The Golden Age of Football is Over?

[Wayne Arnold]

I'd be fine - perhaps even better - with a league that more closely resembled flag football. I'm sick and tired of the constant injuries. Not only as a human being but simply as a fan of the game.

 

I only have daughters so luckily I don't have to worry about it but if I had one or more sons I'd let them play if they really wanted to and were passionate about it. However, one bad concussion and I'm telling him he's done with the sport.

[Mark Vader]

The golden age of football is when you were 11.

 

Stabler, Bradshaw, Tatum/Atkinson, Staubach,

 

All downhill after that.

Yep.

 

Newsflash to Bleacher Report.....The Golden Age of Football ended a long time ago.

 

Defenders are no longer allowed to tackle and the quarterbacks wear skirts.

 

It's still a good game to watch, although I am leaning towards liking college football more than professional.

[Wayne Arnold]

About 1 million kids play high school football Source.

If this rate keeps up that would be roughly 10% in 4 years, that is very significant.

 

Does that number include all of those players who were cut?

[EmotionallyUnstable]

I can't see the argument for the decline of football until something is there to fill the void. Pair that with the tremendous involvement at all levels, despite its decline, is hard to argue. Even if there is a 10% decrease, there is nothing to say that this trend would continue.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I think a good analogy is boxing. For those of us old enough to remember, the sport was right there with Baseball and Football. Basketball and Hockey were a notch below.

 

Boxing still exist today obviously, but it is no where near the level it was 30-40 years ago. Somewhere along the line, some, not all of the would be boxers moved to different options. Why? because you don't have to get you head bashed in to make a lot of money. And, only a few boxers made money.

 

Could we be headed towards an era of only those without other options stick to football? I think it is very possible.

[KellyToughII]

My kids are not given the option. Baseball, hockey, soccer, hoops, lacrosse, karate are all of their options.

Good for you. If I still had young kids, no way I let them play football, I know the risks. Besides, I am sick of High schools saying Football year round and nothing else. When I was growing up you played everything

[teef]

Not true, at least down here in Texas. Injuries are common at the lower levels.

texas certainly is it's own moster when it comes to football, but i've seen some of the worst injuries in girls soccer, (unfortunately not a joke). if i do have a son, and they want to try it out, why not? if injuries become an issue, it will have to be re-evaluated. i never have a problem if someone doesn't want their kids to play football, but i harm can come from any facet in life. you just have to live it and see what happens.

1,085,272 played in 2015. Using that number as a guideline, 25,000 IS NOT just a blip. That is a 2.3% reduction in one year. Now, extrapolate that over 5 years or 10 years and you are seeing some very large numbers lost. Also, that is a decline when populations are increasing every year, so it is an even more alarming number in reality.

if that decline is constant. who knows if it will be. i just don't think the football is going to go away like some are implying.

[clayboy54]

and yet MMA continues...

not to mention boxing and cage fighting.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

and yet MMA continues...

not to mention boxing and cage fighting.

Yes but they don't get the best athletes

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

I've had this rant, but I think it already has passed it's high mark and we are squeezing it to go faster.

 

In the last 10-15 years, partly in the name of player safety and partly in the name of giving more eye popping numbers, we've tightened the rules on what a defense can do. With instant first downs for tugging at 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, large penalties for hits on receivers when they go up to get the ball and flags for breathing on the QB wrong, passing has exploded. You can line up five wide receivers and pray that the 5th worst DB is a bit grabby. Meanwhile, pick plays are rarely called, even though it is definitely offensive PI.

 

As a result, an above average QB can make you a contender for the playoffs every year. We've seen teams so desperate for even average QB play that Brock Osweiler managed a mega deal in Houston. Sam Bradford, who has never made it to the playoffs once in his career, will have made a hundred million dollars.

 

As a result, at least half the league (ourselves included) have been snapping up someone in the first two rounds and praying they work out, even if the college players haven't had time to develop. And half of *those* have flamed out or are desperately stuggling (By my memory, EJ, Geno, Hackenberg, Manziel, Bortles, RGIII, Kaep, Bridgewater, Goff (injury related but still) please mention others I have missed). The NFL keeps snatching up whatever QBs are available.

 

But we aren't going to go back to hard hitting defense. Not with CTE becoming more known.

[teef]

I'd be fine - perhaps even better - with a league that more closely resembled flag football. I'm sick and tired of the constant injuries. Not only as a human being but simply as a fan of the game.

 

I only have daughters so luckily I don't have to worry about it but if I had one or more sons I'd let them play if they really wanted to and were passionate about it. However, one bad concussion and I'm telling him he's done with the sport.

this is exactly where i'd be at with it.

[Wayne Arnold]

Yes but they don't get the best athletes

 

Does it matter?

[Mark Vader]

I've had this rant, but I think it already has passed it's high mark and we are squeezing it to go faster.

 

In the last 10-15 years, partly in the name of player safety and partly in the name of giving more eye popping numbers, we've tightened the rules on what a defense can do. With instant first downs for tugging at 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, large penalties for hits on receivers when they go up to get the ball and flags for breathing on the QB wrong, passing has exploded. You can line up five wide receivers and pray that the 5th worst DB is a bit grabby. Meanwhile, pick plays are rarely called, even though it is definitely offensive PI.

 

As a result, an above average QB can make you a contender for the playoffs every year. We've seen teams so desperate for even average QB play that Brock Osweiler managed a mega deal in Houston. Sam Bradford, who has never made it to the playoffs once in his career, will have made a hundred million dollars.

 

As a result, at least half the league (ourselves included) have been snapping up someone in the first two rounds and praying they work out, even if the college players haven't had time to develop. And half of *those* have flamed out or are desperately stuggling (By my memory, EJ, Geno, Hackenberg, Manziel, Bortles, RGIII, Kaep, Bridgewater, Goff (injury related but still) please mention others I have missed). The NFL keeps snatching up whatever QBs are available.

 

But we aren't going to go back to hard hitting defense. Not with CTE becoming more known.

Excellent post.

[4_kidd_4]

My dad's argument against football when we were kids (1980's) was that we were still growing, and the potential for neck/spine injuries was high. Weren't allowed to play til high school. By that time, my athletic "prowess" was obviously not good enough to make a team. My brother, however, went out for JV in 10th grade and started o-line right away. He went varsity next year and ended up starting for two years, and got a couple "All WNY Team" nods.

 

Point here is you don't necessarily need to start all kids at an early age for them to eventually excel. I would say my dad mitigated the risks quite well.

[Chuck Wagon]

I've had this rant, but I think it already has passed it's high mark and we are squeezing it to go faster.

 

In the last 10-15 years, partly in the name of player safety and partly in the name of giving more eye popping numbers, we've tightened the rules on what a defense can do. With instant first downs for tugging at 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, large penalties for hits on receivers when they go up to get the ball and flags for breathing on the QB wrong, passing has exploded. You can line up five wide receivers and pray that the 5th worst DB is a bit grabby. Meanwhile, pick plays are rarely called, even though it is definitely offensive PI.

 

As a result, an above average QB can make you a contender for the playoffs every year. We've seen teams so desperate for even average QB play that Brock Osweiler managed a mega deal in Houston. Sam Bradford, who has never made it to the playoffs once in his career, will have made a hundred million dollars.

 

As a result, at least half the league (ourselves included) have been snapping up someone in the first two rounds and praying they work out, even if the college players haven't had time to develop. And half of *those* have flamed out or are desperately stuggling (By my memory, EJ, Geno, Hackenberg, Manziel, Bortles, RGIII, Kaep, Bridgewater, Goff (injury related but still) please mention others I have missed). The NFL keeps snatching up whatever QBs are available.

 

But we aren't going to go back to hard hitting defense. Not with CTE becoming more known.

 

 

I do think the future of the QB position is the legitimate concern.

 

IMO it's difficult to avoid a socioeconomic conversation when looking at the future of football, but I think there's a disconnect between the situations where parents aren't allowing their kids to play and the type of players who eventually end up in the NFL.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I just can't see anything truly competing with the NFL, at least for the rest of my natural born lifetime.

 

Baseball is all but dead except regionally. NBA draws good attention - in the post season. Who really watches NBA games on a wednesday in January?

 

NHL...is a joke. Love hockey, but it's so niche that it's a niche of niche.

 

Don't even start on me with soccer, either.

[4_kidd_4]

But does the NFL really need something to take its place in order to "fail"?

[BigPappy]

When we are kids (pee wee), we have no idea what the inherent dangers are in the sport and we see these professionals playing and making tons of money and say, WOW look at all the money that guy makes playing a game. as we get older (High School) We start to understand the dangers in the game but by that time your hooked. You love playing and in our youthful minds we think "that will never happen to me", but we still know and understand there is a danger in playing the sport.

 

The funny thing is knowing Football or any other sport for that matter is dangerous, is not the same as knowing what that danger leads to. Its dangerous to play Baseball, Soccer, or even Golf but generally speaking there is no serious danger of brain damage unless you take a serious beaner to the head.For Football, they are doing studies on just what happens to the brain in normal play, forget about getting a concussion, we're just talking about taking normal average hits playing the sport year in and year out.

 

Even now with everything that we do know, its still only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the brain. My point to all this is that while there has been a slight drop in kids playing now, I think over the next ten years as more is learned you will start to see a significant drop in kids playing. Especially in areas where kids have, more less dangerous options for their future. Where you will probably see less or no drop off is in the very poor areas where kids have fewer opportunities to remove themselves from poverty. Overall, I believe that by the time I am in my 80's (if i live that long (hopefully)I'm 42 now) I would not be surprised that Football is all but gone from the spectrum of sports you watch on TV or at the very least it will look like your watching a group of armatures running around playing tag or flag football.

Edited August 9, 2017 by BigPappy

[KDIGGZ]

Everyone wants to play basketball. Not everyone is 6'8". There will always be enough people playing football as a result. For some people it's the only way to get a college education or for a better life. It's not a choice for them like it is for upper and middle class Americans with options. As long as people like us watch football and the NFL and colleges make millions there will always be players looking for a share of that money

[BigPappy]

Everyone wants to play basketball. Not everyone is 6'8". There will always be enough people playing football as a result. For some people it's the only way to get a college education or for a better life. It's not a choice for them like it is for upper and middle class Americans with options. As long as people like us watch football and the NFL and colleges make millions there will always be players looking for a share of that money

 

You are correct, but people like us are starting to become fewer and fewer. I am a Huge fan of football and love to watch the game being played but even at my "moderately" young age I am finding more and more people, especially men that just don't watch it. Either they have stopped because they have become less interested or just never were interested. I have a few newer friends that when I asked what they thought of the Bills latest news, told me they don't watch football and don't pay any attention to what it going on; I was shocked. I mean, come on, we're guys...and guys watch football right? Well, not so much anymore.