Concussion

I absolutely love watching football. It's pure entertainment to me, because of the random-ness of the ball. The ballet of moving through the field. And the coordination of it all. However,, a new movie is coming out that is about the dangers of playing football.

Another former player had been diagnosed with concussion symptoms that may have caused him to act erratically which resulted in his suicide. Now...I'm no doctor, but I'm certainly sympathetic to the athletes that put themselves in harm's way for the sport.

I'm not here to talk about the right and wrong of these cases. It's pretty obvious that when you put yourself in these moments, permanent damage to your body and mind occur. It occurs when you're just simply breathing. Or stretch wrong. Or kick something because you're pissed off. Or drink too much. It's just the odd risks people are willing to take when they know the result. And it's not always a sudden thing. I think when players stop playing is when they realize the true damage they've done to themselves. Much like when I stopped drinking booze. I really had no gauge as to the damage. But when I sobered up, my brain ached. The side effects were so awful, I can't even imagine what it must feel like for someone who took repeated hits to the head. They're punch drunk. And I get it, they get paid a ton of money to play what is essentially a kid's sport. But the physical risk for entertainment...I think as a society we may have hit bottom. Not because I don't enjoy watching the sport. Just that I hate liking something that will eventually hurt someone permanently.

Would they ever get rid of football? I don't think so. There's way too much money in it now. Which also sickens me a little. That we put dollars over brain cells. It doesn't sicken me enough to stop watching, so that makes me a hypocrite.

You know, it occurred to me how much pro football is very much like meat factories. You fatten the players up to play, you weigh 'em, trade 'em and when it's time for the pasture, you put them down. Also, we don't want to know how these things are done. We know but we don't know. Like say...hot dogs. How those are made. We just don't want to wrap our heads around the ugliness, because it would ruin the fun.