecessary panic we see
So what's the solution; Well folks, football is OVER,....that's for sure That's the first step. Then any of the other contact sports will have to go. Eventually all we will be left are the individual sports like golf....which you will probably have to play with a helmet, because of the risk a ball might hit you in the head
I played 10 years of football, over 25yrs of lacrosse, and took joy in planting my forehead into anything that moved in my AOR. However the only concussion I even had (to my knowledge) was getting hit by a car on my bike. So all bikes have to go, believe me far more concussions (and deaths) have resulted in bike accidents than have EVER occurred on a HS football field.
You know the only benefit from this will come to the union of "slip and fall lawyers", who now will have a HUGE new venue to ply their oily craft. In fact I can hardly wait to go down and see one and see how much money I can make from that concussion I had over 50 years ago.
That's our choice. We can do what we can to make contact sports safer, or eliminate them all....and by doing that we deprive the MASSIVE majority of kids who somehow survive their experience from perhaps one of the important learning experiences they will have in their most critical developmental period of their lives.

BTW- You comment on weight limitations is a good one. I'd love to see the league put some size limits on players. There is no need to build these players up above 300lbs. You just have to see how Light has dropped about 30-40lbs in just a few months to realize how unnatural a lot of that weight is.

Given that the equipment is better than ever. Its the physics that are causing all the concussions we hear about. Eliminate some of the mass from the equation, and the force of the blows will diminish as well.

Weight isn't a problem, strength and explosiveness is. Making all vitamins/over the counter pain relievers/ supplements illegal for all NFL players without a specific NFL team doctors prescription would help.

As would removing weight rooms entirely. Only exercise with your body weight. You don't need extra weights.

Add in a weekly blood/urine/ everything else test to make sure no one is cheating and that would eliminate them.

Those 2 things would quickly remove many of the problems that today's caliber of athlete causes.

By that logic, you might as well say that there's no reason not to run head-first into brick walls, since head injuries can happen at any time anyways. In reality, things that you described--driving a car, using a staircase--are a) unavoidable, and b) are far less likely to lead to brain injury than playing football.

Actually I guarantee more people died or suffered horrendous injuries last year alone from car accidents than people suffering long term concussion symptoms in all of human history.

Y'all really need to think before you post. Over 33,000 people died in car accidents in 2009. How many people play in the NFL? 2080. So you would need 15 years of NFL players all suffering long term symptoms from concussions to equal only the deaths from automobile accidents last year. That totally ignores life altering injuries or long term hospital stays or major trauma or anything else. Just deaths.

And let's be honest, the odds of anyone being forced to change their lifestyle from a concussion that is not playing NFL or highly competitive College level athletics is slim to none.

To be honest you should worry about getting steroids out of high school kids hands first. Even my crappy little high school team had the seniors all passing around steroids.

 

[Joker]

yeah right..."you should (insert favorite over the top worry here) because if you don't....BAD BAD BAD!!!!!"

this is an exercise in futility...WTF do you think you're watching every Sunday...a polite game of lawn croquet? Use your dyam brains instead of pontificating from atop your 10,000 story ivory towers.

Roman Empire...Colosseum..gladiators...fight to the death....50,000 HUMAN BEINGS screaming at the top of their lungs...FANS...Rome the height of civilization at this time in history...2000 years ago

Today...padded gladiators...doing battle 11 on 11 to "score"...score what?...some ephemeral thing called points....100,000 screaming HUMAN BEINGS ...FANS

THIS is what we WANT....you can vetch and moan and complain and pontificate and come up with your "changes"...in the end, when you've managed to sanitize and emasculale the game, a NEW sport catering to the desire of human beings to see battle will come along, rise and fall and rise again. In the end, all your proselytizations to entreat others to join YOUR holy church of the safer pigskin will fall on deaf ears.

If any of you seriously think that a football fan sees a vicious hit and immediately goes "they gotta make the game safer!!!!" then you are plain nuts...or at the least, not watching football as a fan. You want to make some kind of earth shattering sociological determination out of a physical contest between genetic freaks, be my guest...just don't patronize any games. Take up butterfly netting or peep toad conservation.

 

[VrabelJr]

^^^ So I take it you don't believe in evolution or progress?

 

[Joker]

so I take it your another one of these "preachers"...like YOU know what is the RIGHT way to run the NFL...your little snipe is so ridiculous it doesn't warrant a reply but just this once...progress you say?...you see a quantum shift in man's innate nature? Tell me ,oh evolved one..just what is the fundamental evolution from 1941 Pacific theater kamikazes to 21st century hijackers taking down 100 story skyscrapers? "Progress!!! Evolution!!!"...please...take the grid offline in the US and there's chaos in the streets inside a few weeks....of course you, evolved one that you are, will shun foraging for food and water because, well, you are an example of "progress!!". Leave the game to people like you and we'll be watching players covered in foam rubber padding bouncing off each other like bumper cars...no thanks...I'll take the ol' devolved , run of the mill football that my father and his father before him enjoyed.

 

[PonyExpress]

Football is a martial game. The concussion issue is beginning to delineate between "fans" of the game of football and "observers" of the game. The number of "observers" has grown tremendously in recent years as popularity of game has expanded. Rather than the fringe sport it was early to mid 20th century it is now the cultural touchstone of the country. Some people would prefer that a martial game not be the cultural touchstone of the country.

Several things I am keeping in mind.

What cultural values does football promote?
Who benefits by a successful class action suit against the NFL?
What political party do the owners by and large support?
Which networks are most prominently broadcasting the concussion issue, and what is the political affiliation of those networks ?
Why do reporters refuse to bring up steroid abuse in discussing the difficulties of some ex-players in adjusting to normal society?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

so I take it your another one of these "preachers"...like YOU know what is the RIGHT way to run the NFL...your little snipe is so ridiculous it doesn't warrant a reply but just this once...progress you say?...you see a quantum shift in man's innate nature? Tell me ,oh evolved one..just what is the fundamental evolution from 1941 Pacific theater kamikazes to 21st century hijackers taking down 100 story skyscrapers? "Progress!!! Evolution!!!"...please...take the grid offline in the US and there's chaos in the streets inside a few weeks....of course you, evolved one that you are, will shun foraging for food and water because, well, you are an example of "progress!!". Leave the game to people like you and we'll be watching players covered in foam rubber padding bouncing off each other like bumper cars...no thanks...I'll take the ol' devolved , run of the mill football that my father and his father before him enjoyed.

I read, regularly enjoy and have given several "Likes" to your posts.

I don't think any of us posting here (unless there are lurking players, former players or team executives on the Board) know the right way to run the NFL, much less the "RIGHT" way. But, I do think that former players and their representatives as well as the NFLPA do have a sense of that and they seem to be suggesting that things might be done differently when it comes to protecting and caring for players and former players.

I think it is a legitimate subject of discussion among those who care for the game to come to a reasonable view on what is "inevitable" as part of a sport that involves large, fast, well-conditioned men throwing their bodies against one another and what can be "managed" to improve the health and safety of all involved. I really don't see that having that view makes someone a "****y" or whatever.

Sure, from one perspective humanity hasn't evolved much from the days when weak children were exposed on mountaintops, then through the days of the Inquisition and Crusades, through the carnage of WW I, through the insanity of the Holocaust and Pol Pot and then right up to suicide bombers and crumbled buildings.

But using that as a logic to cut off discussion on what might be done to improve and protect a sport that tens of millions of Americans value and enjoy is quite inappropriate and wrong.

Our understanding of the impact of concussion and less noticeable head trauma is still in its infancy. Surely, it is not irrational to suggest that NFL, NCAA, High School and Pop Warner Football might learn from that? And surely, there must be a way to preserve the essence of the game we love while protecting, within reasonable limits, the safety of those who play it?

In the end, every sport will bring with it risks that players must knowingly accept if they are to engage therein.

Hockey, Basketball, Soccer and other contact sports are constantly wrestling with similar issues, trying to find the balance between the risks inherent in the game if it is to be played as it is meant to be played and the available ways of mitigating those risks.

Even MLB players and players from middle school on up run the risk of getting clocked with a hard baseball at a very high speed whenever they step to the plate in a "non-contact" sport. Batting helmets and body armor have been introduced, but it is just part of the game that a Cy Young, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens will challenge the limits of what is permitted. That's part of the risk of the game. Batters accept their exposure and pitchers accept the inevitability of fines, expulsions and suspensions for going too far.

So all some of us are suggesting is that the NFL is doing well to absorb and adapt to a new level of understanding of the impact of Head Trauma on those who play the game. That understanding is in its infancy right now and no doubt will be clarified over time, to the extent that how we see things today might well be very different from how we see them four or five years from now.

We have no idea where that will end up, but it is far better that this be resolved by those playing and managing the League than by the courts, which will not have the best interests of the game at heart.

And, if you don't think that this could all end up in the hands of a judge who thinks that Tiddlywinks is dangerous because the damn wink can fly into your eye, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

It's far better that this be sorted out by the NFL, today's players, former players and the NFLPA before some lawyer can make a reasonable case that the league has not been responsible in its management of the game.

So, let's have a robust and even heated discussion of this, but let's stop calling each other names.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

so I take it your another one of these "preachers"...like YOU know what is the RIGHT way to run the NFL...your little snipe is so ridiculous it doesn't warrant a reply but just this once...progress you say?...you see a quantum shift in man's innate nature? Tell me ,oh evolved one..just what is the fundamental evolution from 1941 Pacific theater kamikazes to 21st century hijackers taking down 100 story skyscrapers? "Progress!!! Evolution!!!"...please...take the grid offline in the US and there's chaos in the streets inside a few weeks....of course you, evolved one that you are, will shun foraging for food and water because, well, you are an example of "progress!!". Leave the game to people like you and we'll be watching players covered in foam rubber padding bouncing off each other like bumper cars...no thanks...I'll take the ol' devolved , run of the mill football that my father and his father before him enjoyed.

So you're in favor of eliminating FA and the cap and smaller competing leagues even featuring undersized slower players in leather helmets? As long as we're clear on what you're advocating...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Football is a martial game. The concussion issue is beginning to delineate between "fans" of the game of football and "observers" of the game. The number of "observers" has grown tremendously in recent years as popularity of game has expanded. Rather than the fringe sport it was early to mid 20th century it is now the cultural touchstone of the country. Some people would prefer that a martial game not be the cultural touchstone of the country.

Several things I am keeping in mind.

What cultural values does football promote? Ideally, teamwork.
Who benefits by a successful class action suit against the NFL? The lawyers, always.
What political party do the owners by and large support? You might find that's a more mixed bag than you presume.
Which networks are most prominently broadcasting the concussion issue, and what is the political affiliation of those networks ? I hadn't noticed a particular bias, but then again I don't focus on political undertones when assessing issues.
Why do reporters refuse to bring up steroid abuse in discussing the difficulties of some ex-players in adjusting to normal society?

Maybe out of a sense of fairness absent proof of such abuse?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Football is a martial game. The concussion issue is beginning to delineate between "fans" of the game of football and "observers" of the game. The number of "observers" has grown tremendously in recent years as popularity of game has expanded. Rather than the fringe sport it was early to mid 20th century it is now the cultural touchstone of the country. Some people would prefer that a martial game not be the cultural touchstone of the country.

Several things I am keeping in mind.

What cultural values does football promote?
Who benefits by a successful class action suit against the NFL?
What political party do the owners by and large support?
Which networks are most prominently broadcasting the concussion issue, and what is the political affiliation of those networks ?
Why do reporters refuse to bring up steroid abuse in discussing the difficulties of some ex-players in adjusting to normal society?

Man, it had been a solid week or so since someone questioned whether or not I'm a "real fan". Takes a pretty ridiculous ego to make that claim, but that seems to be something that you have no shortage of, at all.

As for the whole political angle you're trying to take, do you already have a tin-foil hat, or do you need instructions on how to make one? Leave that crap in the conspiracy theory forums where it belongs.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Actually I guarantee more people died or suffered horrendous injuries last year alone from car accidents than people suffering long term concussion symptoms in all of human history.

Y'all really need to think before you post. Over 33,000 people died in car accidents in 2009. How many people play in the NFL? 2080. So you would need 15 years of NFL players all suffering long term symptoms from concussions to equal only the deaths from automobile accidents last year. That totally ignores life altering injuries or long term hospital stays or major trauma or anything else. Just deaths.[/quote]

Next time someone claims otherwise, be sure to bring that up. Nobody here did. Maybe you should take the time to actually read a post before you dig up statistics that don't even refute it.

And let's be honest, the odds of anyone being forced to change their lifestyle from a concussion that is not playing NFL or highly competitive College level athletics is slim to none.

Which, if true, completely invalidates whatever you were trying to say with your previous point. It's a matter of scale, so comparing the absolute number of people who die in car accidents versus the number of athletes who suffer from brain trauma due to concussions is, in a word, dumb. If you make no effort to account for the population that these absolute numbers are being pulled from, then you've thoroughly failed at about fifth-grade level math and reasoning.

To be honest you should worry about getting steroids out of high school kids hands first. Even my crappy little high school team had the seniors all passing around steroids.

False dichotomy. It's not an either-or, in any sense of the term.