Question: What will the game of football look like 20, 30, 40 years from now?

AUDub

Hall of Fame
Dec 4, 2013
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Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
I think it will still be the most popular sport on TV in the US and will look as different as today's game looks when compared to the 70' and 80's.

People like to moan about how the sport is 'softening' but many players from 30 years ago would literally be killed on the field by some of the impacts we see today - players now are so much stronger and faster the game has had to change. Sure, there were brutal hits then, but even the average hits are harder now: F=MA
A lot of it can be chalked up to the good ole helmet. Basically allowed players to turn their heads into a high impact weapon. Impacts got harder as the equipment got better.
 

MattinBama

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2007
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Something along these lines:



Would love to see shorter games (ie- less commercials or just commercials implemented like in soccer on tv) but tv execs are pretty dense about what they're doing to drive people away.
 

crimsonaudio

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Sep 9, 2002
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A lot of it can be chalked up to the good ole helmet. Basically allowed players to turn their heads into a high impact weapon. Impacts got harder as the equipment got better.
I've heard quite a few people suggest removing the helmet (or going to something offering less protection) would go a long ways towards stopping those impacts.
 

AUDub

Hall of Fame
Dec 4, 2013
16,268
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Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
I've heard quite a few people suggest removing the helmet (or going to something offering less protection) would go a long ways towards stopping those impacts.
I like to use the example of boxing in the bare knuckle era. Back before gloves that protected the hands, there were still a lot of injuries but they were fairly superficial. Broken hand here, some knocked out teeth there, a broken nose etc. And you can't really bash on a skull too many times barehanded without suffering some damage yourself. When gloves came came along to protect the hands, they did two things that made the sport life threatening. They spread the impact of the blow over a wider area and added a little more oomf the punches. Since gloves spread the impact of a blow, the recipient of a punch is less likely to have their teeth knocked out or their jaw broken. But gloves do not lessen the force applied to the brain as it rattles inside the skull from a heavy blow, and that added oomf in fact makes it worse.

"In 100 years of bare-knuckle fighting in the United States, which terminated around 1897 with a John L Sullivan heavyweight championship fight, there wasn't a single ring fatality." Today, there are three or four every year in the US, and around 15 per cent of professional fighters suffer some form of permanent brain damage during their career. Worldwide, there have been over 400 boxing deaths in the last 50 years alone."

A big problem is how the game is played is intrinsically tied to the helmet. Remove it and we're watching an entirely different game (think Rugby). It would also externalize those injuries we don't see much anymore. Broken teeth , fractures, gashes and the like would be a lot more common.
 
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LA4Bama

All-SEC
Jan 5, 2015
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I like to use the example of boxing in the bare knuckle era. Back before gloves that protected the hands, there were still a lot of injuries but they were fairly superficial. Broken hand here, some knocked out teeth there, a broken nose etc. And you can't really bash on a skull too many times barehanded without suffering some damage yourself. When gloves came came along to protect the hands, they did two things that made the sport life threatening. They spread the impact of the blow over a wider area and added a little more oomf the punches. Since gloves spread the impact of a blow, the recipient of a punch is less likely to have their teeth knocked out or their jaw broken. But gloves do not lessen the force applied to the brain as it rattles inside the skull from a heavy blow, and that added oomf in fact makes it worse.

"In 100 years of bare-knuckle fighting in the United States, which terminated around 1897 with a John L Sullivan heavyweight championship fight, there wasn't a single ring fatality." Today, there are three or four every year in the US, and around 15 per cent of professional fighters suffer some form of permanent brain damage during their career. Worldwide, there have been over 400 boxing deaths in the last 50 years alone."

A big problem is how the game is played is intrinsically tied to the helmet. Remove it and we're watching an entirely different game (think Rugby). It would also externalize those injuries we don't see much anymore. Broken teeth , fractures, gashes and the like would be a lot more common.
I wonder if they could make a soft helmet that would protect the head from immediate contusions but be ineffective as a battering ram. Maybe leave the modern helmet as is on the mask and sides but make the crown spongy so the defender is not incentivized to use the top of the head to hit.
 

JQBama42

Scout Team
Sep 24, 2014
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Enid, OK
I have been coaching little league football for the last 15 years, in Enid, a city with a population of 50k. I have seen the numbers of kids playing drop yearly. This year we only had five 3rd &4th grade teams, one of which came from another town to play. When I first started coaching there was around a dozen teams. Talking to parents who have boys not playing and they most always say that baseball is where it's at now. No injuries and a longer career. This has taken its toll on football here, all the way up to high school. Our high school is 6A by school population, but don't have the numbers out for football to be competitive with the likes of Jenks and Tulsa Union and the other big schools. Last year Enid lost to two 5A schools. It's really sad, because 30 years ago when I played at Enid, we were one of the top programs in the state.

As far as the future and what football will look like in 30 years, I'm going to guess like a 7 on 7 tournament.
 

JaxTider

Suspended
Jan 10, 2017
194
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0
I have a different view.

I suspect, given the likely societal breakdown coming due to deminished standards of living, increasing crime, overpopulation in urban areas ect., we will see a more authoritarian governance and a rapid reduction in litigation.

Central authorities will see a need for a national blood sport through which the people's growing anger and restlessness may be directed. I predict no helmets, little padding, to targeting rules etc.

Further,American football is likely to become an international sport, serving as a less costly alternate to traditional warfare. This is likely to occur after a limited nuclear exchange convinces the world that the transition to football as a necessity.

Look for marquee matchups such as Israel v Iran and China V Japan to settle territorial disputes that would once have led to war. Image massive defense dollars going into football strategy, as well as the genetic engineering of linemen/ gorilla hybrids designed to play the trenches.

Games will bloody, careers short, fatalities not uncommon. And the stakes? Higher than ever.

In short, we have yet to see the golden age of football. We're in for a thrilling ride.
 

CrimsonProf

Hall of Fame
Dec 30, 2006
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It doesn't necessarily have a whole lot to do with the topic at hand - head injuries - but look at the recent news regarding franchise moves in the NFL.

St. Louis Rams moved to LA and are building a massive multi-billion dollar stadium complex financed to some degree by taxpayer dollars. This has been the norm recently in new stadium deals. The public pitches in (corporate welfare). So, San Diego and Oakland are having issues getting new stadiums built in their towns, and the NFL agreed to allow them the option to move to LA and become a tenant of the Rams stadium if they couldn't get a deal done in their current towns. San Diego got first dibs, then it would fall to Oakland. San Diego has been the home of the Chargers for nearly 60 years. They have been trying for a decade to get a new stadium built and have had no success at the ballot. The recent tax that was voted on failed, so now they are moving to a town that has no desire for a single pro football team, let alone a second. Oakland is about to move to Las Vegas because the voters there have continually told them they are not interested in funding their multi-billion dollar stadiums that are used less than 10 times a year.

I said all of that to say this. The big bad NFL has always been regarded as bullet proof. They are the most popular thing going now by far. Yet cities are starting to reject them. Obviously there are several factors, but part of it is definitely growing apathy for the game. Folks just don't care as much as they used to. I myself do not. I rarely watch the NFL, and lately I have been watching less and less college football. As the game has changed to suit offenses and to try to reduce injuries, it has become less appealing to me. As this apathy continues to grow, I can envision a future without the game. It seems ludicrous to suggest, because SOOO much money is involved. But the lawsuits aren't going to stop. The tinkering with the game in order to avoid the lawsuits isn't going to stop. Kids favoring other sports because mom and dad won't allow them to play football isn't going to stop.

They eventually quit having the gladiators fight the lions and tigers in the Colosseum...
Could you - or anyone else who feels this way - elaborate on what this means? I enjoy a good defense as much as the next guy, but I still find most CFB and NFL games to be very entertaining. The Packers/Cowboys game from this past weekend was an instant classic, as was the Rose Bowl this past year, to say nothing of the last two Bama/Clemson games.

What might kill it for me is the increasing refusal of officials to call the game as it should be called.
 

JaxTider

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Jan 10, 2017
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0
I would get rid of the five yard rule and allow recievers to be hit all over the field like they could in the 70s.

I would also make offensive linemen block like before, when extended arms and open hands were not allowed.

You do this and you'll start to see beautiful plays like the Packer sweep again and 10-3 classics.

I don't like the flag football they play these days.
 

CoastGhost

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Sep 5, 2009
5,650
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67
North Carolina
I will take a shot at that ... Imagine if you will, the year 2057...

Teams are no longer named after cities, states or colleges, Last night the Prudential Patriots played the Ford Motor Company Lions in the McDonald's Superbowl right after the Microsoft College National Championship game between the YallaWood Tigers and the ESPN Longhorns, both making it through the grueling 64 team Tums Playoff (fyi - Alabama refused to change our names and dissolved the athletic department 10 years back). The 2518 college football season starts next week as soon as the Under Armor High School Draft is completed (only 10th grade and up are eligible). Pros start the week after that and the pro season kicks off with the Samsung College Player Auction (no age limit) is completed and all new conscripts are delivered by prison bus to their new owners.

All pro players are required to have a 1 minute signature dance and personal music that is played on the PA after they do anything deemed noteworthy (by their primary sponsor). They no longer wear pads and helmets. Football uniforms look more like Nascar suits did 40 years ago (2017), covered in sponsor's LED patches.

During game play, any physical contact is an immediate disqualification for the offending player. "Tackled" status is now determined by Miles proximity laser suits that sense when a defender is within 1 meter of the ball carrier (defender just flaps his arms like a duck to trigger laser sensors) ... then an alarm sounds which automatically stops the clock for 3 minutes of commercials between each play.

Games last 12 hours now with a 1 hour half-time show and 15 minute shows between quarters, punctuated by multiple commercial breaks. There are no more kick offs now ... replaced by the kicking team's mascot spinning the Dr. Pepper Wheel of Misfortune to determine ball placement for the next possession ...

All cheerleaders are required to be transgender to avoid offending either of the other two genders. Ticket purchases require a credit check, urine test and a 90 page mortgage contract. Strip searches are required to enter the stadium and each attendee will be issued a one piece suit adorned with the colors and advertisements of their chosen team.

Stadium beverages are sold by the ounce, all stadium food is delivered and served powdered with 6 ounces of water. Standing during the game is only allowed as (1) optional during the national anthem and (2) mandatory during all renditions of major sponsors' jingles.... only two escorted and monitored bathroom trips are authorized per half, make sure you have your credit card to enter, use of the stalls is no extra charge but toilet paper is $10 per square. Yep, that's football in the year 2057.

Oh, almost forgot - Thank God I am dead and buried!
 
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Alasippi

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Aug 31, 2007
12,875
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57
Ocean Springs, MS
In 40 years I think the world may be the Jetson's cartoon's I grew up watching. But I certainly hope not.
The world was pretty darn good and cool to me when I could listen to John Forney's pre-game radio as a nine year old while my Dad changed out the brake pads of his old Chevy Belair.
There was one game on television and nine times out of ten it wasn't Bama, so you sat back and depended on Forney's radio brilliance to bring the Bama game to life. He was the best ever in my opinion. He absolutely LOVED Bama. He also made a fortune because his ad agency, "Lucky-Forney" handled Golden Flake and Coca Cola :) He was a pioneer.
But those simple days are gone.
Honestly, if people keep getting bigger and faster, at the rate it's happening now, it wouldn't surprise me at all if college and pro football, in it's current state, didn't exist anymore.
I won't be alive to see it, but there will literally be a concussion or even worse on every play. How can there not be?
I have no idea what's gonna happen but it may one day be that Friday night lights and high school kids simply playing for the love of the game are the only thing that keeps real football alive.
We'll see.
sip
 

Redwood Forrest

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20 years from now there will be a 10 team playoff.

30 years from now there will be a 16 team playoff.

40 years from now there will be a 32 team playoff. 192 FBS teams split into 32. six-team conferences giving us a five game regular season schedule. Notre Dame will play a three game ACC schedule and a two game B1G schedule. Texas Longhorns will form its own conference and play itself five times.
 

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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Yup..I saw an interview where an expert was talking about removing the facemask as a way to eliminate those big hits..
This is one approach that would work. Lighter "soft" helmets that are meant to protect the head and face from cuts and abrasions combined with much smaller/lighter shoulder pads. This would change the way that players tackle as an act of self-preservation. You would still get some head injuries, just as you do in Rugby and soccer, but the numbers would drop significantly overnight.
 

TideEngineer08

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Could you - or anyone else who feels this way - elaborate on what this means? I enjoy a good defense as much as the next guy, but I still find most CFB and NFL games to be very entertaining. The Packers/Cowboys game from this past weekend was an instant classic, as was the Rose Bowl this past year, to say nothing of the last two Bama/Clemson games.

What might kill it for me is the increasing refusal of officials to call the game as it should be called.
I will try. Your comment at the end of your post explains some part of it. I have become disgusted with how the refs completely favor the offense; we witnessed it in the NC game a couple weeks ago. So we still have rules on the book that they refuse to enforce, in the name of scoring points. Then, there are the rules changes over the years, which have almost solely benefited the offenses. This has made scores of 35-31 be the norm, or in fact, a low scoring game.

I like seeing the defenses have a chance. In a game with equal talent, that rarely happens anymore. I would much rather see a game with a 21-17 score, in which both sides of the ball excelled. But defensive superiority has been written out of the rule book. I admit that most people would rather see a game with a 45-42 score, with back and forth scoring. I am not this way. When it appears to be 7 on 7 football with the offense freely moving up and down the field, I become more disinterested.

It's still enough to enjoy, right now. I did enjoy the Cowboys/Packers game, but mainly because it was the playoffs. I did not enjoy the Rose Bowl so much because it seemed to turn into a free for all score fest. Like I said, I've pretty much given up on the NFL, outside of the playoffs. I rarely watch on Sundays anymore. The college game still holds my attention because of my attachment to Alabama football, and because it's just a better game, IMO (not the quality of play, which the NFL is obviously better, but the pageantry and all that).
 

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