Quote
laram
There is no way to change that Billy w/o hurting the game.
Short of making it flag football there is nothing else you can do.
Big guys running at each other is going to result in high impact.
That's the game.
My attitude toward the game has changed a great deal over the years. When I was really young, I thought it was "cool" to see those players pounding each other. I became a Rams' fan primarily due to Deacon Jones and the Fearsome Foursome. That and the horns is what hooked me for life.
But as I've gotten older, I think more and more about the health of these guys, the incredible damage the game inflicts on them, and I often feel major guilt watching that damage occur. I know they play for themselves, and most really love what they do, but I still feel guilty.
Makes me think of gladiators and Roman coliseums sometimes. The rabid fans in the stands calling for death to this or that "loser." As if they'd be willing, for one second, to fight to the death in the pit. As if they'd want rabid fans cheering for their death.
Anyway . . . . just sayin' I don't view the game like I once did. My concerns have shifted dramatically over the years. And I'm convinced we could improve their working conditions without hurting the game . . . . and that their health is a great deal more important than my entertainment "value," etc.