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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Football's Future is at a Crossroads


Our Wonderful game of Football is at a Crossroads at this point in history. To be clear, it has happened before and we are in the vortex of it again now.



(Yale Football in 1905 below)



In more than 150-years of its evolution, the game of Football has soared to amazing heights, and it has suffered and prospered once again. All along the way, the game has adapted in order to thrive...most of the time those changes were voluntary, but sometimes the Game was Forced to change (in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt) and modernize some of its rules to improve player safety and push the game into a more mature and acceptable future.

(President Teddy Roosevelt) Legalized the Forward Pass in 1906



Now, at this point in its incredible "life," the game's key indicators are pointing towards important adjustments to improve the rocky path of player safety that it's been riding on, which will help to increase the critically important youth and high school football participation numbers that serves as the lifeblood of Collegiate and Professional Football.

Looking back at the game of Football about 100-years ago, does that model of the game resemble the game that we play today?

No...and, things either get better or they get worse...they do not stay the same.

(Circa 1912) Football Helmet Safety Test



Morally, and with the advent of medical investigative technology that reveals the health and safety of the players in a real-time format during practices and games, combined with the fact that the athletes of today are bigger-faster-stronger than virtually every football player from 75-100 years ago...the leaders in charge of shaping the future of football at every level of play should answer these basic questions.

1. Is the game of football going to become Faster and more Spread Out overall, or will it become a more condensed, smash mouth game?



2. Are the Athletes of today and into the future going to become slower and weaker, or Stronger and Faster?


3. Will the Football Players of today and into the future be able to process real-time information on the field of play at a faster rate than their predecessors overall?




4. Can the Game's rules be modified to help improve player safety, and also help the game become even More exciting and complex than it already is right now?





Looking back and evaluating the changes that have taken place throughout football's history, one thing reveals itself over-and-over again, and that is...the game of Football has always adapted to its Athletes and adjusted to the particular set of circumstances affecting the game at that point in time.



For those of us that love the great game of Football, we need to keep experimenting and find the best methods and new rules to greatly improve player safety.

The Great Answers to Improving Football Player Safety and Opening Up the Game are Right in Front of us.



We owe our best efforts to all of the football players, coaches and the fans of the Game's past, and also to all of the Future Generations still yet to come.



The Exciting and Innovative Future of Football Awaits...