The Coming Decline of American Football

Every American knows that football is as much a part of the fall season as apple cider, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and going back to school. The fall season in the US wouldn't be the same without football. Though the recent NFL labor dispute has come to an end, there is reason to believe that the game of football is changing. Football fans may be excited about the upcoming football season kicking off, but football fans who do a bit of long-range thinking may be wondering about the future of American football.

Don't get me wrong, I am and have been a lifelong football fan (Go Browns! This will be our year!) But as much as I enjoy watching football and as much as I am excited about the upcoming NFL season, I cannot say that I would be as excited to actually play the sport. The problem with American football is that it is a very dangerous sport. The risk of permanent bodily damage is substantial and serious injuries can remain with former football players for the rest of their natural lives. There is nothing admirable about a 50-year-old man walking like he's 80 years old because of a sport, no matter what that sport is. There is nothing heroic about a former athlete who has to ice his back regularly because of a sport he played decades ago. There is nothing fun or exciting about watching a 15-year-old kid in high school leaving a football field in an ambulance because he was hit so hard that he was knocked unconscious and is having trouble breathing -- especially when the kid is a blood relative.

Though flag or touch football may be an appealing alternative for fans who wish to partake in the game, they're just not the same as full tackle football. It's hard for people to get into a sport that they are averse to playing themselves. There are great risks involved for those who play contact football at any level. And as more and more doctors and health professionals are beginning to take a keener look at football, they may find that the possible risks and costs outweigh the benefits. Where the long-term participation in a sport may have greater health risks than say, smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, that is when we need to give the sport another look.

In a nation where more people need to exercise, participation in sports should be encouraged. However, when the risk of injury and bodily damage begin to overtake the advantages of exercise, people begin to refrain from playing the sport. Better pads and equipment may appear to make football safer, but maybe less pads and weaker helmets would make football players take less physical risks such as spearing tackles or head first dives -- thereby making football actually safer with less equipment. In this light, there is reason to believe that rugby, an English game from which American football evolved, is actually safer than football even though rugby is a full contact tackling sport and rugby players use far less protective gear.

Protective gear not only allows players to take greater physical risks, but it also adds to the monetary cost of playing the game. Added costs deter potential new players from wanting to play the sport; it also may understandably deter parents from supporting their children in the sport. This is part of the problem with the popularity of sports such as polo, lacrosse, and ice hockey. A sport can be less fulfilling when it comes with a hefty price tag. Especially in these troubling economic times, a parent may prefer to purchase a $10 soccer ball for his children rather than trying to suit them all up in protective gear costing hundreds of dollars.

As more and more people begin to assess the risks with respect to football, it is likely that in the future there will be a smaller pool of individuals willing to play the game. If health insurance companies get involved with high school and college sports, who knows what could happen. As one who played football in high school, I do not and would never want my children to play football at any level. My friends and family members who have participated in tackle football feel the same. I would much more prefer my children to play soccer than football. Both the startup and health care costs with soccer are minimal compared to football.

A sport needs individuals willing to play the game in order for it to survive. In this way, it may be time for people involved with football on all levels to rethink the game. Encouraging fantasy football, flag football, or touch football may actually be worthwhile in keeping the sport alive. This could be one of the reasons why fantasy football is so popular today; it was marketed so fans have a means of participation. One of the reasons why people enjoy watching a sport is because they have played and can play it. A fan's relation to the activity of a sport is crucial as fans can picture themselves in their favorite athlete's position; a fan can picture himself as part of the game and can put himself in the situation of his favorite player. Part of the reason why I'm not a fan of a sport like cricket is because I don't know how to play cricket, I've never played cricket, and I cannot relate to cricket players. Thus, fan participation is a big part of sports.

The football of the future may look a bit more like the rugby of today. Upon future medical studies, if health professionals strongly encourage football leagues to mandate less protective gear to better player safety, then football may very well end up looking like rugby. Further, with more laterals (underhand backwards passes), trick plays, and the development of football formations such as the Wildcat, football plays may evolve to strongly resemble rugby.

Yes, a football game you watch in the future may look like a rugby match of today. As a football purist (nearly in favor of the elimination of the forward pass), I would welcome this transition back to the rugby style of play. Were football to evolve back towards rugby, football would return to being a sport of athleticism rather than brute size. And to be brutally honest, I think such a transition would improve the game of football for fans, players, and everyone else involved.

I am confident that football popularity will continue into the foreseeable future, but one cannot discount the serious issue of player safety. There's a good chance that if American football does not evolve into a safer sport, the football of the future will be like what professional boxing is today -- less popular than in the past, obscured, and inaccessible to much of America. Furthermore, with a growing Hispanic population and changing sports attitudes for American children, soccer may eventually (within a handful of decades) overtake football, baseball, and basketball as the nation's most popular sport.

Even so, there is yet hope for American football. After all, football is a game that has radically evolved and changed through the years. To say the least, football is an adaptable game. And even if NFL players are wearing leather helmets and rugby shoulder pads twenty years from now, I will still be a devout fan of football. Hopefully the Cleveland Browns will have won a Super Bowl by then. We can only hope.