Monday, September 2, 2013

No Bell Ringers

I have been a football fan for some time.  The heyday of the Dallas Cowboys in the seventies, when Tom Landry was a god of the gridiron, is still fresh in my head.  Even when I was eight, I would have killed for Landry's calm demeanor, the center of a storm of battle on a field of green. He was my hero, along with Roger Staubach.  Surrounded by military men drinking German bier, I watched Jackie Smith drop a pass in the end zone of the Super Bowl and cried with the rest of the Dallas fans at the party.  During my college years, Monday nights were sacrosanct, as all the girls in my dorm gathered around the television to watch Monday Night Football.

Every football game is a battle of sorts.  The players on the field try to beat each other to a pulp to get a ball to move down the field.  Heads get knocked around along with the bodies as everyone fights for the ball.  It's exciting when there's a spectacular tackle on a play, it's difficult to deny that.  There's a thrill that rolls through every fan when a team scores a touchdown, a vicarious victory that carries some people on a high for days.

In Texas, boys and girls are taught from birth that football is king.  To be a high school football player in the state of Texas is to be vaguely worshipped by the masses.  There are parades and pep rallies and autograph signings before they even get their diploma.  In some of the small towns, football is the only entertainment available, and those teens are the closest thing to a celebrity that most people will ever meet. 

It's that big a deal.

When we arrived in San Antonio after leaving Germany, my brother was dutifully signed up for Pop Warner football because he was expected to do so.  It didn't matter that he was only 8--he played.  The helmet seemed much too large for my brother to carry on his head, but he did it.  I was usually dragged along to practices, and when I did not have a book in hand, I watched my brother play. 

The sound of the helmets striking each other always reminded me of eggs cracking, but that sound meant that the boys were doing what they were supposed to.   Sometimes a boy "got his bell rung" by a particularly rough tackle, but I don't remember anyone ever saying the 'C' word.  In most cases, the kid was back in the game after five minutes on the bench.  It wasn't that the coaches were inattentive or heartless--football is all about toughness.  "Play it through" is what most players were told, because that's what the professionals did. 

But the 'C' word in football is a big deal, it turns out.  Concussions, once thought to be minor blips on the brain's radar, are indeed a very big deal, as new research shows.  Repeated concussions can kill, if the brain swells as a result of a hit. Over time, those hits to the head can cause all sorts of degenerative issues, including memory loss and dementia. It's scary.  While the NFL and the college teams can afford the expensive helmets to protect their players, the millions of kids who play high school football and younger don't have that luxury.  They never could.  I now wonder how many of the football players I knew will be statistics in twenty or thirty years, as they hit what should be their golden years. 

I don't want that for my son.  Right now, my child is smart, curious, and interested in the world around him.  He is observant and eager to learn.  He is friendly and outgoing, happy and carefree.  I want him to stay that way.  I am his Mama, and I want him to stay as safe as he can be.  I'm not overprotective. I have done my research. I know that all sports carry some risk of injury. My child could just as easily be injured playing basketball, baseball, or soccer.  I know that.  But since football tops the list in the injury odds, I'd rather he avoid that sport altogether.

I still enjoy watching the NFL games on Sundays.  It would be weird to deny all those years of football watching.  I still get a little thrill when the quarterback takes the snap and steps back while the offensive line tries to protect him for the several seconds necessary for the play to advance.  I still love a well executed play, and cheer when a pass is caught by a receiver.  I celebrate the end zone dances just like most people.  My hope is that, with this new information, the game will get safer for every player.

Until then, my kid will not play.



  




14 comments:

  1. My university is welcoming back football this year for the first time since it was cut back in 1999 - so it's a big deal over here at the moment (Canadian Football). The concussion issue came up as they were talking about bringing the team back, and I don't know much about football, but my understanding was age group leagues (at least up here) are taking steps to make the game safer for young kids?

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  2. Love the write, T. I never got into football. My cousin was. He was my hero. A bittersweet moment and the timing- September has been of season of beginnings and mourning for years.

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  3. It's interesting to see how people in other countries view American football. In South America people tend not to understand how such a violent sport is so popular. Of course, bullfighting is the tradition here...go figure.

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  4. I love football--just not the American game. And not because of it being too dangerous or anything. I just LOVE Soccer.

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  5. It is scary to think of the injuries football players sustain. I think that about boxing sometimes too -- it is somebody's job to get punched in the face for a living. It's a little crazy when you think about it!

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  6. Smart mamma. I am one of those who has a hard time seeing the appeal of football...

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  7. Once reason I am glad I have girls they are MUCH less likely to want to play football.

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  8. My husband has reffed Pop Warner football for over 25 years. Our 16 year old son has never played. He talked about it briefly when he was little, then we went to a game to watch Daddy ref and seeing those kids go down on the sideline and hearing the crash of those helmets only 8 feet away...I don't think I ever heard much more about it. He was briefly interested in hockey too, just not the ice skating...funny how those 2 things just sort of worked out for this nervous momma!

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  9. Football and lacrosse are violent and can cause head injuries and more. My son plays high school lacrosse and though he wears a strong helmet, I always worry about injuries.

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  10. I was so happy when my son said he didn't want to play. There's only touch for his age group right now, but I will be very pleased if he never asks to play tackle.

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  11. Ah, the Tom Landry/Roger Staubach Cowboys were the best! And I agree...I'm scared to death of my son playing football. He's only 3 now, so I don't have to worry about it for awhile.

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  12. I grew up much like you, in a fanatically football focused household. My son didn't play in high school (but did flag and Pop Warner) because puberty struck late for him. I missed the game, to be honest, but happy he wasn't in that position. They can get hurt in so many sports. He pressure to excel is far to stressed.

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  13. I love love love football! I've been a huge fan since childhood and I grew up going to Bears games with my Dad. That being said, I too would never want my child to play it, nor do I think he'd even want too. We're also big hockey fans and I worry about that sport as well. At three he's already asking to learn how to skate. The violence doesn't start until they are much older so I'm debating finding him skating lessons.
    My brother is an amateur MMA fighter and that scares me even more, despite that fact that he's an adult.

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