Death of a Sport

I wake up this morning to the news of the Jets being interested in JaMarcus Russell, and of Alex Rodriguez still taking HGH. Can I go back to bed, please?

The Super Bowl is on Sunday. I know, duh. But instead of hearing analysts discuss the Harbaugh brothers facing off, or Ray Lewis playing his last game, or Joe Flacco still trying to prove he is elite, or Colin Kaepernick fearlessly running rampant through the NFL, I have been hearing something else over the past couple of days.

CTE, concussions, and head trauma.

Head trauma may signal the eventual demise to the NFL. Football is a violent sport with collisions happening on every play. The NFL tries to put rules in place to make the sport safer, but completely removing injuries and head trauma is impossible. With more and more former and current players (and the President!) coming out to say they probably wouldn't let their hypothetical sons play football knowing the dangers of head trauma, who will be the future of the NFL?

The future has to decide whether short term fame and fortune outweigh potential long lasting effects on the brain that can result in suicide. As we learn more about CTE and how it is caused and what it causes, the NFL could look very different

The NFL has a dangerously thin line to navigate in the future. As fans, we watch because these athletes are extraordinary. They run faster, throw farther, jump higher than us. But maybe most importantly, they are infinitely tougher than us. We want to see big hits, and players playing through pain but we are also more aware now the damage they may cause. Rule changes down the line may drastically change how the game is played and people at that point might stop watching. The draw right now though is too big. There is too much money and too much glory to be had. For now, I'll gladly keep watching and sadly keep rooting for the Jets (JaMarcus Russell, really???), but it will be interesting to see how the NFL changes over time.

I know if I'm lucky enough to have a baby boy, he won't be encouraged to play football. I'm now happy my mom discouraged me from playing, even if she was only worried about broken bones. But I also know there well be plenty of people drawn to the fame and fortune that will ignore the warnings. If those people keep playing and the hits are still big, we'll all keep watching. The NFL isn't dead yet, but Roger Goodell can't be happy this is even a topic before the Super Bowl when the game should be celebrated, not given a death sentence.