Football

December 1, 2024

I played football in high school and I played football at the college level. I was a starter and a captain, and I played inside linebacker and full back. Football has always been a violent game full of high-speed collisions.

Personally, I trained year around, but for the team, the season begins with double sessions during the dog days of summer. It’s takes mental and physical toughness to get through that, and it’s supposed to be difficult to weed out all the people who shouldn’t be there. That’s right. Not everyone is capable. Not everyone has the ability.

By the time the season starts, your squad is made, and you prepare for battle. There’s a certain sense of pride and accomplishment you feel for making it through the summer sessions because not everyone does.

Football is a game that brings people together for a common goal-to win football games. There’s love and passion involved, and over the years, rivalries form. We play the game because we want to play it. We understand the commitment, and we understand the abuse our bodies are going to take.

So, I’m going to just come right out and say it. I understand there are people who want to protect the men who play, but they’ve become like over-protective parents, and in some cases, police.

I don’t believe in this “targeting” call. There’s a difference between actually attempting to hurt someone, which would be targeting, and playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played-aggressively.

Leagues and referees have done only one thing by throwing players out of games for what they consider targeting, they’ve turned the entire world against that one player. There was a time when well timed collisions were celebrated. Defensive players who played the game aggressively and within the rules were feared.

Being feared was a good thing because offensive coordinators would game plan around you, and players didn’t want to go near you. Not all receivers for would reach out to catch that pass because they knew, they were going to get hit hard. The brave ones would, and those who were too afraid would get booed and called out for not sacrificing for their team.

Can’t you see what they’ve done to this game? By changing the rules, the receiver who’s too afraid to lay out for his team no longer gets booed or called out. They boo, reprimand, and remove the defender for playing his position.

I understand the cleaning up of hits that are cheap or unnecessary, but there is way too much interference with the natural play of the game. You should read some of things that people say on internet chat boards about those who get kicked out of games for “targeting.” Players are being made to feel like they did something terrible, they’re hated, booed off the field, and threatened. They’re hated for playing the game aggressively.

Why does our entire culture thrive on the scapegoating and the singling out of one person? As long as that one person gets thrown out, then everyone else can feel safe. That’s terrible.

It’s almost impossible to avoid helmet to helmet collisions. Football players understand that, and they know that. Coaches and trainers should speak with their teams, and they should have a locker room lecture about the dangers of leading with your head when running, tackling, or blocking, but to throw someone out of a game for helmet to helmet contact is a total violation of the game.

It’s a slippery slope that has led to an over-abuse of power. I’ve seen referees throw flags on hits that were super-aggressive and violent. They weren’t helmet to helmet, but because they looked too aggressive, a flag was thrown.

Football, is becoming overly dramatic like our culture, and it seems like people can’t wait to get on their knees next to an injured player and bow their heads. I mean, injuries are a part of the game, and while some of us are saddened when our teammates get injured, no one is going to win an Oscar Award for best supporting actor in a drama series.

No, man. This has gone too far.

The Michigan game yesterday against Ohio State ended with a huge fight, and that happens once in a while. When you have two teams playing, and it’s a rivalry game, there’s a lot on the line. For that rivalry specifically, Ohio State could lose every game during the season, but if they beat Michigan, than it’s all good. Michigan is the same.

Michigan upset Ohio State at Columbus yesterday, and it was a big win for the Wolverines. They were excited, and they decided to plant their flag on the O. Ohio State wasn’t going to stand for that. No one likes to see a game end that way, but it does once in a while. It’s good for the sport, and it’s good for the rivalry. How do you think rivalry games are made? As fans, we love rivalry games. They’re exciting and high-spirited.

Those situations should be contained by players, referees, and coaching staffs. Why the police why be on the field charging people with crimes and spraying football players with mace is another example of how out hand outside interference with the game has gotten.

It’s out of hand. Police should only be on the field to prevent fans from interfering with the game. That’s it. They shouldn’t be there to police the game of football. They shouldn’t be arresting players, charging players with crimes, or spraying mace.

In addition, journalism jobs, commentator jobs, and jobs analyzing games should all be reserved for the men who played the game. That should be their reward for giving their body and life to the game. Everyone wants to hop on the gravy train.

C’mon man. If you didn’t play the game, I have no respect for you or what you have to say about it. Football is a fraternity, and it’s brotherhood. The more outsiders you allow into the game, the weaker it becomes.

Football, and sports in general are important for our country. Through sports, people unite for a common goal regardless of political beliefs, religion, color, and ethnicity. Sports must be preserved, and they must be protected from outsiders and infiltration.

But, I think it’s already too late for that.

So, go ahead. Boo and hate the man for making a good hit. Throw him out of the game. Spray mace and arrest players for fighting on the field. Let people broadcast, analyze, and write about football even though they never played.

No more quarterback under center. No more three yards and a cloud of dust. No more feared safeties and linebackers. Penalize them until they play cautiously. Interfere with the game until you take their focus off the game. Break it up, water it down, and weaken it.

Destroy it, like you do everything else.