American football is a sport that can be brutal, and it often feels like the only objective is to hit the person with the ball as hard as possible. As football continues through the fall, more and more people tune in each year to watch their favorite team perform well, or not at all. However, I am not one of those people. I would much rather sit down and watch a soccer match.
There is something about soccer being so elegant and strategic that football cannot even match up. Football, compared to rugby, is much more dangerous because you were a protective layer of pads and a helmet that gives the players a false sense of protection from anything which causes more concussions and injuries than most other sports. This is especially concerning because as we see humans get bigger, faster, and stronger, we will only see more issues in the future. The football associations have made steps to ensure the safety of their players, but sometimes that’s just not enough.
Even with the advancements in the technology of sports we are still seeing issues with players targeting and injuring other players. Are injuries avoidable in sports? Not necessarily. People will always find a way to get hurt, but to have a sport where the main objective is to tackle other players is absurd to me. Some may argue that soccer is a more dangerous sport than football and while the statistics may show this to be true, sitting down and watching a soccer match will make you realize that these statistics only hold up when you have a dirty player on the field that tries to put other players in dangerous situations.
I’m not completely sure as to why football is so popular in America, but there is a reason why soccer is the most popular sport in the world. The issue with football is the use of pads and helmets. I would argue that football should reconsider the use of pads because then players won’t put themselves in dangerous situations in every play.
Those who watch football can probably think of some big hits. Cam Newton while playing the Broncos earlier this year was struck 8 times in the head by a defensive player. Mind you, the officials and trainers should have done something or test him for a concussion after each hit. Regardless of the poor officiating or professionals not doing their job, this would not have happened if players did not have the type of helmet that they do. Unfortunately, there seems to be no possible way to change the way football is played. There is some hope in the continuously improved protective technology with helmets and pads.
