The Super Bowl was played this past Sunday. Denver won. Don’t stop reading yet – I know the WHOLE WORLD knows the Super Bowl was played this past Sunday and who won the game. But it is a good starting point for this blog.
Amidst all the hoopla, commercials, the halftime show, the parties and the game itself, is the looming conversation about the danger of the sport and, in particular, concussions. You cannot watch the NFL anymore without seeing a particular play or be reminded about a particular player in the past who now suffers from or died of “chronic traumatic encephalopathy”. There is a film out now, Concussion, which features the attempt by the NFL to suppress the research of Dr. Bennet Omalu. That attempt by the NFL was shameful and they deserved to be exposed for turning their attention away from the controversy. But what we did learn and continue to learn is that the dangers of playing the game are now self-evident. Every parent, every participant, every team from midgets to professionals now know that football can be a very dangerous game.
So where does that leave us? Absolutely nowhere. The choice still lies with the individual who decides to put on the helmet and the shoulder pads to play. People decide to do things every day that endanger their health. Choices are made to smoke cigarettes, to drink too much alcohol, to smoke marijuana, to live a sedentary life, to eat too much, to sky dive, to take on a giant wave, ski down the steepest of mountains, drive a race car at ridiculous speeds, etc. But the participants make that choice and, I’m certain they do not make the choice blindly. The risks are self-evident for some activities and well-documented for others.
It’s been a long time since I played organized sports. I played football, basketball, and baseball in high school, received 11 varsity letters for my efforts. I continued to play basketball and baseball in college. Back then, there was not much concern for the dangers of any of those sports. And besides, I truly loved playing them all. I still reflect back on what being part of a team, disciplining myself to practice and work out, feeling the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”, accomplishing individual success and learning to meet difficult challenges meant to my growth and fortitude as an adult. Risks be damned (even though I gave them very little thought).
I can say I was fortunate because I was only injured twice during my athletic career – a broken collarbone and a severe case of dehydration that put me in the hospital. These maladies occurred, not playing the three – football, basketball, and baseball. Both of the injuries occurred playing – wait for it – SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL!! That’s right and nobody ever told me how dangerous that sport could be. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I loved playing softball and continued to play even after both my body and my wife started to discourage my participation.
The point I am trying to make here is that, in this day and age, we all know the risks involved in the decisions we make every day. But they are OUR decisions and we must weigh the choices and then take responsibility for those decisions. I am not implying we shouldn’t continue to warn people of the health hazards, the dangers, and the consequences of those choices, nor should we discontinue all the research that makes us safer and more knowledgeable about those choices or make rules that help protect the participants. I am a fan of “concussion protocol”. What I am saying is that if individuals decide to participate in dangerous activities, SO BE IT!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME SUPER BOWL MUSINGS)
Here are my favorite commercials from the Super Bowl:
- Seth Rogan and Amy Schumer for Bud Light. It was funny from the beginning to the end and, unlike many other commercials, I got it.
- The Apartments.com ad was good with Jeff Goldblum playing the piano, but what was it about? Landing a better apartment? I guess it worked because I now know about the site.
- The sheep singing a rock song in the Honda truck ad, but was the selling point – that you can listen to rock from the bed of the truck? What?
- Hot dogs, literally, running to human catsup and mustard bottles, literally, made by Heinz. It was cute and made some sense.
- Oh, wait there weren’t five I liked. What’s a Marmot or a “puppymonkeybaby”? The ads were pretty lame this year and the game was somewhat boring. I liked the halftime show.
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)
NFL PICKS (WILD CARD) – 3-1
NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS – 3-1; PLAYOFFS (6-2)
NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS – 1-1; PLAYOFFS (7-3)
SUPER BOWL – 0-1
