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Buzz Bissinger: Why College Football Should Be Banned

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by LongTimeListener, May 6, 2012.

  1. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    I always think of that when folks gripe about "putting a skirt on the QB" or the "wussification of football." Football has been getting less violent via rule changes since 1906. It's been a steady progression.
     
  2. Raiders

    Raiders Guest

    Bring back the concussion bombs!!! ???
     
  3. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Well, Jesus. Tim Green and Jason Whitlock against Buzz Bissinger and Malcolm Gladwell?

    That's Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech.
     
  4. mateen

    mateen Well-Known Member


    Colorful stories by old-timers and hall of famers in NFL Films clips can lead to that impression, but I don't know that it's borne out by fact. Legalizing the forward pass, which I believe was in part due to safety concerns, made the game less violent at the line of scrimmage, but it also eventually led to Jack Tatum, Ronnie Lott, and Chuck Cecil trying to kill receivers over the middle.

    Among the most important reasons football is more dangerous today are (1) the players are so much bigger and faster, and (2) perversely, helmets are so much better. When you didn't have a facemask, and your helmet was leather or an early plastic model, you had to be very careful about where you stuck your head, and the game was more like rugby; once helmets got better, you could launch yourself at an opponent without losing teeth or your consciousness, and that led to more violent collisions. I offer you James Harrison as an example of this.
     
  5. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    I don't disagree about the second paragraph, but I do with the first.

    Something like 18 college kids died on the field in one season in the early 1900s. That was when there were a whole lot fewer teams and they only played a handful of games each season. Several major universities dropped football at the time. The sport was nearly banned in Georgia of all places after a kid died, only a plea from his mother led to the governor vetoing the bill.

    Teddy Roosevelt called a few university presidents together to make rule changes to make the sport safer. The forward pass was one. Eliminating the flying wedge was another. Increasing the yards need for a first down from five to 10 was as well.

    I just wonder how far back those whining about the sissification of the game want to take the rules until they can deem football is manly again.
     
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