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Footballs decline has some high schools disbanding teams
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Football being bad for you won't make Baseball any less boring.
We need new sports. I would appreciate more short scrawny white kids can excel at.
real sports huh?
While payers definitely do get concussions and there are concerns about long term effects of heading a ball repeatedly, I've never seen anything about football and CTE in Europe. In contract, everrbody knows about brain much from playing american football and to a lesser extent rugby.
Violence Jack
Member
My wife and I are in agreement that our son won't be playing football. I went to a high school that's rabid about the team, and it just wasn't worth the numerous concussions I received while playing with older equipment. I would've stuck with baseball if I had the chance to do it over again.
LegendofJoe
Member
I don't think this is true. Youth soccer is exploding in popularity. It is THE sport for kids and an increasing amount of schools. It's going to take a bit for the effects to be noticeable, but soccer has a bright future in the US. The days of us being awful and failing to qualify for the World Cup won't be around much longer.
I can foresee a US Ronaldo (likely a 2nd or 3rd generation immigrant) emerging sometime in the next 20 years, at that point it will be game over - soccer mania will have finally reached the US.
Hari Seldon
Member
Baseball is very fun to play imo. It is also very cheap which is why it became so popular in the US in the first place. It also has the extreme built in advantage that there is no need for NCAA shenanigans and it has the strongest players union at the MLB level.
FallingEdge
Member
Baseball is cheap to play? Isn't it both time consuming and pretty pricey to get a team together?
Crimson_Gold
Member
Clearly doesn't know the cost of the traveling teams and the like
bonesmccoy
Banned
Are you talking about that one study that relied on schools self-reporting the injuries?
Buba Big Guns
Banned
Soccer, basketball, tennis, biking, and hockey for me.
Good thing about hockey is that you're barely allowed to hit in the kids' leagues, and even the NHL is clamping down harder and harder every year.
Good thing about hockey is that you're barely allowed to hit in the kids' leagues, and even the NHL is clamping down harder and harder every year.
Nikodemos
Member
Baseball isn't cheap at all. It's more expensive than soccer, since a full team's worth of equipment is more expensive.
In soccer you need cleats, shinguards, padded jersey, padded shorts (goalie), gloves (goalie), ball.
In baseball you need gloves, helmet (batter), padding (catcher), faceguard (catcher), shinguards (catcher), catcher's mitt, bats (several), red clay (for the ball), balls (several).
I can't see how baseball is cheaper than soccer.
In soccer you need cleats, shinguards, padded jersey, padded shorts (goalie), gloves (goalie), ball.
In baseball you need gloves, helmet (batter), padding (catcher), faceguard (catcher), shinguards (catcher), catcher's mitt, bats (several), red clay (for the ball), balls (several).
I can't see how baseball is cheaper than soccer.
Albino_Yeti
Member
Traveling teams can get pricey, but local rec leagues aren't necessarily expensive. There's a good amount of options for baseball, for all kinds of prices. Anything from rec leagues, to church leagues, to travel leagues. Still not the cheapest sport out there, (that goes to soccer or basketball) but it's not as expensive as something like hockey.
AcademicSaucer
Member
2026 is going to be in the US
Nah, Fencing has an even lower rate of injury, outside of water sports
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/leg-head-injuries-frequent-at-olympics/
Fence, people! stabbing/slashing your opponent is good fun!
chicken_pasta
Banned
Good. It's a dangerous and boring sport anyway. Plus, if the amount of brain damaged Americans goes down, maybe another Trump will never happen.
Ocarina_117
Banned
They should take up the real football. Which involves using foot to kickball, not hand to throw egg.
WascallyWabbit
Member
It makes sense, given all this data coming out.
It makes me wonder, growing up in Texas I played football from like 11-16 like basically 90% of the guys in my class. While I don't remember getting really hit hard in the head, new data shows that may not even matter. Did it mess with me at all?
It makes me wonder, growing up in Texas I played football from like 11-16 like basically 90% of the guys in my class. While I don't remember getting really hit hard in the head, new data shows that may not even matter. Did it mess with me at all?
The sentiment I saw from the USMNT Failed megathread on reddit was that Soccer clubs tend to have a culture of pay to play. People with more money seem to have more influence over clubs and coaches and can make sure their child plays the entire time. Whereas Baseball is America's pastime and is more immune to that. If you show up with your kid at a peewee baseball league, and you tell them you can't afford some of the stuff but you want your kid to be active, high chances are your kid gets some loaner shin guards, a bat, and a helmet. They'll spread the lineup around, all the kids get at-bats, the little sluggers get noticed and they get referred. This skill-based and not pay-based filtering continues through Jr High, HS and College, then A, AA, AAA. There's definitely a culture in the big three that if you stand out, people actively want to help you succeed.
I don't know how true those reddit pay-to-pay allegations were, but there were a lot of first and second hand accounts.
I've never heard of padded shirts or shorts. Boots, pads, gloves, ball. Even then, that's for an organised event.
Playing in a park with mates? A ball and bags for posts.
Because our time is finite, and the amount of dedication is takes from an entire family to support traveling sports is absurd. You cant maximize one without taking from the other.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Because athletics programs tend to require evening and weekend practice, elbowing out any room for academic extracurriculars.
MugiwaraCole
Member
I was finna say, this ain't really happening in the South. Not with the traditional powerhouses anyways.
Skellig Gra
Member
Of course you can but kids need to focus on their education and just being kids.
If this trend continues I can see baseball and basketball participation increasing tremendously.
More participation in soccer would be great but a huge hurdle I see in the US is the standing of the MLS.
The NBA and MLB both have guaranteed contracts and are relatively safer than most sports.
There is a huge difference in terms of making guaranteed millions in those leagues compared to what MLS players on average make.
In order to basically see any professional development or decent salary, a soccer player would have to go play in Europe or elsewhere and I think that could be a limiting factor for some.
More participation in soccer would be great but a huge hurdle I see in the US is the standing of the MLS.
The NBA and MLB both have guaranteed contracts and are relatively safer than most sports.
There is a huge difference in terms of making guaranteed millions in those leagues compared to what MLS players on average make.
In order to basically see any professional development or decent salary, a soccer player would have to go play in Europe or elsewhere and I think that could be a limiting factor for some.
Greedings
Member
I get that maximising one takes from the other, but school should result in a well-rounded individual. Being athletic doesn't mean you can't excel academically. Every professor I've worked for is an amateur athlete - my current is involved in triathlons.
I don't really know what you mean by supporting "traveling sports" requires family support, my school used to play rugby around the country (albeit a much, much smaller country) and I never required help from my family, I just jumped on the school bus like everyone else in the team.
Being fit is not something that should be ignored completely for academics either. They're both important.
Note: I'm not saying people should play American football. It looks and sounds like an incredibly dangerous sport. There are plenty of safer alternatives.
Skellig Gra
Member
How is basketball participation going to go up? NBA teams have 12-14 roster spots. It's already essentially impossible to get in to the league. With the NFL each team starts with like 100 players at the start of the year.
Thelonelykoopa
Member
Come on Soccer!! It's your chance to shine; we can at least try to be seen sports wise as normal in the International Community.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
The NFL can't even fill their rosters with good players as it is now. The writing is on the wall. Hopefully the trend continues and more and more kids move on to a better and healthier sport to participate in.
The NBA for a while has been discussing the notion of expansion but most people would argue there isn't enough good talent to fill out the rosters they already have.
The NBA is also discussing eliminating the one and done rule at college and trying to turn their developmental league into a baseball minor league type situation.
I could see more kids getting involved in high school basketball or AAU and having that spill over into the developmental league they are trying to grow.
Basketball participation is already very high but if the league actually expands the developmental league or the professional teams. I could see that participation growing even more since more professional opportunities would be available.
Skellig Gra
Member
Yeah teams are already stocked at every level with an abundance of kids. It could grow a little but not enough to accommodate a significant portion of the crowd if football just disappeared.
Harrison Bergeron
Member
It's for the best. I played football in high school and was pretty good, and loved it. I still love it. I love college football and I feel filthy about it, and I love the NFL and feel filthy in a slightly different way about it, but I can't get enough on weekends.
With what we're learning about head injuries, and their long-term effects, it just doesn't make sense for parents to start their children in the sport. Blows to the head are inherent to so many phases of the game, and parents in good conscience can't allow themselves to put their children in that situation. It's not a question of being overly protective or anything like that, it's just knowing the science, and making a good parenting decision based on that.
If our progress as a society leads to the death of the game I'm ok with that. I wouldn't let any children of mine play. This isn't to say that head injuries, and head impacts aren't quite common in a sports like soccer, but it's still not a part of the game on every play.
With what we're learning about head injuries, and their long-term effects, it just doesn't make sense for parents to start their children in the sport. Blows to the head are inherent to so many phases of the game, and parents in good conscience can't allow themselves to put their children in that situation. It's not a question of being overly protective or anything like that, it's just knowing the science, and making a good parenting decision based on that.
If our progress as a society leads to the death of the game I'm ok with that. I wouldn't let any children of mine play. This isn't to say that head injuries, and head impacts aren't quite common in a sports like soccer, but it's still not a part of the game on every play.
Skiptastic
Member
Agreed, and I'm a season ticket holder for the Colts.
I'm firmly against either of my boys playing football when they are little, other than just tossing the old pigskin around. I won't have them getting brain damage and having it affect their whole lives.
We will get there with soccer, it will just take time and some major shifts in how we develop players. Also, we value physical attributes and athleticism in our sports/athletes above all else.
I played and follow soccer pretty closely. Youth soccer has been popular for over a decade now. Still the best training and kids are playing for pay-to-play teams. The rest of the world treats playing soccer as a job, not as a hobby and a way to get a college scholarship. Anyhow, I hope someday we can have a world class player (maybe that player is Pulisic).
FUBAR McDangles
Member
Cant imagine that football is going to stay on top for much longer. Outside of Alabama/Texas/Florida, its gotta start dying at some point.
Hockey can take advantage of this in Northern states like MN, MI, MA, NJ, NY. Its got the physicality and requires a ton of athleticism. Some of the best players are small, which gives it an advantage over basketball.
Baseball is seen as boring by many, which sucks but thats the reality. Many families avoid it on purpose. Soccer just isnt a thing in a good chunk of the country. Not that hockey is much better in more than half the states, but hey.
Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, and Hockey should all see gains but who knows who gets the most. All of them have stigmas that are going to be hard to shake.
Maybe something else gets brought into that top group, like lacrosse or something.
Cant see individual sports likr tennis or swimming or wrestling make up much room. Theyre just too drastically different.
Hockey can take advantage of this in Northern states like MN, MI, MA, NJ, NY. Its got the physicality and requires a ton of athleticism. Some of the best players are small, which gives it an advantage over basketball.
Baseball is seen as boring by many, which sucks but thats the reality. Many families avoid it on purpose. Soccer just isnt a thing in a good chunk of the country. Not that hockey is much better in more than half the states, but hey.
Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, and Hockey should all see gains but who knows who gets the most. All of them have stigmas that are going to be hard to shake.
Maybe something else gets brought into that top group, like lacrosse or something.
Cant see individual sports likr tennis or swimming or wrestling make up much room. Theyre just too drastically different.
Harrison Bergeron
Member
Another point about hockey is that the nature of it allows it to adapt to the research on head trauma, and it has been doing a very good job eliminating head contact, and changing the culture of violence in the game.
Still, hockey is expensive and prohibitive, and I don't know how much it can really grow. Soccer is where the majority will migrate, and that's just fine with me.
Still, hockey is expensive and prohibitive, and I don't know how much it can really grow. Soccer is where the majority will migrate, and that's just fine with me.
Hockey is prohibitively expensive. Otherwise they would be able to see massive gains from this shift. Although concussion are still an issue with hockey.
Hari Seldon
Member
A team usually has a handful of bats and helmets that everyone shares depending on their size/strength. If you want you can buy your own bat which many kids do, but it is optional usually. Little leagues aren't run like MLB where if a ball gets a little dirt on it they toss it out for a new one lol.
Harrison Bergeron
Member
It's also important that MLS, for all its flaws, is a pretty decent product right now. Also, North America and the lifestyle is increasingly attractive to European players who aren't even at the end of their careers like it used to be.
That will really help grow the game.
That will really help grow the game.
I wish there was a simpler way to make football safer because I fucking love it so much, and I loved playing in high school. But I don't blame anyone for not wanting to play or their kids to play knowing the risks.
I do wonder what effect this could have on atheletic departments at high schools, because I know here in Ohio that the money made from football games with high attendance is often what pays for the travel and equipment for the other sports, most of which don't make any money and probably lose it, save for probably men's basketball.
I do wonder what effect this could have on atheletic departments at high schools, because I know here in Ohio that the money made from football games with high attendance is often what pays for the travel and equipment for the other sports, most of which don't make any money and probably lose it, save for probably men's basketball.
Transistor
Banned
I'd be fine with them going to flag football. It's the same sport, just without the violence and head injuries
FUBAR McDangles
Member
Many schools in Minnesota have been able to minimize this somewhat with fundraising and volunteering so costs decrease. Its not perfect, but its getting better.
Concussions are also becoming less and less of an issue.
All that said, I dont expect hockey to suddenly blow up at all in areas they dont already have it. I just imagine areas like Minnesota, Michigan, Massachussetts, and New York - areas with good/great hockey development already in place - to reroute kids from football to hockey.
Nearby states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Dakota, and a few others could definitely make gains if their programs make the right moves, but its by no means a guarantee. Cant imagine that southern states (outside of maybe the areas around places with good/great NHL teams like Nashville, Tampa, Carolina, the California teams) are going to suddenly jump on hockey at all though.
Soccer definitely has the means and ability to grow, but I just cant help but think that so many of the families that are into football will just refuse to have their kids play soccer. It is so drastically different in style, types of athleticism, and so on.
Baseball would probably be a safe bet the more I think about it. Good/great athletes, has a somewhat similar pace to football, even kids who arent all that great of athletes at the younger levels can be power hitters and do well if they can track the ball well.
Basketball would be a great option if a requirement of being 6'0" wasnt required to even be a good player in high school. That already eliminates like half the kids.