Football and the Limits of Conscience

Owen Strachan with an interesting article questioning the sport of football in light of all the health related risks.

I love watching the NFL, but as players keep getting bigger, faster, and stronger, the health risks will continue and the consequences will not be pretty as we move into the future.  It is simply a matter of physics.

I wrote a bit about this a few months ago in comparing the NFL to UFC.  I think it is worth reflecting upon.

How to Lose Well

Many people consider Fedor Emelianenko to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world.  Last night he lost for the first time in a huge upset.  You can watch that here (it goes pretty fast):





Here were his comments after the fight. I applaud his humility:



Here was another quote from him:

"The one who doesn’t fall never stands up, It happened that people made me an idol. But everybody loses. I’m just a human being. And if it’s God’s will next fight, I’ll win.... At the very beginning of the round, I hit him and I wanted to finish as soon as possible, at that moment, I made a mistake. I would like to have a rematch with Fabricio if he was to agree. I’d love to do that.... There were several moments when I could escape, but I relied on myself too much and that’s why I paid for it. At the very moment when I had to escape, I stopped, and that moment was used for Fabricio to lock it on. I’m really very sorry and it’s a pity that I disappointed people who believe in me and trusted in me, but everything in this life happens for some reason. If God decided this is what should happen, then it’s the best thing for this very time."

Cage Bed

If you want your boys to be tough then they HAVE to have one of these beds.

UFC vs NFL - Which Is More Violent?

Before I moved to Albuquerque, I had never seen a UFC match (if you don’t know what UFC is, click here).  I thought people who watched that stuff were knuckle dragging neanderthals.  The first weekend after we moved to Albuquerque, Kim and I were invited to go to some friends house to watch it.  I was hooked and have been a fan ever since.  Now that I actually know what mixed martial arts are all about I can see that it is certainly a real sport and that these athletes should be respected just as much as all the top athletes in other sports. The strategy that is involved is quite complex and the variables in play make almost any match potentially interesting. 

Most people are understandably put off by the violence of it.  But today, as I sit and watch the NFL, (the most watched sport in the US) I can’t escape a comparison between the two sports.  Which is more violent?  I have to say, without hesitation, that the NFL is way more violent that the UFC.  Consider the empirical evidence. 

I have never seen this, this, or, this happen in a UFC match.  Nothing even close.  I have never seen someone carted off on a stretcher with a broken neck in the UFC.  Without question, both sports are very violent, but I would submit that the violence is far more controlled in the UFC.  Before a guy gets his let snapped in half he is going to submit through what is called a "tap out".  He will simply tap his hand on the mat or his opponent and the ref will call the match.  In the NFL, when you have these huge, athletic monsters running full speed at each other, it's basically a car crash everytime.  Legs and ankle break all the time.  Try as they might, the NFL is way less controlled.  The dangerous physics of the NFL don't comprare to those of the UFC. 

So if you think that UFC should be avoided due to the violence then you might also want to consider the far greater violence of the NFL. 

What do you think?