concussions | Syracusefan.com

concussions

I think there is a reason the NFL settled the lawsuit relatively quickly. I also think that by the time my son is my age football will have gone the way of boxing. It will still be around but will be nowhere near as popular as it currently is.
 
Millhouse said:
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...r-two-decades-deny-football-link-brain-damage

anyone else feel guilty for liking this stupid sport?
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It's just an insane sport. And the concussion issue clouds the whole rampant PED use issue that unquestionably spreads to college and even into bigger high school programs, in my humble and basically uninformed opinion. Now I'm not really 'against' PEDs to be honest for a few reasons, but the rest of the country seems to be obsessed with them.

Add to that the fact that half the league gets arrested each off-season and the coaches are often complete jackholes -- it's a bad combo.

Of course, having said that, I"m completely fired up for Saturday ...
 
I feel the same way I do about boxing. If the players are willing to play the games, I'll watch if it pleases me to do so. (UFC does not please me so I don't watch it.)

But I still think the issue is technique. I don't believe that this has been a problem all along and people are just talking about it now. I believe, looking at old films. I think there are more head and neck injuries than ever before because players are going for the helmet-helmet stuff more than they ever did. "Hard Hitting" used to mean with the shoulder- that's why there are pads there. And tackles were made with arms open, not at the sides, to control the player. You didn't use to see all these scenes on a guy motionless on the turf and everybody on both teams praying for him. Players are going for the DA-DA-DAH, DA-DA-DAH on Sports Center rather than playing good football. That's what's got to change.
 
SWC75 said:
I feel the same way I do about boxing. If the players are willing to play the games, I'll watch if it pleases me to do so. (UFC does not please me so I don't watch it.)

But I still think the issue is technique. I don't believe that this has been a problem all along and people are just talking about it now. I believe, looking at old films. I think there are more head and neck injuries than ever before because players are going for the helmet-helmet stuff more than they ever did. "Hard Hitting" used to mean with the shoulder- that's why there are pads there. And tackles were made with arms open, not at the sides, to control the player. You didn't use to see all these scenes on a guy motionless on the turf and everybody on both teams praying for him. Players are going for the DA-DA-DAH, DA-DA-DAH on Sports Center rather than playing good football. That's what's got to change.
Expand...

Two things ..

I used to believe the same thing. They choose to play so it is on them.

Then you start reading about the culture of the teams and how they knew guys should not be playing. Not only did teams let them play in many cases they for all intensive purposes pushed them onto the field. Guys who were in no position to make the call for themselves (because they were impaired from the concussions) trusted the coaches and team doctors and are now ultimately paying the price. I believe the league as a whole had a lot to answer for and got off for a relatively small amount in that lawsuit.

Hard to pin it as a modern ESPN problem with a lot of the players from the 70's and early 80's suffering they way they are.
 
I don't feel guilty and I coach pop warner. SWC75 is right its about teaching technique. USA football stresses proper technique and gives us drills to teach it. Is football 100% safe? NO, but either is walking down the street. I have no problem with my son playing football. Am i nervous when he is on the field? YES, but he can also get a head injury playing baseball and basketball. I don't have the article but I did some research online and for younger kids there are more head injuries playing soccer than football. I like to think the decline is because of the teaching of proper technique to youngers.
 
Tom Frey said:
I did some research online and for younger kids there are more head injuries playing soccer than football.
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Some of the studies I have read showed that kids who played soccer their whole lives showed the same sort potential brain damage issues that football players did from the constant heading of the ball.
 
SWC75 said:
tackles were made with arms open, not at the sides, to control the player. You didn't use to see all these scenes on a guy motionless on the turf and everybody on both teams praying for him. Players are going for the DA-DA-DAH, DA-DA-DAH on Sports Center rather than playing good football. That's what's got to change.
Expand...


Also wanted to add that there are more than a few studies out there that show the damage is not just being done in the big hits but by the number of small hits (think OL and DL) that added up day after day.

"The most important implication of the new findings is the suggestion that a concussion is not just the result of a single blow, but it's really the totality of blows that took place over the season," said Eric Nauman, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in central nervous system and musculoskeletal trauma. "The one hit that brought on the concussion is arguably the straw that broke the camel's back."

LINK
 
Millhouse said:
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...r-two-decades-deny-football-link-brain-damage

anyone else feel guilty for liking this stupid sport?
Expand...
feeling guilty no, still the best sport on the face of the earth for entertainment and for it's positive effect on it's participants in their futures off the field; and with a continued push toward modifications in equipment and technique to minimize head trauma things can and will improve. So why I'm not feeling any sort of angst as a spectator I am quite concerned for myself and my friends down the road a bit having played the sport like forever with our own history of getting our "bells rung" as we used to call it not knowing any better. (I'll save you writing it...I know that explains everything re my OT board takes...:)
 
Tom Frey said:
I don't feel guilty and I coach pop warner. SWC75 is right its about teaching technique. USA football stresses proper technique and gives us drills to teach it. Is football 100% safe? NO, but either is walking down the street. I have no problem with my son playing football. Am i nervous when he is on the field? YES, but he can also get a head injury playing baseball and basketball. I don't have the article but I did some research online and for younger kids there are more head injuries playing soccer than football. I like to think the decline is because of the teaching of proper technique to youngers.
Expand...

I'm not against kids playing football in general (though my kids won't play it) but I have two problems with your post (which is a good post in general):

1. Comparing it to walking down the street or any other seemingly innocuous activity is intellectually dishonest b/c you can't live your life without walking down a street or taking public transportation/driving a car, or flying in an airplane or eating food or drinking water from a tap ... You can absolutely live your life to a very full extent without having a hobby that involves running into other humans with both of you travelling at full speed.

2. I'm not sure what soccer or hoops or any other sport has to do with football's concussion issues. If there are concussion issues in soccer than those should be addressed. Same with hoops or lacrosse or any others that may pop up. But there is only one sport that offers games and practices chock full of high-speed collisions. So if we need to address concussions in other sports, we should absolutely do so, but that doesn't change the fact that football needs to make serious changes to address its own issues.
 
I've had 3 in life... and I literally have no idea where I am right now.
 
Cuseregular said:
still the best sport on the face of the earth for entertainment and for it's positive effect on it's participants in their futures off the field;
Expand...

I don't buy that sports really 'build character' in this way. I just don't. For one thing, sports today are so intense and competitive they breed as many bad habits as they do good habits. If a sport helps you make friends and gain confidence and you decide to take your discipline on the field and apply it to other walks of life, that's all awesome. I just don't think simply playing sports builds character -- we've just had that ingrained in our heads incessantly forever.
 
Glad we are ALSO good in hoops. And Lax. The monoliths solely focused on football may be left behind (SEC). Hope not as I love football.
 
SWC75 said:
I feel the same way I do about boxing. If the players are willing to play the games, I'll watch if it pleases me to do so. (UFC does not please me so I don't watch it.)

But I still think the issue is technique. I don't believe that this has been a problem all along and people are just talking about it now. I believe, looking at old films. I think there are more head and neck injuries than ever before because players are going for the helmet-helmet stuff more than they ever did. "Hard Hitting" used to mean with the shoulder- that's why there are pads there. And tackles were made with arms open, not at the sides, to control the player. You didn't use to see all these scenes on a guy motionless on the turf and everybody on both teams praying for him. Players are going for the DA-DA-DAH, DA-DA-DAH on Sports Center rather than playing good football. That's what's got to change.
Expand...

I don't buy this line of thinking. I think technique and perhaps more of a focus on truly protective equipment (obviously there's major financial incentive for any company that can design a truly protective helmet) could help, but ultimately at the FBS and NFL levels, you've got such massive dudes traveling at such high speeds and literally living in a 'kill or be killed' type environment, that these issues aren't going away. I also feel like we have a much better understanding of the conditions and injuries that stem from brain trauma then we did even 10 or 15 years ago, let alone 30 or 40 years ago. I would guess we simply didn't hear as much about it more than these injuries weren't equally prevalent.
 
edowd26 said:
I've had 3 in life... and I literally have no idea where I am right now.
Expand...

I know you are making a joke but I do wonder how having had concussions alters one's opinion on this topic. I personally have suffered from 5 concussions that I know about. 2 were from accidents and 3 were from football. I absolutely know I am not the same person I was and because of this as much as I love the game I have encouraged my son to play other sports.

I am curious if there other guys out there who have suffered multiple concussions and are choosing differently than I have and are letting their sons play football.
 
Guinness said:
I know you are making a joke but I do wonder how having had concussions alters one's opinion on this topic. I personally have suffered from 5 concussions that I know about. 2 were from accidents and 3 were from football. I absolutely know I am not the same person I was and because of this as much as I love the game I have encouraged my son to play other sports.

I am curious if there other guys out there who have suffered multiple concussions and are choosing differently than I have and are letting their sons play football.
Expand...
I have definitely had 3 concussions in my life 2 have been pretty severe. You definitely have no idea where you are when you come to. I am not sure how its affected me in the long term, but I am still young.
 
Guinness said:
I know you are making a joke but I do wonder how having had concussions alters one's opinion on this topic. I personally have suffered from 5 concussions that I know about. 2 were from accidents and 3 were from football. I absolutely know I am not the same person I was and because of this as much as I love the game I have encouraged my son to play other sports.

I am curious if there other guys out there who have suffered multiple concussions and are choosing differently than I have and are letting their sons play football.
Expand...
Oh and my wife doesn't want my kid to play football or hockey (this is where I got 2 of my 3). I am on the fence about it.
 
edowd26 said:
Oh and my wife doesn't want my kid to play football or hockey (this is where I got 2 of my 3). I am on the fence about it.
Expand...
You got 2 of your 3 concussions from your wife? Yikes!
 
billsin01 said:
It's just an insane sport. And the concussion issue clouds the whole rampant PED use issue that unquestionably spreads to college and even into bigger high school programs, in my humble and basically uninformed opinion. Now I'm not really 'against' PEDs to be honest for a few reasons, but the rest of the country seems to be obsessed with them.

Add to that the fact that half the league gets arrested each off-season and the coaches are often complete jackholes -- it's a bad combo.

Of course, having said that, I"m completely fired up for Saturday ...
Expand...

That is a completely overblown figure. I understand it was hyperbole, but still.
 
GoHamSU said:
That is a completely overblown figure. I understand it was hyperbole, but still.
Expand...

Hyperbole is supposed to be overblown. I'm way too lazy to go the UT site and actually look up the specific figure, so let's meet in the middle and say the league has some fairly significant behavioral issues.
 
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