Football is Becoming the Sport to Not Play or Watch Anymore

By Andreas Fanos on January 23, 2018

The great American sport: football. A classic game of throwing around a pigskin and tackling others as hard as they can. A game played down to its last seconds, where every moment counts.

It has its own disadvantages just like every other sport; the punishment inflicted on the body. And football is an example of extreme punishment on the body. This year alone, many NFL players went down with injuries like big stars Odell Beckham Jr., Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman, Deshaun Watson, Eric Berry, Zach Miller, and even Ironman Joe Thomas.

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Those are just some of the notable names that were lost for the rest of the season. The NFL needs to do more to protect players with devastating injuries, the worst being concussions. Concussions can ultimately lead to a horrible head injury called CTE. The league also needs to get rid of its strict rules with procedures like changing the extra point and the touchback from the 20 to the 25-yard line.

The procedures for resting players from injury has been shaky at best too because many of them play when hurt. The concussion protocol is unreliable as well as the players affected go into a tent for a couple of minutes and then exit. Football players do not make a high salary compared to other sports like baseball and basketball. Football players take a lot of punishment in their careers and are forced to retire young and leave the game they love behind. Health is the number one priority and the players are not paid enough for what they sacrifice on the field day in and day out. Any day, any practice, any game can be their last.

Another issue plaguing the NFL is that its ratings have decreased. An article in the “New York Post” points out that “Someone stole an average of 5.8 million viewers from each of the four divisional playoff games.” This can be caused by many reasons, but it is clear to see that politics have caused less viewership. The kneeling and constant politics used in the media have shifted viewers away from regular season games and even the playoffs. I believe that politics should be separate from sports, though the players can choose to do what they want to do. The way the NFL handled the situation was poor.

Many players have boycotted the NFL for Colin Kaepernick, the ex-49ers QB who started the highly criticized movement. In my opinion, and many others’, Kaepernick was blackballed from playing the game because he would cause noise and distraction for other teams. The QB can still play and he is a great player. He could have been used as a backup for many teams and he should even be a starter.

The NFL season has been unpredictable, and moreover, it has also not been as entertaining. The playoffs have also not been spectacular besides the game between the New Orleans Saints vs. the Minnesota Vikings and one other game.

Photo via Pexels

While the NFL is getting worse, the NBA is just continuing to get better in popularity and ratings. Basketball is more spectacular and the games are more competitive. Headlines and drama have made the league better. Football is slowly becoming the sport to not watch or play anymore as other sports are advancing, while the NFL sits back and watches. The combination of injuries, guidelines, and corruption has harmed the NFL. The league will have to make changes to stay afloat or else.

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