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CTE

its most definitely real...there is no questioning it now. these guys who are killing themselves are intentionally leaving their brains intact so they can be studied..that is sad to know they are aware enough to know something is wrong but just can't help but want to end the pain.

Junior Seau was a hell of a dude. he was friendly to the point where he would just sit on his front porch on a public boardwalk and play his ukulele while talking to random people almost daily. you could see him surfing his local spots, he was involved with the community, and he was just an all around good dude who for all accounts loved life. but you also hear about the scary stuff like him sitting at the edge of his bed at 4AM talking to a blank wall, the forgetfulness even with people he had known for decades..

its sad. and it ties me back to the "will you let your child play football?" talk we all had the other day.


Hard to find something more tied to the fabric of our culture than Football. It is our game. Watching when I was a kid, I was drawn in by the strategy, the chain links that each person made up on a team(no game requires every link to be intact like football), the brute fight required. Nothing captured it like NFL films. I hated when I would see clips of Canadian Football, since the heart and soul of the game was being tinkered with. I equally hated when then NFL started moving in that direction with the rules changes.

I never want the running game, the physicality, the blood and guts of the game to go away. I feel the NFL has made a colossal mistake with the helmet gear and everything that has happened since then(rules changes, heads up programs, bogus research they blow up our asses), are simply band aids.
 
a mistake how?

As you know the Hard Helmet was implemented to prevent potential life threatening injury, as well as the opportunity to protect the face. I would really like to know statistics for skull fractures and paralyses numbers pre 1950's and compare them to the catastrophe that is threatening the livelyhood of Football.
When you watch 1940's football, specifically what goes on in the trenches, you do not see guys using their heads as battering rams. As the CTE data has produced, 30 sub concussive hits on the brain(which according to the rules are undetectable) per game which is common for lineman, linebackers, safeties, etc., is potentially more damaging than several concussions during that season.

I maintain that the game was safer during the 40's than it was in the 50's and 60's with plastic helmets. Safer than the 70's 80's and 90's when they went to Polycarbonite, and safer than it is now with the latest material. Guys are bigger stronger and faster, is the counter argument that I hear most. Give them a leather helmet, and you will see them change their technique instantly. No more Mike Webster helmet fork lift on every snap, and no more Ryan Clark head launches on Wes Welker.

Do I ever expect this to happen? No. CTE is "mostly" affecting players after they retire. The NFL is in full disaster cover up on this. Imagine if it was happening a few years earlier while the stars were still playing.
 
I'll say this: Watch an old NFL films show about the 85 Bears, or a 70s Steelers team. When they show the defense making a play ... every single play would be flagged today. I watch them with my son and it is significant how much the game has changed recently.

I don't know if it's enough to make a real difference, especially for down linemen, but the change is very noticeable.
 
My ten year old son has played tackle football for the past three years. I used to talk about it all the time, but lately I keep it to myself because I don't want to be accused of abusing my son or something. Fact is, he just loves it. Football is the center of his universe, and oddly, not because of me. I didn't play and we're not a 'football family' or anything. He just discovered it himself and loves playing. I admit unlike most parents I go and sit and watch every single practice because I want to keep an eye on the coaches and make sure they aren't pushing the kids in the wrong direction (yes, I'm that dad) but I just can't not let him play. My sport was Tae Kwon Do, and over the years I've broken one wrist, sprained the other, dislocated my jaw and suffered a fairly significant concussion. I saw one fellow student (and high-level competitor) have his arm shattered in three places blocking a kick during practice which now has a big ol' metal plate in it.

That's sports. If you are active and you put your heart and soul into it, it's going to take a toll. And if you compete at the highest level, your body will fall apart much sooner than the rest of us.

I don't expect that my son will play professional football. And at this level, I think keeping him active and engaged and letting do something he truly enjoys balances out the risks.

Anyway, just some input from someone who does let their kid play.
 
My ten year old son has played tackle football for the past three years. I used to talk about it all the time, but lately I keep it to myself because I don't want to be accused of abusing my son or something. Fact is, he just loves it. Football is the center of his universe, and oddly, not because of me. I didn't play and we're not a 'football family' or anything. He just discovered it himself and loves playing. I admit unlike most parents I go and sit and watch every single practice because I want to keep an eye on the coaches and make sure they aren't pushing the kids in the wrong direction (yes, I'm that dad) but I just can't not let him play. My sport was Tae Kwon Do, and over the years I've broken one wrist, sprained the other, dislocated my jaw and suffered a fairly significant concussion. I saw one fellow student (and high-level competitor) have his arm shattered in three places blocking a kick during practice which now has a big ol' metal plate in it.

That's sports. If you are active and you put your heart and soul into it, it's going to take a toll. And if you compete at the highest level, your body will fall apart much sooner than the rest of us.

I don't expect that my son will play professional football. And at this level, I think keeping him active and engaged and letting do something he truly enjoys balances out the risks.

Anyway, just some input from someone who does let their kid play.


Great post. Personal and heart felt. Concern about your boy. Balancing his love for the game and being a parent. If I could give it 10 Thumbs up I would.
Nothing represents the dichotomy of today's game more than this.

As far as you mentioning watching 80s football I don't doubt that there would be a lot more illegal stuff going on if they had today's rules being enforced.
One of my biggest problems with today's game is however, is that they are changing the rules as a result of the law suits. In most part, I am preaching to the choir on this. Until the NFL makes a significant decision on Helmets that radically changes how players go about their play(you know what I feel needs to be done), how in the world are they going to be able to regulate these collisions, that are split second, and where the defensive player is still at fault even when the offensive player with the ball ducks!?!
Tell that to any defender when the game is on the line.

Thanks for your post Henry. You are one of my favorite posters here.
I think I have to say Fear the Spear is my favorite, only because I am afraid he will find me somehow and kick my ass some day.
 
I totally agree with you about the NFL and rule enforcement. After every play with any sort of contact whatsoever we are all looking to see if there's a flag.

The game can't go on like that, and it's the NFL's own fault for covering all of this up for so long that the game evolved into a headhunting paradise for decades. Now the league is flailing trying to right the ship and it's all a big mess.

Heads-up football, if it really takes hold, could make some difference. The game has to change at the lowest levels, and kids have to grow up playing the game differently than it's being played now. The entire culture of the game has to change. This should have been started years ago, and not only when the league got caught with both hands in the cookie jar.

But football, ultimately, will always be about each player imposing his will on the guy across from him. I don't know that anything can change that. I don't really know what the solution is. Maybe getting rid of the helmets would do it. :)
 
Eh, it's all luck of the draw. Good or bad.

Not everyone gets it. There is no set number of hits that determine it. Some get it with less trauma than others, and vice versa. Many don't get it at all.

It can happen in football, hockey, baseball, bicycling, skateboarding, martial arts, wrestling, etc...

Nothing wrong with trying to prevent your kids from getting seriously injured. The reality, it's beyond anyone's control.

Bad things happen in every walk of life. Always has, and always will.
 
I think parents should have final say on everything concerning their own children. And it's only natural to try and limit exposing our children to life's dangers. I simply mention that it's impossible to do, since dangers lurk everywhere, all the time.

Personally, I try to not fear the "what ifs" in life. Because there are just too many of them. I don't always succeed.
 
I'm going to say something for the first time in here. I've been saying it for about six months now and it surprised family and a few close friends.

Wish I'd never played the game of football in HS and rugby for a couple of years as a young man. If I could go back...

Just yesterday, my right knee flared up and I am hardly moving today. It should be fine in a few days, but it really hurts right now. Occasionally the left shoulder, left knee, and left hand have issues. It's just a way of life these days and I am convinced that it all goes back to football.

Heck, I only played in HS and tried to walk on in college. Glad I didn't make it. It seems strange to say such things now, but there is no telling what else could be a problem or what could've been made worse.

As for CTE, that is scary. Very scary. I remember getting my "bell rung" a couple of times - once by an OL the size of Montana and a RB in a nasty collision. Pretty sure that "bell rung" now translates to concussion. No lasting effects on that side of playing the game.

In retrospect, it was good to not have any more football in my life. I love watching it and cheer for my favorite teams in college and the pros. I respect those who want to play and those who walk away earlier than expected. My attitude was much different in the past and I thought these players who left early were "wimps" and the like. It's much different now.

Again, if I could go back...
 
I'm going to say something for the first time in here. I've been saying it for about six months now and it surprised family and a few close friends.

Wish I'd never played the game of football in HS and rugby for a couple of years as a young man. If I could go back...

Just yesterday, my right knee flared up and I am hardly moving today. It should be fine in a few days, but it really hurts right now. Occasionally the left shoulder, left knee, and left hand have issues. It's just a way of life these days and I am convinced that it all goes back to football.

Heck, I only played in HS and tried to walk on in college. Glad I didn't make it. It seems strange to say such things now, but there is no telling what else could be a problem or what could've been made worse.

As for CTE, that is scary. Very scary. I remember getting my "bell rung" a couple of times - once by an OL the size of Montana and a RB in a nasty collision. Pretty sure that "bell rung" now translates to concussion. No lasting effects on that side of playing the game.

In retrospect, it was good to not have any more football in my life. I love watching it and cheer for my favorite teams in college and the pros. I respect those who want to play and those who walk away earlier than expected. My attitude was much different in the past and I thought these players who left early were "wimps" and the like. It's much different now.

Again, if I could go back...


Thank you for a giving us a view into your life BB. I appreciate it.
 
To each his own. Personally, I don't regret anything. I make the best decision I can, with the information I have available, and I run with. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Life's a tough town.

The problem with wishing you'd have turned left, instead of right, in life, is that most people do so under the guise that things would have been better, not worse. And there is simply no way to know. Had I not been playing football one day, I might have instead been cruising down the road with some honey, and gotten killed by a drunk driver who crossed the yellow line. Or worse, paralyzed for the rest of my life.

No, I'll take the aches and pains that life, and myself, have heaped upon me. Cause it's just as likely things would have been worse, not better, if I had made different choices along the way.
 
Ken Stabler who died recently, was just diagnosed with CTE.

This is obviously a huge problem that they need to solve very quickly. The current safety precautions aren't enough. Reported concussions nearly doubled this season in the NFL.

It seems there are some common sense solutions which would help immediately.

1. Use that helmet that Solitary Man just posted.
2. Combine that with the other helmet that has the light that goes off on the back of the helmet whenever a hit is deemed hard enough to possibly cause a concussion.
3. If that light goes off, you go to the sideline to be checked. If it goes off two or three times in a game, you're out the rest of the game. That keeps incompetent teams or coaches honest.
4. Increase the active roster size by 12-15 players a game to replace the players leaving the field.

That won't fix everything, but it can be put in place immediately before the first game next season while further advancements are studied.
 
Ken Stabler who died recently, was just diagnosed with CTE.

This is obviously a huge problem that they need to solve very quickly. The current safety precautions aren't enough. Reported concussions nearly doubled this season in the NFL.

It seems there are some common sense solutions which would help immediately.

1. Use that helmet that Solitary Man just posted.
2. Combine that with the other helmet that has the light that goes off on the back of the helmet whenever a hit is deemed hard enough to possibly cause a concussion.
3. If that light goes off, you go to the sideline to be checked. If it goes off two or three times in a game, you're out the rest of the game. That keeps incompetent teams or coaches honest.
4. Increase the active roster size by 12-15 players a game to replace the players leaving the field.

That won't fix everything, but it can be put in place immediately before the first game next season while further advancements are studied.



You are a leader. Problem solving type. The NFL not only needs leaders with brains and sensibility like you, they need to show it is not always about making a profit in the fiscal year we are in. I love your idea about the increased roster size. Brilliant idea. The owners can afford it. Why not??
 
I don't think it's 'about the money'. If the NFL could get rid of concussions by spending a ton of money, they'd do it tomorrow. They've changed a ton of rules to try and reduce concussions. But the problem is, no amount of technology or rules tweaking will change the basic fact that football is a violent game played by huge men. You can change rules to penalize defenders for savage hits on WRs, but RBs are going to get hit and hit hard every time they have the ball. Helmet improvements may help a little, but unless some radical new concept comes out, you can't eliminate the risk. And the idea some have pitched about going back to the 40's with no or essentially no helmets not only wouldn't work, it would get players killed. The size, strength, and level of violence of the game today requires head protection.

I've wondered if we won't end up with some version of flag football. Would that be so bad? Taking tackling out of the game is probably the only true solution. It wouldn't eliminate all concussions (accidents happen), but it would eliminate most of the hard hits that occur today.

On a side note - I saw an interview with Tony Dorsett yesterday. The guy looks like he barely knows where he is and had trouble stringing coherent sentences together. It was pretty bad and very, very sad. NFL has got to do more.
 

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