Mark My Words (Prediction Thread)

I saw this on Reddit and figured the TIB take would be more fun.

MMW: the NFL will have a player die on the field, and it will never be the same again.

I was talking to gf about NFL starting back up, and she commented on the proliferation of games. She wondered when it would stop, and we talked about some of the injury concerns that made kids less likely to play. Then I recalled the Bills player who got hit in the chest and IIRC his heart stopped. He damned near died on the field.

I think about the combine stats, and how these guys would have been Olympic record setters in the 1970's, but weighing 135 pounds. The idea that most of these guys are closer to 300 lbs than 200, and run with that kind of speed, reminds me that playing an NFL game for some positions is the equivalent force of a fucking car crash. Eventually, a 270 lb person running 22 miles an hour with a helmet directly to the chest will cause the same trauma that stops someone's heart, and they just won't get there in time. Fuck, Stallone got hospitalized because he got punched in the chest so hard filming a Rocky movie.

When that happens, the massive industry that the NFL has become takes a huge hit. Now that some of that is financed through VC capital, that hit will snowball. Also, the reverberations down to college, high school and younger players will make it a LOT harder to recruit. I don't think it will shut down, but it will not be the juggernaut it is now.

 

He did die. Then he got alived again. Clinically, he was dead though, and now the Bills are starting him at safety week 1.

MMW: Bronny is gonna have a cardiac issue on the court (again) put in practice or somewhere and the NBA is gonna cover it up. It won't stay covered for long though, and Silver silver and Lebron will both end up retiring because of it.

 

Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions died on the field in 1971. Heart attack and the NFL did nothing. So there is that. It is my understanding that for a variety of reasons children are not playing football as they used to.

 

Soccer is much more popular. There's loads more kids into motorsports than when I was growing up. Travel baseball is a fucking lifestyle choice for kids and their parents. Way more martial arts options for kids. Children and their parents are choosing sports that they can participate in for many years beyond school.

There's weekly MX and enduro races with classes to suit almost every skill level, even vet classes for the old folk. Adult baseball and softball leagues. Pickup soccer games on just about every available field in the country.

Nobody goes out and gets in on a pickup game of football. Nobody suits up with friends and smashes into each other for fun on a weekend. Football is a going away, eventually.

 

My nephew's team made it to the little league world series and did very good. That's not a lifestyle I would wish on ANYONE. Holy price gouging batman.

 

Soccer is fairly cheap. Just need a set of cleats.

 

Just need a ball

 

And because of this, mark my words: Banana Ball will grow into a respectable sized league. You can only have so many players in the Show, so it’ll become a good solid career for those that don’t break through, or have the staying power. And who have a good sense of humor.

 

Cleats, ball, shin guards, uniforms, registration fees....

Travel soccer for my daughter would be ~$2,000 for 9 months out of the year. 2-3 practices/week and a tournament every weekend. And she's 9.

Seriously no shade to any parents that want that lifestyle and want to do that for their kids. But I know my daughter does not have the discipline to be an Olympic athlete, so rec league it is. She has fun and stays active, and that's really the most important thing for me at this point in her life.

ETA: I predict the more parents encourage (see: force) their kids to play competitive sports at such a young age is going to lead to a majority of them having mental health issues later in life, especially if they're considered a "natural athlete". If the kid doesn't have to work hard to be good at something, when they eventually do, they'll have a very hard time figuring out how.

 

They need more cosmic baseball nights. Glow in the dark uniforms and balls. That looks entertaining as hell. And you can't get a ticket few times they do it now.

 

that's how they get you. I was told running was cheap as well.

 

Bo Jackson may be one of the greatest athletes of all time. He would never have done travel ball, so he could do a bunch of different sports. In high school, somebody suggested he do the decathlon. But he didn't know how to pole vault or throw discus. So, he taught himself. In one day. Later that week, he won the State decathlon and set a point total record. He also set the record in the 100 meters. So, yes, he was a gifted person, but he insists being able to do multiple sports helped him succeed. Staying active and having fun is the most important.

 

in today's instagramy world they call themselves "hybrid athletes" (also known as... athletes) and they're the bane of my existence. Every single race further than a 5k, you get these roided out fucks who start up front listening to bullshit music on bullshit headphones that everyone can hear, and then they go out way too hot and way too hard, pulling up lame in the first few miles like a horse who just broke their leg at Churchill Downs.

 

Do you get to put up a tent around them where they fell and shoot them, like they do with the horses?

That would instantly turn these races into spectator sports.

 

unfortunately no. But I always start in the back of the field (chip timed races) so that I can take in every last bit of the people watching. It's my favorite part!

 

I think you missed the whole context of her post. The focus was on the"competitive" leagues. She said her kids play rec league. ie not ultra competitive sports where the kids have overbearing parents trying to live out their dreams through their kids.