Should College Football Be Banned? - Live Debate

Too many people die from diseases. Sorry humanity, but safety first!

Yeah let's ban football,but keep smoking legal cause you know that doesnt hurt anybody or cause a giant drain on our health care.

Their arguments are asinine.  "Football makes you drunk and stupid."  "Wall Street is messed up because of athletes."  "Football has no academic benefit."  How does it differ from the other sports?  Intelligence^2?  Intelligence/2 seems more appropriate.

I know that I'm extremely biased towards not banning college football but some of these arguments make me extraordinarily angry.  I yelled at my computer several times because of what they were saying.

All I can really say is ARGH!

I definitely think that we need to change the game to help reduce head injuries, but going beyond that to banning the game seems more than extreme.  I find it hard to believe that banning football will make our universities better by reducing students' distractions, if football is banned people will find a new way to distract themselves.

Just like driving a car or working a dangerous job, this is just another risk vs reward debate. Do you want to avoid the chance of getting a concussion by not playing football at all? Or do you want to have the chance to play a fun and competitive sport where you learn teamwork and discipline, develop physical and mental toughness, and build strong friendships with teammates? 

Personally, I think the benefit outweighs the cost. 

if you are lacking in  knowledge of a field you will make yourself look as ignorant as a person from the backwoods of Appalachia.

Impressive to hear Brady Hoke be singled out as a positive example of a coach who takes his mission as a molder of men seriously. Beyond the unexpected heights of winning a BCS Bowl last year, Hoke impresses me simply by the quality of his character in an age of Todd Grahmes, Lane Kiffens and...others.

No

College football should be reformed, not banned.  Gradually this is happening (4-year scholarships, playoffs, etc..).  My main arguments are as follows:

 

1)  These kids enjoy playing football.

2)  We enjoy watching it.

3)  College football sends thousands of kids to college that wouldn't have the opportunity.

I realize the holes in these short arguments.  The health of the athlete absolutely needs to be a priority and players should be encouraged to challenge themselves academically.  But there is no reason to ban college football at this point.  We should ban cigarettes, motorcycles, and dozens of other things before we worry about banning college football altogether.  

I'm all for making changes to benefit the players in the long run.  But banning it?  Way premature.  

Hell no. I'd rather have my left $&@ cut off than go without college football.

Lets talk. If you really want to lower. Concussions take the facemasks off

were perhaps among the best free publicity M could get in terms of not just the university, but to parents of recruits who are going to hear about this debate, be it thru the water cooler conversation or some other avenue of conversation. 

Debate might have been won by proponents of  a never-to-be-seen ban of cfb because its' benefits and contribution far outweigh whatever point they were trying to make.  Believe it had something to do with it does not add to academics of an education or some such nonsense. Almost the equivalent of saying the mere admittance of an underpriviliged high schooler to an Ivy League school or to one with the status of a Michigan, Duke or Stanford, for mere examples, is not going to provide networks to future financial success and contributions to society that higher education was designed for in its infancy, perhaps in opposite order, than they would not have accessed without said admittance.

Revenue generating collegiate sports, as a whole, has opened more doors to not only superior athletes, but to millions of other young men and women than possibly any tax backed government program aimed at promoting higher education among the least advantaged. And, as an aside, it has probably also been far more instrumental in bridging the racial divide that lessens each year in our country than any one tax supported program as well. Simply put, college sports as a whole and it undisputed KING; the one that pays for it all, is a good thing. 

Things more dangerous than playing college football:

Riding a motorcycle.  Anyone else think its rather odd that we have mandatory seatbelts and safety regulations for cars, but you can ride any two wheeled death trap you like?  What kind of side-impact safety rating you get with that Buell?

Riding in a helicopter.

Riding in a car with my wife.

Commenting on my wife's driving in close proximity to a fork or other sharp object.

Walking down High Street in Columbus in your Michigan gear.

Videotaping practice at Notre Dame.

Cheerleading at MSU.

Eating at a KFC buffet in the south.

Unprotected sex with a spartan.

Protected sex with a spartan on the couch.

...?  You guys got any more?

...shouldn't be outright banned.  It should just take on more of an Ivy League model.  That is, no scholarship athletes and fewer televised games.  The passion would still be there, just not all the hype.

As for professional football, I'm of a completely different opinion.  Firstly, there should be the option of going pro at age 18 so that the true meatheads can avoid college.  Maybe this means an NFL sponsored development program or maybe an independent minor league or whatever.  I don't really know.

Secondly, pro football should up the ante on the violence level, ancient Rome gladiator style.  There could be a big reduction in the number of retired players with brain injuries if we simply set it up such that most players died during the play.  True competition of the fittest.