I kind of chuckle to myself when I read editorials about how football is on the decline. I mean, I get it. CTE has put football in the crosshairs of social (media) panic, but remember what society we’re talking about here. We like to pretend how much we care about safety, but that’s a public PC facade.
UFC is the fastest growing sport in the world. It’s grown from backyard fight clubs to a $4billion/year industry in 20 years. Collegiate and Professional football are the two most popular sports to watch in America. The NHL is at an all-time high, and is still expanding despite the fact that the sport is virtually closed off to all inner city kids, warm weather climates. 90% of high schools don’t have hockey programs, yet youth hockey has no trouble finding and upgrading the talent pool every decade.
I expect full contact football at the youth level to move to flag or 7-on-7 to appease middle class PC suburbanites, and way down the road, high school tackle football may fade in popularity; but the sport will press on. Perhaps college football will one day offer 6-year scholarships. The first 2-years will be spent redshirting, weight gaining, and teaching full contact tackling to make up for the absence of it at the youth level.
What’s in decline is the American family. Mommy and Daddy aren’t going to tell their 6’2 / 240lb 16-year old he can’t play football, because Mommy and Daddy don’t parent like that anymore. Mommy and Daddy are divorced, on social media apps, dating sites, or working. If you’re wondering what football will look like in 50 years, try imagining how disconnected families will be. Shit, you’ll be glad they’re playing football. It’s better than vaping meth.
Don’t be fooled by the PC reactions to violence. The appeal of free college and full contact sports will always appeal to people.
