The pressure to end football is increasing

[mraynrand]

More evidence:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6hPdC41RM

Propaganda like this movie, terrifying moms into becoming soccer moms, the increase of virtual games, the destruction of masculinity in our society, etc. will deplete the ranks. Football is waxing now, but will be waning in the very near future.

[pbmax]

We have this covered in another thread. Bonus Tyrone Biggins commentary.

http://packerrats.com/showthread.php?17952-OT-Must-read-GQ&highlight=Omalu

[red]

yeah, i think the end of the game has already begun, its just too risky for young kids who have no shot what so ever of making the pros, but still play the game

i think there still will be a pro game, but it might be more like it was in the old days where you have iron workers and farmers playing the game (normal guys off the street), instead of full time players that have been playing the game since they were 2 or 3

[mraynrand]

We have this covered in another thread. Bonus Tyrone Biggins commentary.

http://packerrats.com/showthread.php?17952-OT-Must-read-GQ&highlight=Omalu

That thread had a different focus.

[falco]

:roll:

[wootah]

Wouldn't surprise me; I read a couple of months ago that in the US you can actually buy specific headgear to protect your brain while heading the ball during soccer. That's a soft leather ball filled with air!

http://www.sporttechie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ali-krieger-soccer-women.jpg

Come on, now :D

[mraynrand]

Wouldn't surprise me; I read a couple of months ago that in the US you can actually buy specific headgear to protect your brain while heading the ball during soccer. That's a soft leather ball filled with air!

Come on, now :D

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c7/63/fe/c763feb0408e551c86ba5709fb6f568b.jpg

[Packgator]

A few weeks ago I saw that a school district in Washington had banned the game of "tag". Yes, tag!!! The reason? To ensure the emotional and physical well-being of the kids.

[Rastak]

A few weeks ago I saw that a school district in Washington had banned the game of "tag". Yes, tag!!! The reason? To ensure the emotional and physical well-being of the kids.

When I was a kid we played "kill the guy with the ball". One guy starts with the ball and gets crushed, he tosses the ball up and the guy who catches it tries to elude tackles until he gets buried in a sea of hits. There was no scoring, just us knocking the shit out of each other.

[Cheesehead Craig]

When I was a kid we played "kill the guy with the ball". One guy starts with the ball and gets crushed, he tosses the ball up and the guy who catches it tries to elude tackles until he gets buried in a sea of hits. There was no scoring, just us knocking the shit out of each other.

Loved that game growing up. We called it much more un-PC names back then.

[Maxie the Taxi]

When I was a kid we played "kill the guy with the ball". One guy starts with the ball and gets crushed, he tosses the ball up and the guy who catches it tries to elude tackles until he gets buried in a sea of hits. There was no scoring, just us knocking the shit out of each other.

When I was a kid, we played tackle pom pom. You put a guy in the middle of the playground, then the rest run from one side to the other trying to avoid being tackled. Anyone tackled stays in the middle. At the end you have everyone descending on the last guy trying to make it to the other side of the field. No pads. No helmets. On a frozen playground. Ouch!

[mraynrand]

smear the queer. It's OK to say it. It's not un-PC. Queer doesn't automatically mean gay, unless you are talking about Harlan.

[mmmdk]

Kids stuff. Back in Europe we do holocausts - just as the mighty lord and Noah showed us in the good book.

[pbmax]

We called it "Smear the Queer" in elementary school, long before most actually knew what that insult meant. And this was long before there was an active rights movement that anyone was aware of. We were eventually told to stop using that name. I suspect the teacher was not defending gay and lesbians as much as trying to avoid that word in a playground with 1st and 2nd graders, though its impossible to know for certain.

So we called it "Kill the Guy".

Problem solved I guess.

Point is, that game is still played to this day at the public school five minutes from my house.

[Bossman641]

We always called it pig slaughter.

[mmmdk]

When I was a kid we played "kill the guy with the ball". One guy starts with the ball and gets crushed, he tosses the ball up and the guy who catches it tries to elude tackles until he gets buried in a sea of hits. There was no scoring, just us knocking the shit out of each other.

"Kill the guy with the ball"...that's kind of a long title for a kids game!? And "guy" not "kid"!? I think you're making this up. It's 'cos you're from Minnesota right? No, the truth is, your game in the purple state is called "Choke the kid" 'cos the Vi-queens choke a lot!

I think this is a GREAT joke! Laugh or "kill it"! [Man, you guys love to kill don't ya!?]

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think last night's travesty increases the pressure to end football.

[mraynrand]

I think last night's travesty increases the pressure to end football.

sure, when only one team shows up, there's no game.

[red]

smear the queer. It's OK to say it. It's not un-PC. Queer doesn't automatically mean gay, unless you are talking about Harlan.

i concur

its smear the queer. call it by its proper name

[George Cumby]

We pronounced it "Schmear" the Queer.

Lol! Those were the days, getting tackled on rock hard frozen mud. Teachers looking on, not intervening, probably taking bets.

[sharpe1027]

I recall playing schmear the queer it behind the bleachers during the high school football games. A bunch of us that were in elementary school would usually start the game, but some high school students (that didn't go out for football) would inevitably join in. It got ugly more often than not.

[Rutnstrut]

Smear the queer was always a blast, but so was king of the hill in the winter. Most elementary schools neither can be played anymore, probably why kids are such pussies now.

[Patler]

Radio talk show today reported that, per WIAA records, in 2005 there were 33,000 high school students registered to play football in WI. In 2015, the number has dropped to 27,000.

[Joemailman]

I think last night's travesty increases the pressure to end football.

Packers may have jumped the gun a bit.

[MadScientist]

Radio talk show today reported that, per WIAA records, in 2005 there were 33,000 high school students registered to play football in WI. In 2015, the number has dropped to 27,000.

20% drop in 10 years is huge, considering how much the NFL has grown in that same time frame. Baseball has dropped by 1/3 at the younger levels over the last 20 years as well. And worse yet soccer has been growing to the point where every public park is ruined by soccer goals. America is just going down the tubes.

[pbmax]

20% drop in 10 years is huge, considering how much the NFL has grown in that same time frame. Baseball has dropped by 1/3 at the younger levels over the last 20 years as well. And worse yet soccer has been growing to the point where every public park is ruined by soccer goals. America is just going down the tubes.

Two points make a line but not a trendline. Need the full set of data.

[sharpe1027]

Radio talk show today reported that, per WIAA records, in 2005 there were 33,000 high school students registered to play football in WI. In 2015, the number has dropped to 27,000.

Borland is no idiot.

[Rastak]

i concur

its smear the queer. call it by its proper name

Never heard it called but I'm guessing it's the same game. I recall in 6th grade a girl wanted to play so she gets the ball and I knocked her square on her ass, I guess being oblivious to many things in life back then and she punched me right in the face......holy shit was she pissed....I'm like but but but....

[wootah]

And worse yet soccer has been growing to the point where every public park is ruined by soccer goals. America is just going down the tubes.

The horror!

Combining the info I got from this thread & partials elaborate research on the growth of Artificial Intelligence, I guess in the future we will be only allowed to watch this 'sport':

http://i.imgur.com/CnSTbEk.gif

http://i.imgur.com/8BiHks1.gif

http://i.imgur.com/47DeS85.gif

I'm no expert, but to me it looks like those bots are suffering from major concussions.

[red]

omg

what is that wootah

i could watch that shit all day, i can't remember the last time i've laughed this hard

[Cheesehead Craig]

According to this article from Feb 2014, football really hasn't decreased much since 2007. They have it at 1,109,511 in 2007 and 1,088,158 in 2014. They got their numbers from National Federation of State High School Associations.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/football-top-sport-us-1088158-high-school-players

Interesting given that everything else I'm hearing says it's going down by far more than their article says.

[sharpe1027]

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/images/Magazine/2014/Dec/Small/HS1214chart_646x371.jpg

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/high-school/high-school-football-participation-rebounding-after-decline.html


Despite a few ominous clouds, the future of high school football appears bright. After declining for five years, high school football participation saw an uptick in 2013, with total participation reaching 1.123 million, an increase of 6,607 from the previous year, according to NFHS figures. Whether or not this trend is going to continue remains to be seen.

[Harlan Huckleby]

That is a deliberately deceptive graph. Why can't they start the Y axis at 0 instead of 1,105,000? The answer is they are trying to exaggerate the percentage change.

[Fritz]

According to this article from Feb 2014, football really hasn't decreased much since 2007. They have it at 1,109,511 in 2007 and 1,088,158 in 2014. They got their numbers from National Federation of State High School Associations.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/football-top-sport-us-1088158-high-school-players

Interesting given that everything else I'm hearing says it's going down by far more than their article says.


My guess is that it's going down everywhere in the US, except for Texas, where it's going up. In fact, there is not only gay-shaming and body-shaming in Texas, there's football-shaming. If you don't try out for peewee football by the age of four, your parents must publicly denigrate you and post the results on YouTube.

[sharpe1027]

That is a deliberately deceptive graph. Why can't they start the Y axis at 0 instead of 1,105,000? The answer is they are trying to exaggerate the percentage change.

Very much so.

[Maxie the Taxi]

That is a deliberately deceptive graph. Why can't they start the Y axis at 0 instead of 1,105,000? The answer is they are trying to exaggerate the percentage change.

I think they just ran short of little purple football helmets.

[red]

That graph also doesn't include the last two years when the concussion Issue has been much greater

[sharpe1027]

That graph also doesn't include the last two years when the concussion Issue has been much greater

Also consider that a participation drop is reportedly occurring with younger kids, so it may take awhile before the high school teams see the full effect.

[sharpe1027]

More recent data:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/sports/football/As-Worries-Rise-and-Players-Flee-a-Missouri-School-Board-Cuts-Football.html?referer=http://t.co/iqlBhQ9tZ0&_r=1


Despite the popularity of college and professional football, the number of male high school football players has fallen to about 1.08 million this year, a 2.4 percent decline from five years ago.

Pop Warner, the largest youth football organization, has seen larger decreases. It has also been sued by a parent of a player who committed suicide at 25 and was found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease linked to repeated head hits.

[Rastak]

Well, former Viking Fred McNeil passed away. I watched him every sunday in the 70s. He not only had dementia but then was diagnosed with ALS.

The 70's guys, well, it seems they do pay a price. Could be a coinsidence? Could be.


I posted this before....I think before he was diagnosed with ALS.


http://www.gq.com/story/jeanne-marie-laskas-nfl-concussions-fred-mcneill