A Word on Consussions

The death of Junior Seau has once more fueled the fires of concussion discussions in the NFL.  What is sports place in our society and why continue with games that continually destroy players bodies and have been shown to end them as well?  The culture of sport is nothing new to the human race.

I myself have had my "bell rung" on more than one occasion.  The stars twirling around a cartoon characters head after a big collision is not far from the truth. I would see them in my eyes as I skated away from a check and headed to the bench to collect myself.  A short two minute rest, shake it off, and then right back at every player would go.  At least the stars only happen the first time.  

It is overstated, but the truth is you keep going through those walls and battling because it's the tradition of sport and what makes an athlete great.  This is the choice of all athletes that reach a high level of competition.  The guy that gets hit once and hangs them up is not respected and will not make it.  Toughness isn't just a trait you find in some players.  Each player on the field/court/ice makes the choice to live a life of toughness, continually practicing and playing through extreme physical conditions.  This choice is rewarded with more playing time, bigger contracts, Sports Center Top 10 clips, YouTube hits, Twitter follows, Facebook pages, and countless other ways of recognition. 

Fans long for the physicality of sports.  Bigger, faster, stronger human beings hitting each other without regard for safety.  Athletes today are really modern day gladiators - the Romans would be so proud of pro sports leagues.  Sport has always evolved over the centuries.  Gladiators used weapons to literally kill one another.  Knights rode at each other with lances and greatly injured or killed one another.  Boxing held America's fancy for nearly 100 years as fans watched muscle bound men clobber one another.  For 50 years, professional football, hockey, and other modern day sports have pushed violence and physicality to the brink.

Sport will always exist and in a physical manner.  Athletes will make the decision to chase their dreams and make a living by playing a game.  It does not even matter if football goes the way of boxing as some media talking heads are now stating.  It will just be replaced by something new because we all cannot live without seeing humans battle one another to the bitter end, testing strength and might to establish a champion.