American Football, Concussions, and The End of A Sport

**JAG** · 10-30-2009, 04:57

You do get comradery in soccer, a real sense of team - but for me at least the collective team ethos was always higher and that much deeper in my rugby team. This is coming from someone who played football since I was 5 and rugby from only the age of 12. Though this is clearly a subjective thing and I know of people who have the complete opposite and just couldn't get into the whole rugby thing, which is all good.

I understand, I've always just wanted to use that quote. Is Rugby ingrained in culture like football is over here? Football is what you do here. It's truly what brings Texans together. Black,white, or hispanic, football is held in the same reverence in every neighborhood and region of the state.

There are pockets of it. Rugby is traditionally a very middle class game, so you don't get that same kind of togetherness, but it is there in places - where I live Twickenham, is the centre of rugby in England so you feel it pretty strong.

JAG I seem to remember you were a big baseball fan as well. Did you see Lees masterpeice yesterday?

Huge baseball fan, HUGE - possibly my Fav sport, and I have never even played it! I watched Lee's gem yesterday with awe, how he kept the Yankees so off balance throughout the whole 9 innings was a joy to behold. Dissapointed the Yankees just beat my fav pictcher of all time, Pedro Martinez, but I want this series to be a classic and I guess 1-1 going into Phillie sets it up well... There hasn't been a classic, Fall classic, for 5 or 6 years or so now, and I so want this to go the distance. Phillies in 7, taking it down with Lee going on a second start of 3 day rest ownage. Heard It here first....

**Pannonian** · 10-31-2009, 06:35

Originally Posted by JAG

There are pockets of it. Rugby is traditionally a very middle class game, so you don't get that same kind of togetherness, but it is there in places - where I live Twickenham, is the centre of rugby in England so you feel it pretty strong.

Northern France, white South Africa, New Zealand and some of the Pacific islands affiliated with New Zealand are probably where rugby union are most ingrained in the culture. Rugby league has some fanatics oop north, but for most of the Britain, it's association football first and everything else nowhere, not even cricket.

**miotas** · 10-31-2009, 07:06

It might sound a strange way to reduce head injuries, but maybe you should stop wearing helmets, that way people would tackle with the shoulder rather than using their head.

**Sasaki Kojiro** · 10-31-2009, 07:14

Originally Posted by miotas

It might sound a strange way to reduce head injuries, but maybe you should stop wearing helmets, that way people would tackle with the shoulder rather than using their head.

It wouldn't help that much I don't think...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cc8fwpYAHM

**Pannonian** · 10-31-2009, 07:44

Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro

It wouldn't help that much I don't think...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cc8fwpYAHM

That's an accident rather than an endemic problem. One of the criticisms of American football, healthwise, is that the padding and armour makes people feel invulnerable, and thus encourage them to throw themselves around beyond what their bodies can cope with, harming both themselves and others. Rugby players are pretty much standard human beings, if bigger and fitter than average, and they are more aware of what their bodies are doing. There's the odd nutter like Chabal, and some scummish tactics like spear-tackling and eye gouging have been tried (and outlawed), but for the most part, anything physical is balanced by the need to avoid injury to oneself, and thus has limits.

**Sasaki Kojiro** · 10-31-2009, 18:57

Originally Posted by Pannonian

That's an accident rather than an endemic problem. One of the criticisms of American football, healthwise, is that the padding and armour makes people feel invulnerable, and thus encourage them to throw themselves around beyond what their bodies can cope with, harming both themselves and others. Rugby players are pretty much standard human beings, if bigger and fitter than average, and they are more aware of what their bodies are doing. There's the odd nutter like Chabal, and some scummish tactics like spear-tackling and eye gouging have been tried (and outlawed), but for the most part, anything physical is balanced by the need to avoid injury to oneself, and thus has limits.

How can armor make people feel invulnerable if there are so many injuries?

Also, in rugby it's not a big deal where you tackle someone. If they get an extra foot or two it's no big deal. In football that extra foot can be crucial.

**KukriKhan** · 11-01-2009, 18:15

Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro

How can armor make people feel invulnerable if there are so many injuries?

I don't understand the syndrome either, but I've seen it in my workplace. About 10 years ago, they issued everyone those suspender back-brace contraptions to cut down on back injuries. Result = more back injuries (a higher rate) because guys wearing the belt thought they could lift heavier loads. They had a false sense of security/invulnerability. After 6 months, and a doubling of back injuries, they recalled the belts, and now outlaw them.