Throw soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, bicycle riding, and snow sledding in the forbidden categories while you're at it. Oh I forgot skate boarding.
Ken Stabler had Severe C.T.E.
- Thread starter GrayTide
- Start date
The reality of any physical activity is too much is bad for you. A real simple litmus test, as if its truly possible, for any physical activity would go something like this, 'is this going to make my body healthier now, in 10 years, & in 30 years'?
Take mountain climbing at altitudes above 10,000 ft, the answer is a resounding no. Meanwhile hiking is generally one of the better activities a person can undertake.
Skateborarding, I think it's a rather obvious no, unless doing long distances it's a lower-end cardio workout with a fairly high risk of injury depending on the style one is pursuing.
Walking, obviously yes.
Running, sort of skirts the line, but I'd say long term for avid runners it's a downer for bone, joint, soft tissues, & feet/legs but a boom to cardio etc. Translation, moderation is probably very healthy.
Soccer, aside from the occasional broken leg it's a high cardio but not over-work workout, generally very healthy until you get to heading in youth. There doesn't seem to be the concussion issue in the professional realm as with football but there are troubling signs to the point that YSA iirc is banning heading in U-14 or so play.
Football, the cardio benefits are similar to weight training in that it does improve but it is a training for short intense bursts which are generally inferior to a longer gentler workout per jogging/soccer, etc. The physical abuse of the body is virtually unparalleled, though I think many would be surprised at the abuse some other sports such as basketball take on the body, however it truly is a violent sport and little more needs to be said. I can not argue that in meaningful ways football meets the criteria of being good for one in the present, 10 yr, or 25+ yr future. It is a truly sobering thought for a sport I'd assume all here dearly love.
Alas as people of sacred worth we are endowed by our creator with the freewill of choice to use, abuse, invest, or waste our bodies and minds as we see fit.
Take mountain climbing at altitudes above 10,000 ft, the answer is a resounding no. Meanwhile hiking is generally one of the better activities a person can undertake.
Skateborarding, I think it's a rather obvious no, unless doing long distances it's a lower-end cardio workout with a fairly high risk of injury depending on the style one is pursuing.
Walking, obviously yes.
Running, sort of skirts the line, but I'd say long term for avid runners it's a downer for bone, joint, soft tissues, & feet/legs but a boom to cardio etc. Translation, moderation is probably very healthy.
Soccer, aside from the occasional broken leg it's a high cardio but not over-work workout, generally very healthy until you get to heading in youth. There doesn't seem to be the concussion issue in the professional realm as with football but there are troubling signs to the point that YSA iirc is banning heading in U-14 or so play.
Football, the cardio benefits are similar to weight training in that it does improve but it is a training for short intense bursts which are generally inferior to a longer gentler workout per jogging/soccer, etc. The physical abuse of the body is virtually unparalleled, though I think many would be surprised at the abuse some other sports such as basketball take on the body, however it truly is a violent sport and little more needs to be said. I can not argue that in meaningful ways football meets the criteria of being good for one in the present, 10 yr, or 25+ yr future. It is a truly sobering thought for a sport I'd assume all here dearly love.
Alas as people of sacred worth we are endowed by our creator with the freewill of choice to use, abuse, invest, or waste our bodies and minds as we see fit.
and that is why i went skydiving 12 years ago for the first and last time! scared me to death and loved every second of it!:eek2:
Risk taking is for the young. No sense of mortality, and no one who relies upon you. Once you have a family, living a long healthy life becomes a responsibility. Living means something very different. You can live a very sedentary lifestyle and get as much out of life as someone who never stops taking risks.
I don't of another sport more than football that can teach some of the great intangible virtues of life. Since families moved away from the farm the work ethic that was instilled there sports provided the replacement forum to teach a lot of the same values. I truly believe our society and structure for young adult men would suffer tremendously without football.
Think about the percentage of players that actually become professionals and within this segment those who develop CTE. The percentage is really small. I would bet the percentage is even smaller for college and high school players by ratio.
Of course I am not a scientist and I have no basis for this but I think largely a man can play football with proper technique and conditioning in a window between 15yr and 30yrs of age. Outside of this window seems to be where the real risks are with younger kids lacking coordination and older players the sustained stress on the body and slower recovery time.
Even though the players are bigger stronger and faster I think that football is safer today than say the era predating the 90s before the money got really good in professional football to the point that protecting the investment in the player became a major priority. Before that the game at all levels was really reckless in both coaching, conditioning, and player attitude toward injury. I have always thought that the war mentality largely influenced a lot of the collective psyche in sports. My coaches in high school were Vietnam vets and you could tell with their hell be damned approach.
I think this is going to be an unfortunate consequence with this era of players where the pay, equipment, and culture to deaden any injury ruled the day. We don't have those same elements as much today so I chalk alot of this up as a generational thing and I am still going to encourage my son's to play when they are old enough because I don't have a farm to work them on and there are things on that happen on that field I can't teach them that they will need to learn to deal with later in life.
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Think about the percentage of players that actually become professionals and within this segment those who develop CTE. The percentage is really small. I would bet the percentage is even smaller for college and high school players by ratio.
Of course I am not a scientist and I have no basis for this but I think largely a man can play football with proper technique and conditioning in a window between 15yr and 30yrs of age. Outside of this window seems to be where the real risks are with younger kids lacking coordination and older players the sustained stress on the body and slower recovery time.
Even though the players are bigger stronger and faster I think that football is safer today than say the era predating the 90s before the money got really good in professional football to the point that protecting the investment in the player became a major priority. Before that the game at all levels was really reckless in both coaching, conditioning, and player attitude toward injury. I have always thought that the war mentality largely influenced a lot of the collective psyche in sports. My coaches in high school were Vietnam vets and you could tell with their hell be damned approach.
I think this is going to be an unfortunate consequence with this era of players where the pay, equipment, and culture to deaden any injury ruled the day. We don't have those same elements as much today so I chalk alot of this up as a generational thing and I am still going to encourage my son's to play when they are old enough because I don't have a farm to work them on and there are things on that happen on that field I can't teach them that they will need to learn to deal with later in life.
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Pick any team activity that requires hard work and sacrifice - you learn the same lessons (and in areas other than sports). If football had never existed, these kids would have had many other opportunities to learn the same things.
I agree. I like football, but you can learn about hard work and being part of a team in any activity given proper leadership.
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That's true. However the nature of football is vastly different than basketball or football. Having played all three I can honestly say I learned more about myself on the football field than I did in either of the other sports.
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Elaborate? I played football, neither of my boys did - they learned the same things. I know it for a fact since I watched it happen.
I don't think so. Football requires a "special" commitment in terms of dedication and sacrifice that multiplies the reward of success, and lessons from victory or loss. How many games a week do teams play football? Other sports? There is part of your answer...It is far more challenging to play.
This is another thread that is bringing the dangers of football in to question, especially for youth, and that simply is not correct. Yes college and pro football are dangerous, but there is a thing called risk/reward and that is up to the individual like a lot of other things that are far more dangerous.
Now back to topic regarding Kenny Stabler. Like other posters, I would like to know what other things may have contributed to his "diagnosis" before I jump to any conclusions.
Look at performance arts. More work, fewer performances, almost no financial reward.
I just can't agree that many other activities would teach someone the mental and physical toughness that football does.
As I said earlier, if a young person is 18 or older then he can make his own decision whether to play football at the college and/or professional level, it is his life. If he is not 18 then it should be only with the consent of his parent(s).
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