"Should College Football Be banned?"

[texascpa]

Well, first of all, I don't really care what's banned and what isn't if that's the point of the thread. I don't support banning football.

I'd also agree that football gets more media scrutiny b/c of it's popularity. But let's also not forget the disturbing rash of brain-trauma related stories with NFL players. It's not like the media is making stories up -- there is plenty of documented evidence that these NFL and college guys are experiencing serious issues related at least in some way to the repeated brain injuries.

I'm not saying the media's making it up and I'm not saying that football doesn't have a concussion issue. What I'm saying is that it's talked about much more than soccer because football is this country's sport.

 

[billsin01]

I'm not saying the media's making it up and I'm not saying that football doesn't have a concussion issue. What I'm saying is that it's talked about much more than soccer because football is this country's sport.

I'd say yes and no. I think you're absolutely right, but I think the other thing with football is that the essence of the game that makes it so popular -- the unthinkable constant violence, which traditionally has been celebrated by basically all of it's players and coaches and spokesman, makes it a pretty easy and compelling story to tell. I always thought the whole 'this guy's great b/c he plays with a broken clavical' thing that football guys love was stupid, but it's now starting to come to light just how absurd some of the procedures and policies are.

So anyway, yeah high profile makes it a much bigger story.

 

[SWC75]

I'd say yes and no. I think you're absolutely right, but I think the other thing with football is that the essence of the game that makes it so popular -- the unthinkable constant violence, which traditionally has been celebrated by basically all of it's players and coaches and spokesman, makes it a pretty easy and compelling story to tell. I always thought the whole 'this guy's great b/c he plays with a broken clavical' thing that football guys love was stupid, but it's now starting to come to light just how absurd some of the procedures and policies are.

So anyway, yeah high profile makes it a much bigger story.

George Will once described football as combining the two worst aspects of American society: violence interrupted by committee meetings.

 

[zibby]

I finally got around to watching this and I want to puke. Buzz Bissinger just ranted like a lunatic and Malcolm Gladwell twisted everyone's emotions talking about former players who killed themselves. Junior Seau had a lot of problems. He had just been arrested for beating up his girlfriend and he had Ambien in his system. It's way too easy to say he killed himself because he played football.

And nobody even mentioned that at major conference universities, football pays for nearly all the other sports a university provides or that many universities that don't make money on football see it as a "loss leader" because of the attention it brings to the university, or that some colleges concerned about a lack of male applicants are adding football to try to attract more.

 

[skurey]

I give football about 20 more years of existence