Bull in the ring was worse.Originally Posted by BermudaSooner
Bull in the ring was worse.
We also did a drill during the week against our biggest rival. It was called The Wall.
You got in any stance you wanted with back to our concession stand wall. All you had to do was get through two players across from you, but, if you got pinned they could hurt you for a sec.
Mmm yeah.
If they're really interested in injuries the first thing they need to do is reinstate the substitution limits and speed the game up. Make it where 350 lbs guys can't play the game and even 275 lbs guys have to adjust their training regiment to encourage stamina over strength.
And, by the way, this is exactly the opposite of what Saban thinks will make the game more safe.
Ah, the memories. Senior Slam Day, when the seniors could call out underclassmen, make you stand, holding the ball, not allowed to move. They got a ten yard wind up and got to slam you.
Had nothing to do with football, of course; it was just a sanctioned way to allow upper classmen to beat the crap out of their juniors.
Put in place by the same coaches who liked to make you eat dirt.
"I don't know karate, but I know ka-razor!" - James Brown
Also, let us not forget that following the 1905 season, football was nearly banned in this country, due to 18 deaths and 137 serious injuries. President Teddy Roosevelt stepped in and helped implement changes to make the game safer, such as ten yards for a first down, a line of scrimmage, penalties, the forward pass, and so on. Really kind of a fascinating story:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31657...saved-football
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/05/opinio...ne-super-bowl/
Also, a very good book on the whole situation, called "The Big Scrum."
Anyway, the point here is the game evolves for reasons relating to the safety of the players. It's not them being namby-pamby wusses, for crying out loud. I think some of you would like these to be gladiatorial contests. It's a game...one some of us take way too seriously at times.
The limits on contact suggested in that article didn't sound unreasonable. Would that have a big impact on the way Stoops runs practice now?
CV, I spent most of my life overseas and have had to explain football to foreigners quite often. And in doing so, I make explicit that, to understand the game, you have to understand the sporting aspects, but also the societal role of the game. And the best way to explain that is to compare it to gladiatorial contests.
Football fills the same niche that intramural raiding did for our Neolithic ancestors. It IS war, recast as sport. And that explains the passionate connection some feel for it that is not seen, for example, in tennis or baseball. And it explains why the university version, with it's closer ties to a given territory, has the deep fan commitment that it does. It also explains, to some degree, the reluctance that many have to eliminating physical risk. At some deep level, we understand that our war/game will simply not be as meaningful if there is no blood.
I do not wish injury on any player.....but I also stand and bellow my approval at a shatteringly harsh hit....along with 80,000 or so of my 'tribe'.
"I don't know karate, but I know ka-razor!" - James Brown
I think the decline in the popularity of football is going to be due not to litigation, though I don't discount the impact of current and future litigation, but it'll be due to moms and dads telling Junior that they don't want him to play, maybe not even allowing him to play, and beyond that the possibility that Junior himself looks at the real possibility of lifelong debilitating injury and calls bullsh*t on that noise himself.
And yes, I think the decline in participation in football is inevitable, and with it the future overwhelming popularity of the sport, though I don't contend that football is "going away."
Last edited by Curly Bill; 7/11/2014 at 02:28 PM.
Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him.
Olevet Posse Pistolero
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015.
It's modern warfare. My small town beat your small town. Bitch.
Or the fact that all of these goober parents have kids playing at way too early of an age.
It's a joke.
I detest pewee football!
Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him.
Olevet Posse Pistolero
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015.
Hey! That was the only time I was any good at it!
"I don't know karate, but I know ka-razor!" - James Brown
Bull in the ring was banned in Colorado a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure some other states outlawed it too. It's too bad, because that was one drill that did a good job of teaching kids the importance of staying alert. You can preach it all day long, but until a kid gets laid out (because he wasn't looking) it's a hard lesson to learn.
This coming year will be the first year (in almost 15 years) I will not be involved (as a parent). I can't wait!
I've been an assistant high school coach for the same amount of time, and there is no question the coaches/fans/officials at the peewee level are far worse. Not to mention the games are pretty terrible until the kids hit about 13.
Staying alert and how to keep your head up when absorbing a hit.
My main thought is kids shouldn't be playing organized football until they're around 12 or 13, which would of course put them entering junior high.
Behold the pale horse. The man who sat on him was death, and Hell followed with him.
Olevet Posse Pistolero
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015.
I would like to see injury data comparing American football, rugby, Australian rules football, and FIFA football.
FIFA gets the flop title for sure.
Just enforce the rules - no spearing, no targeting above the shoulders, and game on.
Or, just take off the face masks and go back to leather helmets and shoulder pads.
Bummer
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