Why is Dennis Dodd making an issue of Malcolm Gladwell's comment on football?

And you'll lose.

 

That's an interesting comparison, actually. Does football go the way of boxing? What's interesting about boxing is there is all this talk about the concussion issue killing it, but it's basically been replaced by MMA in terms of fan interest and probably participation. I've heard that MMA is marginally less dangerous than boxing (mostly, IMO, because fights are generally shorter and don't take the combatants past the point of exhaustion, which boxers likely face in late rounds).

So the question is, does football get replaced over time by a slightly less dangerous, yet similarly macho, team sport? Lacrosse?