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

Bamabuzzard

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Here recently Bo Jackson has felt the need to throw his voice into the public square regarding the game of football. Going as for as being quoted last week saying:

"If I knew back then what I know now," Jackson told USA Today Sports, "I would have never played football. Never. I wish I had known about all of those head injuries, but no one knew that. And the people that did know that, they wouldn't tell anybody."
It seems our society is heading toward a fork in the road about the game of football. More and more people who played the game on a professional level are coming out and making public statements that if they had it to do over again they wouldn't play. In many parts of the country youth league football is having less participation or just outright dying. Our local news two years ago ran a story about YMCA's in east Texas completely doing away with their tackle football program.

The element of the game that people love so much (the physicality) is the exact thing that will be taken out of the game the further down the road of "safety" we go (with rule changes). Assuming we continue down the road of "rule changing" to make the game safer. How do you see the sport of football evolving or even surviving in our society over the next 20, 30, 40 years from now?
 

CajunCrimson

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Not to get all NS on this board....but one well-known right-wing political news-radio personality, predicted in 2011 that Football would start to decline in popularity due to the entire focus on head-injuries. I think it's a combination of:

1. head injuries
2. less children playing - due to the influx of technology and more 'white' sports (like Soccer, Lacrosse, Hockey) (all of which, ironically, have more head injuries)
3. pressure on sponsors not to support such a dangerous sport
4. the fan base getting older and older - and the Millennials and Z's not replacing them
 

B1GTide

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It very much depends on how well technology evolves to prevent the head injuries. There are helmets with "crumple zone" technology being tested right now that could mitigate much of this risk. If the technology cannot catch up, I don't know that we can save football players from these injuries without dramatically changing the game. Penalties are not getting the job done, so I am not sure that contact rule changes will help.
 

day-day

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Bo Jackson had other high-dollar options but I think he loved the game of football so this coming from him still holds water.

It will be interesting to see what impact the rule changes will have along with technological improvements in equipment.

I'm almost going with the game will look just like it does today because we will only be watching re-runs as it will no longer exist. I can't really imagine that though. Maybe on a percentage basis the game is not or will not be as popular as it was in the past but it seems that the number of participants and fans is very high. NFL players are paid so much money that I can see more and more players getting in a couple of years and then, with good money management, retiring early.
 

CB4

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Twenty years? I might be dead. Probably won't be watching much football. Thirty years? Likely dead, but if I am, I'm probably only concerned if the rest home is serving tapioca pudding for dessert that evening. Forty years? Yep. I'm gone.

Seriously though, if things hold true, I have little faith that changes implemented over the course of those time periods do anything to improve the game itself or player safety.
 

Bamabuzzard

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Bo Jackson had other high-dollar options but I think he loved the game of football so this coming from him still holds water.

It will be interesting to see what impact the rule changes will have along with technological improvements in equipment.

I'm almost going with the game will look just like it does today because we will only be watching re-runs as it will no longer exist. I can't really imagine that though. Maybe on a percentage basis the game is not or will not be as popular as it was in the past but it seems that the number of participants and fans is very high. NFL players are paid so much money that I can see more and more players getting in a couple of years and then, with good money management, retiring early.

This maybe something we see before we see the game drastically changed or not existing. Players won't play as long, we'll have a higher turnover of participants. Guys who normally would hold down a spot/position for 8 years now retire after 5. Interesting to think about.
 

crimsonaudio

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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
 

dvldog

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This maybe something we see before we see the game drastically changed or not existing. Players won't play as long, we'll have a higher turnover of participants. Guys who normally would hold down a spot/position for 8 years now retire after 5. Interesting to think about.
I don't understand why they would want to play more than 5 or 6 years anyway. Ego/money? How much do you need? Invest wisely, line up a second career, get out w/your health.
 

FThomas

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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
Yes, that is what has had me thinking that the combo of games last 4-5 hours and the size of the players... Football players are built for short bursts of strength and speed, but not cardio. The amount of oxygen and fuel needed to keep players that size running constantly is huge. I wonder if there is a way to speed up the game in a way that keeps it as tackle football but that will have much fewer stops so that players have to also have stronger cardio which means they can't play as large. Just brainstorming, as I do love defensive football.
 

tusks_n_raider

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My guess is that it will become more unwatchable if you like Defense. The saying use to be Offense sells tickets but Defense wins Championships. Not anymore. Just look at the last 4 Title games.

2013 - FSU 35 AU 31
2014 - OSU 42 ORE 20
2015 - ALA 45 CLE 40
2016 - CLE 35 ALA 31

The average score is 39-31.....The National Champion gives up 31 points a game!!! I can't stand it. It's disgusting to watch for me already. If I had not been watching intensely for 33 years I guess I wouldn't care. Maybe Offense is fun for everyone else to watch. It's becoming Arena Ball.
 

Bamabuzzard

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My guess is that it will become more unwatchable if you like Defense. The saying use to be Offense sells tickets but Defense wins Championships. Not anymore. Just look at the last 4 Title games.

2013 - FSU 35 AU 31
2014 - OSU 42 ORE 20
2015 - ALA 45 CLE 40
2016 - CLE 35 ALA 31

The average score is 39-31.....The National Champion gives up 31 points a game!!! I can't stand it. It's disgusting to watch for me already. If I had not been watching intensely for 33 years I guess I wouldn't care. Maybe Offense is fun for everyone else to watch. It's becoming Arena Ball.
And it's not going back the "other way". The audience has been changing to people who were brought up in a microwave society where things move quickly. Defensive gems are considered "boring" and "bad football". The rules have been bent toward scoring to keep their attention spans, their wallets open and the tv tuned in.
 
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Al A Bama

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Co'ed Football played in thongs: two hands touch above the neck or below the knees. No snaps under center!

Wait, where will they place the numbers on the uniforms? Script "A" on leather helmets.

Wait, will you be able to do what the Clemson player did in a pile up?
 

Elefantman

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Yes, that is what has had me thinking that the combo of games last 4-5 hours and the size of the players... Football players are built for short bursts of strength and speed, but not cardio. The amount of oxygen and fuel needed to keep players that size running constantly is huge. I wonder if there is a way to speed up the game in a way that keeps it as tackle football but that will have much fewer stops so that players have to also have stronger cardio which means they can't play as large. Just brainstorming, as I do love defensive football.
It's called rugby :biggrin:

 

FThomas

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It's called rugby :biggrin:

Yep, they derived from the same sport :).In all seriousness though, the games take too long and even in each play the athletes only play for a few seconds a minute. maybe there is a way to remedy both by eliminating certain clock stoppages and speeding up the game clock.
 

Elefantman

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Yep, they derived from the same sport :).In all seriousness though, the games take too long and even in each play the athletes only play for a few seconds a minute. maybe there is a way to remedy both by eliminating certain clock stoppages and speeding up the game clock.
Speed up the game by reducing TV time outs (I know, that will never happen) and limit the number of subs on each play to four. That includes change of possession plays so the game goes back to single platoon football. Players will have to be smaller and in better cardio shape to play. Also, if there are fewer kids coming out of high school football, then a reduction of players on scholarship will result in having players play both sides of the ball.
 

TideEngineer08

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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...
 

CrimsonTheory

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Football in 20, 30 years will not be America's #1 sport (#AmericanPassion). I think that distinction could very well be between baseball, basketball and soccer. Migration of the youth away from a physical sport like football to "safer" sports like the ones, I previous mentioned will be a major reason for it. The pay is better, you can play longer, and do in safer environment. Football is fine for the time being, but parents are simply going to move their kids away from football and into the "safer" sports.
 

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