Youth Football Lawsuit
Here is an interesting article in Slate about a lawsuit against Pop Warner.
After reading the article I don’t think she can win though it is an interesting legal argument. If she did win Pop Warner would likely be done in the next few years due to skyrocketing insurance cost. Regardless of the outcome of this case more legal action against football is likely to occur in future years. This makes me wonder when youth and high school football administrators will come to the conclusion that it’s not worth it due to the liability risk.
Do you think our grandkids will wonder what football is as they attend the big lacrosse match at Michigan Stadium?
March 18th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
Possibly Basketball
Not a chance. I think if any sport moves past football, it will be the other football. That's the only sport that seems to be gaining momentum in America.
Personally, I still love baseball more than any other sport, but I understand how people think it's boring. Maybe with some of the "pace of play" changes that Manfred is experimenting with, that will help regain some people's interest, but I just don't see baseball rising back to the top of American sports any time soon.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Gaining momentum in America? I've heard that as long as I've been alive and it seems to be only slightly more popular than it was 25 years ago.
I like the OP's suggestion of lacrosse. I think that is the best match for physicality, speed and scoring. Soccer is too slow with too little scoring. And too much whining every time you get touched.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
and still play soccer in my 30s. I've also attended a match in Germany that was one of the best sporting events I've ever been to. With that said, I really watch very little soccer. For some reason it doesn't translate live to television for me. I agree that Lacrosse could grow quickly in the next decade as it skyrocketed this last decade.
A nice combination of soccer, football, and hockey.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
about soccer that will keep it from being the dominant sport here. It seems pretentious to insinuate that there is something unique amongst American sports fans that makes us unable to enjoy the sport that pretty much every other country enjoys. The major factor is just history; soccer evolved across the globe in a period where we were somewhat cut off from other countries socially.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
odd that a sport played by so many kids has such little popularity when those kids grow up.
I never played basketball, but I'm a pretty good free throw shooter. I think that's part of why I'm a fan.
March 18th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
who played soccer back in the day are big fans of UEFA. There's just nothing worth watching in the US.
March 18th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
You are over-generalizing. My parents grew up having access to rugby, soccer, field hockey, tennis and other sports in a recently independent, developing country. It has much more to do with history than "options." The US historical anti-soccer sentiment, which was related to its fear of immigrants not Amercanizing, I'd argue has much more to do with soccer's lack of professional success compared to the NFL, NBA, and MLB. There is still a negative stigma surrounding soccer in the US, which the Onion parodied here: http://www.theonion.com/video/soccer-officially-announces-it-is-gay,176…
March 18th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
Gaining momentum in America? I've heard that as long as I've been alive and it seems to be only slightly more popular than it was 25 years ago.
I based my statement on a few factors:
- The improved talent level/competitiveness of the men's national team. People like to get behind a good team, and the national team is better now than it was 25 years ago.
- MLS popularity. I myself don't follow MLS (I'm not really a big soccer fan at all, aside from the national team), but you look at the fanbases of teams like the Seattle Sounders, and they are rabidly behind their teams. I can't speak directly to the NASL, but the MLS seems more sustainable.
- The growing internationalization of society. I'm not just referring to the US, but society in general. The internet makes the world much more accessible, and I think Americans are seeing the success and popularity of European soccer clubs and are wanting to experience the same thing in America.
Highly anecdotal reasons, I know, but the sport does seem to be growing in popularity. MLS (and Euro leagues) are hampered by not having big TV deals in America, but that could change if the networks think that TV deals would be worth it.
March 18th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
ESPN and Fox secured the broadcasting rights to and are airing live MLS soccer matches every Sunday evening from now until the season ends in October. This level of prime television exposure for MLS is obviously pretty new (and who knows how sucessful it will be in the end), but it reflects a pretty big step forward for the sport. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2015/01/07/destination-doubleheaders-sunday-nights-2015-mean-two-mls-games-espn-fox
Coincidentally, I just stumbled across this:
I think that picture proves your point and shows what I was thinking. I was picturing the images I've seen of Sounders fans just going nuts over their team, and that's evident here...but it also shows that it's nowhere near the level of popularity of football. That stadium would be packed if the Seahawks were playing. I guess I fell for the perception.
More likely, we'll see football evolve towards rugby before we see it eclipsed by another sport altogether. There's too much fanaticism for it to just drop off. Changing the sport and coaching it correctly can have a significant impact on safety (i.e. "heads up" tackling). That being said, sports are dangerous. Many studies show that cheerleading has a higher capacity for catastrophic injury than football- hell, even runners experience higher risks of hip/joint displacement over time.
You know what's even more dangerous, though... not exercising. Rather than focusing on removing a sport, we should be encouraging our kids to get the hell of their couch and do SOMETHING active...
March 18th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
I didn't get a chance to go to the Real Madrid/Man Utd. game last year but always wondered what soccer would look like at the Big House.
Think it will be soccer if anything replaces football in the big stadiums, lacrosse is still far too much of a niche sport. Plus it is awful on TV. This is from someone who played it in high school.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
I think lacrosse is great on TV. It has built in breaks (time outs, quarter intermission) and has lots of speed. Unlike hockey, you don't have a hard time seeing what's going on. I love watching lacrosse on TV and I think that's why ESPN picks up more games every year.
A lot more college lacrosse on TV than college soccer, that's for sure.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
College soccer is pretty meh to me but I'll watch occasionally.
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March 18th, 2015 at 10:39 AM ^
"Do you think our grandkids will wonder what football is as they attend the big lacrosse match at Michigan Stadium? "
That is the dumbest question ever asked on this board,
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March 18th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^
After reading your post, the only thing that came to me was:
"If only closed minds came with closed mouths"
March 18th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
I think the OP is correct in his assessments.
As much as I hate to say it, because I absolutely love football on both the college and professional level, and attend all Michigan home games, I believe that unless there is some change in equipment that will prevent CTE, I think we are seeing the beginning of the end of football as we know it. Cleveland Clinic did a study a couple of years ago showing that you do not need head trauma to induce CTE.
Earlier this week, Chris Borland retired from the NFL after one year. He is but one of several relatively young NFL players who recently left the sport out of fear of CTE later in life.
CTE-related lawsuits are becoming more frequent. We know about the NFL's ongoing case, but lately, there have been several suits against the NCAA/universities. All it will take is a couple of large judgments for damages and the cost of playing football will become too much for many institutions. High schools will drop the sport because they won't be able to afford the cost of insurance or a litigation. Then there are ethical considerations of sponsoring a sport where your players pay a very dfferent price than arthritic knees and shoulders.
Pop Warner participation has dropped significantly. I see that as the beginning of the end unless there is some medical miracle that can counter CTE biochemically.
March 18th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
I'm honestly fine if they shut down Pop Warner, don't think kids should really be playing til middle school or high school. It'd be a shame if this actually ended football though like you said. I think the Patrick Willis scenario will be more likely than the Borland one...guys retiring a little bit early vs. guy with preexisting condition deciding to stop right away.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
Losing Pop Warner and other youth football should not do that much damage to the game. The only concern is the trend where parents have their kids specialize in a sport year round at an early age. High School is the big risk as that is essentially a required feeder into college programs.
Any decline in football will be a long term event. You could see some states (California most likely) see a large number of school districts give up on the game due to legal/insurance cost and health concerns. It would not surprise me to see some southern states (TX, AL, etc.) jump to the defense of the sport and attempt to legislatively limit the liability of youth and high school football organizations.
In the end the sport becomes increasingly regional and popularity falls. I am not arguing that football goes away in the next ten years. It is very possible that the game has reached its peak in popularity and will be begin a slow decline that plays out over the next 25 to 50 years.
March 18th, 2015 at 10:44 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
Is that you, PFTCommenter?
March 18th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
Yes!
I'm sure no one said this 100, 200, etc. years ago And I know some of you are "anti-PC" but are people with pussies inherently weak?
March 18th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
I find the idea that NFL revenue is higher than all European soccer leagues combined to be ludicrous. That's an awful lot of leagues.
March 18th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
I highly doubt this considering Forbes top 10 Sports Franchises internationally is dominated by soccer clubs. http://www.businessinsider.com/epl-vs-nfl-commercial-revenue-2014-11 This link compares just the NFL with one European soccer league. La Liga, Bundesliga, EPL, Ligue 1, and Serie A, adding broadcasting rights, stadium revenue, and commercial rights would total more than the NFL.
than double the NFL's revenues. Based on that Business Insider article, the Wiki numbers are way off. Perhaps they don't include endorsement deals of the indiviual teams? The NFL favors league-wide sponsorship deals.
March 18th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
Middle and upper class kids will probably start to play less and less, but there will be no shortage of poor kids willing to sacrifice their bodies for a chance at a better life.
Join the military and get shot at tomorrow, or play football and maybe deal with a brain injury 30 years from now?
Boxing is still around.
March 18th, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
Boxing is a shell of what it once was... maybe if you throw in UFC it's a closer comparison.
Football has much greater participation and interest than those two however.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
is the judging is so messed up in so many cases it became a joke.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
And there just weren't that many other sports around back in the day. Also, aren't there like 10 different titles in each weight class now?
March 18th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
But my overall point was that there will always be people that are willing to sacrifice their bodies for some gain. Or just for the love of the game.
Rules will change, equipment will get safer, maybe little kids will stop playing tackle football (which seems fucking crazy to me in the first place), but football will still be around in a form all of us would recognize in 100 years.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
March 18th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
Football will still exist as a spectator sport.
110 years ago, there was an equivalent moral panic about football being too dangerous. I'm sure there were people predicting that American football would be replaced in the nation's eyes by association football or something like that. But that's generally not how it works in the real world--instead, football intentionally changed its rules to become a safer sport. Outlawing some old unsafe strategies and permitting some new, safer (and more exciting) strategies. There is no reason that it can't do that again.
I can certainly see the sport of football evolving back into something more rugby-like over the next few decades, or on the other hand becoming more "basketball on grass." I can't see the sport of football disappearing and being replaced by another currently-existing sport like lacrosse or association football.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
This story of CTE will get worse and worse with every suicide/ mental issue. I can't help but wonder if I was affected at times due to my years of playing, when I forget something it makes me nervous. I don't think football will come to an end in the near future, it could just become more of a niche sport like Nascar or boxing. That would be very sad, but health should come first, especially when it comes to your brain.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
The rules of lacrosse have been changing due to concussions. It's basically illegal now to give out a big physical body check. Girls are even wearing helmets in some states, and their rules have no contact at all. The game is still largely the same, but safer.
I'm not sure I can see Football finding a way to change the rules to keep it safer without drastically impacting the style of play.