OT: 7 on 7 a new sport?
Still being played today, too.
Indeed. Texas allows it's smallest schools to play 6-man. I want to say there's 50 or so schools that still play it in West Texas.
The MHSAA approved eight-man football with a playoff to begin this year.
We played 8 man football when I was in the service, each group would have a team and we would play.
I had the thought of having a collegiate 7-on-7 summer league comparable to what baseball does from may-to-august. I'm not sure if it will ever become it's own sport, particulary at the college level. You'd almost have to ban all regular college football players from participating as they are, for all purposes, playing the same sport, and therefore, it would have to be regulated under football workouts.
I have been apart of 7 on 7 and it is not becoming a sport in and of itself. It is just a way for coaches to practice passing offense and defense with out injury. But it is a nice bridge. That you are correct of.
I still think it'd be a kick-ass spring sport. And I think the ratings would be astronomical if you could get a weekly tournament of a lot of big time teams playing against each other.
It'd also allow smaller school QB's the chance to show their stuff on a more regular basis. And it'd create a lot of hype for the fall.
+1 for your sig maizenblue.
Please God, no 7on7 "beer" leagues.
7's rugby, as opposed to the full 15-man squad, is a big sport worldwide with world cups and everything. Similar to 7's in football, it is a faster game with more skill and less brute force. Like in rugby, it will never surpass the "real" thing", but it could be a fun sport to watch and have a small pro league. I'd watch.
I read in an ESPN article a while back that 7-on-7 has helped spread offenses develop, especially in high school. Full-contact practice is limited, so team practice 7-on-7, which puts a high emphasis on timing and speed, and less on power. This gives spread teams, and especially quarterbacks, a big advantage. Which is in part why so many high school teams use a spread offense, and why it then spread (pun not intended) to college and might eventually to the pros.