I had a great time at the movie last night. I’m so glad that Vegan organized it and the married women who accompanied her were really cool and I hope that she brings them to our potluck. We chatted and joked at the intermission between films. I like this idea about a queer women’s circle.
I subscribe to NYT. Their reporting is balanced and deep. Between them and my local NPR station, I think that I know what is going on. I can’t wait to listen to “The Daily” today because concussive traumatic effects are happening in young people now. Doctors know given scans, MRIs, and postmortem interviews of families talking about hospital visits and changes to their sons.
Why do we have an obsession with football in this country? Have you even watched it lately? It’s a little bit of running, a flag thrown down, a long commercial break, back to the refs walking around, some verbal exchanges and another commercial break. Rinse, lather, repeat.
My son was always super tall for his age. He’s just a hair under 6-feet at his present 17, but he towered over everyone since he was in daycare. He played a lot of soccer. Years of it actually, and was able to make his team via tryouts in middle school. He has run track, he has played club basketball, and is a very good baseball player. I can’t tell you how many times men would watch him move as a 6, 7, 8, and 9-year-old on the field for practice and tell me that he’s a full back.
He played one season of flag in 2013. He didn’t like it very much, and the ONLY reason he played that was because our rec center didn’t have soccer that particular spring and he is a nightmare when he isn’t playing sports. I knew about the Parkinson’s link, found it boring, and have some friends with ruined knees, so he wasn’t really allowed to play it. When the bulk of the pandemic lifted in his sophomore year, many of his friends from middle school were playing it as now high school students, and he told me that he wanted to. Given the massive weight gain that has not subsided even now, I cheered him on to do so. He didn’t try out for the team.
I love watching soccer and basketball. When I went to a couple of rugby games, I really liked it too. I can’t even stand the noises that football practice emits. It sounds like plastic breaking. I’m writing this entry today because I think that the rules need to be overhauled or the sport shouldn’t be allowed for men under 25. Know your risks and have a fully operational prefrontal cortex before you chose something dangerous to play.
Return 
👍👍
Baseball is the only pro sport I ever got much into, and perhaps there’s an analogy in how many people think baseball is boring. It’s sedate, but if you know the game, the players, the tactics and strategies, it’s actually quite exciting. The surface of the ocean looks boring, but under the surface is a whole other world.
Maybe those who learn the nuances of football find just as much interesting complexity?
Or it’s just hyped to death and is mostly a way for rich people to make even more money. 🤷🏼♂️
It’s the violence, trust me. No one breaks a bone or is down on the ball field.
No question humanity has a big thirst for violence! There seems more going on with football, though. If it was just the violence, wouldn’t boxing and MMA be bigger sports? Seems as if some of it might be history and tradition growing into a huge market.
FWIW, injuries, including broken bones and worse, aren’t uncommon in baseball, but they’re always accidental, and recent rules try to minimize some of the problem spots (sliding into second and home being two historical hotspots). But when two full-grown men — not wearing any protective gear to speak of — collide while running full speed, it’s gonna leave a mark. (And fans have been hit by foul balls or broken bat parts.)
I get that. However, with kids it’s a much higher percentage of football injuries and people love intermittent reinforcement. Waiting for the injury to happen.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/03/27/high-school-sports-injury-research/
Oh, I’m totally with you when it comes to kids playing. The brain isn’t fully developed until at least 21 and knocking it around before it’s fully baked is a Very Bad Idea!
25, actually, with a standard deviation of 3-years. And, I wonder if the rules should just be overhauled. Cheers.