Bob Costas says CTE will destroy the NFL

[Heavy Kevi]

35 minutes ago, Kemp said:

MMA hasn't been around long enough to determine long-term brain damage.

 

Well since CTE is directly linked to brain trauma, and you take less head trauma in MMA, I would argue you don't need a long term study to apply already known outcomes.

 

There are many unknowns about CTE, but the cause is not one of those things. It is fair to say MMA is safer, at least from a CTE perspective.

 

My $.02

29 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

 

Attendance of 72 million people this year isn't bad for a dead sport.

 

I get your point, but it is a fact it is much less popular than it used to be.

 

Also 162 games a season, 72 mil is less than 15,000 per game. Hockey draws 17,000 per game, and the NFL per game numbers are over 68,000

[Gugny]

36 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I am curious why some people think this will destroy the NFL but college football is hardly ever mentioned.

 

 

I think the notion is that less parents will let their kids play high school (or younger) football, leading to less talent in college football, leading to garbage football in the NFL.

 

 

[KD in CA]

4 minutes ago, Shotgunner said:

 

Well since CTE is directly linked to brain trauma, and you take less head trauma in MMA, I would argue you don't need a long term study to apply already known outcomes.

 

There are many unknowns about CTE, but the cause is not one of those things. It is fair to say MMA is safer, at least from a CTE perspective.

 

My $.02

 

I get your point, but it is a fact it is much less popular than it used to be.

 

Also 162 games a season, 72 mil is less than 15,000 per game. Hockey draws 17,000 per game, and the NFL per game numbers are over 68,000

 

 

It's 30,000 per game -- you forgot to divide by two (teams per game).   Which is pretty good considering each team plays ten times the # of home games as NFL teams do.   I have a hard time seeing the Bills drawing 30,000 for 81 home games.   Even Bills fans can't drink that much!

 

 

[Heavy Kevi]

2 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

 

 

It's 30,000 per game -- you forgot to divide by two (teams per game).   Which is pretty good considering each team plays ten times the # of home games as NFL teams do.   I have a hard time seeing the Bills drawing 30,000 for 81 home games.   Even Bills fans can't drink that much!

 

 

 

Ah, yes. Touche sir.

 

My point remains about it losing popularity, I was just trying to back it up with numbers.

 

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/9630782

 

This article points to some of the reasons. Also makes my point about nostalgia given that 50% of baseball fans are over 50.

[Fadingpain]

7 hours ago, Lv-Bills said:

Not sure how this will effect the NFL.  College.  Or even high school yet, but.......

 

I'm a Recreation Director in a County in Virginia.  Our athletics department runs youth Athletics for county residents.  Our county also has one of the best, if not the best, high school programs in the state.  The program is top notch and wins big every year.  Virginia is also one of the top 10 talent rich states for football players in the country.  Usually sits right around 6 or 7.

 

That being said, there is an undeniable drop in football numbers in youth football, not only in our county, but all across the state.  In our league alone, around the Richmond area, the league has dropped from 32 teams to 22 in the last 5 years.  Some entire county's in the league can't even field a team in an age division anymore.  This is really started in the last five years.  And I'm not talking about this being an inner city league.  As a matter of fact, it's so bad, the numbers all across the state are alarmingly bad and the trend is continuing to get worse.

 

Here's a case in point.  Swimming vs Football.  In a suburban county just outside of Richmond, there are 3 football associations in the same area that has 6 swimming associations.  5 years ago, there were about 700 kids swimming, and about 550 playing football.  Today, there are 2,200 swimming and 325 left playing football.  Granted, swimming is coed, but that's a huge difference in the exact same area.

 

It's alarming.  Football is by far the country's most favorite sport.  However, it is seeing a severe reduction in the number of little kids playing.  Sooner or later, that will catch up to the upper leagues.  

 

I study these numbers for a living.  Football is the only youth sport that is falling so incredibly fast.

Great post and it shows why Bob Costas isn't wrong.

 

The numerous Trump voters/Costas haters in this thread won't be persuaded, however, largely  b/c your post is long and they probably couldn't be bothered to read it.

 

[jimmy10]

12 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

He is very punch drunk. He is admanent that boxing is way more dangerous

 

Sounds like a solid source for medical information. 

[PromoTheRobot]

The Bills have about 10 years left to win it all before the NFL collapses. The only solution is the same solution that businesses use when domestic labor is too expensive or unavailable...cheap foreign players. Develop the game in poorer nations where people are more willing to take dangerous jobs. 

[LarryMadman]

I think if the NFL wants to survive financially, they have to push back against these lawsuits and make them prove they didn't have concussion issues pre NFL. That said I think less and less kids will be playing the game.

[vincec]

9 hours ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I am curious why some people think this will destroy the NFL but college football is hardly ever mentioned.

 

My guess is that:

a) the collisions in college football are much less violent than in the NFL; and

b) people want the NFL to go down for other reasons (big greedy business, unpopular owners, player personal conduct, national anthem protests, etc.)

45 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

The Bills have about 10 years left to win it all before the NFL collapses. The only solution is the same solution that businesses use when domestic labor is too expensive or unavailable...cheap foreign players. Develop the game in poorer nations where people are more willing to take dangerous jobs. 

The NFL has been trying to expand the popularity overseas for some time and is still trying, but the game hasn't really caught on. So while you may get a few foreign players, it won't be like hockey, baseball or basketball where there is a massive influx to bolster flagging domestic talent, IMO.

Edited November 12, 2017 by vincec

[Jerome007]

As mentioned by a few posters, this concussion issue dries out the talent pool at the high school level. I will affect the NFL at some point. Yet, there will still be enough players. If the NFL was half as popular as now it'd still be pretty damn big!

 

But yeah, all this have made me wary of letting my kids play the game. When 15-16+ they can do what they want. In my area, there is a sort of rough flag football with blocking, with full equipment, no kicking game, which I think is a great alternative for 8-14 yo. Football without some blocking just ain't football. But IMO kids shouldn't play full contact till much later in life so I like this new approach.

 

New helmets, new tackling techniques, rules to protect "defenseless receiver" have all been positive steps. With all the KOs and injuries still in the game, I cringe at the "pussification of the game" comments. Because there are no blatant head shots allowed anymore the game has gone soft? Really? Go on and run the ball straight up the middle then , tough guys.

[PromoTheRobot]

38 minutes ago, vincec said:

My guess is that:

a) the collisions in college football are much less violent than in the NFL; and

b) people want the NFL to go down for other reasons (big greedy business, unpopular owners, player personal conduct, national anthem protests, etc.)

The NFL has been trying to expand the popularity overseas for some time and is still trying, but the game hasn't really caught on. So while you may get a few foreign players, it won't be like hockey, baseball or basketball where there is a massive influx to bolster flagging domestic talent, IMO.

Wave some bucks. 

 

Football is not a cheap sport to play, much like hockey. If the NFL really wanted to grow new talent they would need to invest in youth programs. Now that I consider that, most owners won't do it. 

[jr1]

the players could've all worn procaps like Kelso but didn't want to get teased

[Gray Beard]

57 minutes ago, vincec said:

My guess is that:

a) the collisions in college football are much less violent than in the NFL; and

b) people want the NFL to go down for other reasons (big greedy business, unpopular owners, player personal conduct, national anthem protests, etc.)

The NFL has been trying to expand the popularity overseas for some time and is still trying, but the game hasn't really caught on. So while you may get a few foreign players, it won't be like hockey, baseball or basketball where there is a massive influx to bolster flagging domestic talent, IMO.

I have a gut feeling that soccer is growing faster in the US than football is in the rest of the world.  And soccer's growth in the US will take away from football. It already has in many high schools.

[That's No Moon]

21 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

I see more boxing fans today than I did 5 years ago...

 

the sport is getting back on track and there are tons of 18-30 year olds who love boxing just as much as mma

 

boxing PPVs still make a lot of $ and the talent is coming back

Think there's a correlation between the increase of boxing and MMA fans and the decrease of hitting and violent contact in professional and college football?

[That's No Moon]

28 minutes ago, Jerome007 said:

rules to protect "defenseless receiver"

The defenseless receiver rule has completely changed the game and made it nearly impossible to defend the middle of the field against big players.  In the past, you couldn't run someone like Rob Gronkowski down the seam in the middle and lob a high pass for him to outreach the DB for because he would get killed by someone like Steve Atwater or Dennis Smith or Ronnie Lott or Leonard Smith or Chuck Cecil, etc etc etc.  You just wouldn't throw the ball there out of respect for your own player.

 

Now, you can't hit the receiver high and you can't hit the receiver low, so all you can do is defend the ball but you better not touch the receiver at all when you're doing that or it's DPI.  It changes the way you call a game as an offense because you have no fear of getting your star players murdered by throwing a ball into a place you shouldn't be throwing a ball.  When's the last time you saw a receiver "alligator arm" a ball over the middle?  There's no reason to be afraid because nobody is going to hit you for being there anymore.

 

Is there still contact in football?  Yeah.  Is the game wildly different because if the rules?  Yeah.  I've said this before.  Go watch a Bills game from 90-94 and count how many penalties there would be if that same game were played today.  It's an absolutely massive number.

[billsfan89]

22 hours ago, billsfan11 said:

Yep. And I also think boxing died out because it lacked excitement.

 

If they get a few big names, which they are starting to again, boxing will rise

 

Boxing took a big step back in the past 20 years or so because of corruption. Too many boxing federations mean no one knows who the top champions are. In MMA UFC had streamlined everything, there were other MMA promotions but everyone knew UFC was where the best of the best competed.

 

Boxing, on the other hand, was too corrupt and too decentralized. 

[Buffalo716]

2 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

Think there's a correlation between the increase of boxing and MMA fans and the decrease of hitting and violent contact in professional and college football?

 

That's a  very good question but I don't think there's any correlation 

 

most of the younger people I see doing MMA and boxing are a new breed of purists

 

they grew up doing BJJ or wrestling or sparring in gyms 

 

they are just natural fans of combat sports and love to partake. When you have been doing BJJ since you were 10 there is a good chance you will cross over into the world of MMA 

 

 

[Bill from NYC]

15 hours ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I am curious why some people think this will destroy the NFL but college football is hardly ever mentioned.

 

I think that in addition to CTE, the players are hurting their own product with the protests.

 

To answer your question, many college games are played before 100,000 fans plus. Fans are loyal and a smaller number of players are participating in these "demonstrations," or so it would seem. I don't think that college football is losing much of it's audience, but I cannot say that I know for sure.

 

I think that this topic is worthy of a thread on the College Football Board, a page that SDS and some posters were wise enough to resurrect on this site. It make TBD, which was already a wonderful place, that much better.

[corta765]

On 11/11/2017 at 12:58 PM, SDS said:

 

What is this assertion?

 

The fact Josh Gordon is suspended seasons for weed yet Josh Brown is suspended only 6 games Greg Hardy 1. Probably should've clarified this better but my point is the DV suspensions at points are laughable in terms of harshness but Brady was suspended more for some semi deflated footballs.

[row_33]

On 11/11/2017 at 11:10 PM, Binghamton Beast said:

I am curious why some people think this will destroy the NFL but college football is hardly ever mentioned.

 

 

cause the children hit with about one-tenth of the impact the men in the NFL deliver

 

used to do NCAA/NFL road trips 9 weeks a year, and be impressed by the college kids and then the collisions on Sunday made me realize the million mile gap between the two for punishment