Some weeks ago, I wrote some observations about how American college football had changed in my perception over the years that I have seen it infrequently. Well, now the season is over. I had a lot of fun watching various teams from all over the USA play season and bowl games. The ESPN-360 was well worth it.
I like ESPN, but I wonder if they realize that their announcers and "color commentators" are often afflicted with the terminal "blathertosis". These guys are constantly yapping about something and not always about football either. I really do not care about which restaurant at which they ate last night. They often digress, and frequently sound like pitchmen for a given player or coach to the NFL. I wonder if they get a commission? Another thing; what is the deal with all these girls(mostly) running around on the sidelines with green bottles like cocktail waitresses? I understand the need for good hydration, but what happened to the table with cups of liquids on it? These players are big boys who ought to be able to get their own drinks. On another note,each broadcast team seems to have at least one female member who is on the sidelines. Now, I am all for equality in the workplace, but if I was a coach in a tight game, I would likely be unkind when one of these babes stuck a microphone in my face to ask an asinine question about how I felt.
I guess the modern locker room looks like a hospital now with x-ray machines, CT scanners, etc. Won't be long before there will an OR in it, so that arthroscopy can be done on shoulders and knees. Sometimes, the coaches look like they are going to stroke out also, so CT scans might be helpful for them.
Just a few last thoughts for this year....
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
01 February 2010
20 November 2009
The New American Football
I was born and grew up with SEC college football. I was educated at The University of Tennessee, so I have orange blood in my veins. I have always said that SEC football beats hockey by miles and is exceeded only, sometimes, by bull fighting. Well, this Fall is the first in over ten years when I have had the chance to see live college football. I owe this to my 13 year old grandson, Peter, who I suspect one day may be an ESPN reporter. Anyway, Peter clued me in about ESPN 360, and I subscribed. For a few Swiss Francs a month, I get more college football live and archived than I can watch in a week. Some things have changed!
I know this sounds like an old man, but I am an old man. Growing up in high school and college, as well as 25 years living in the USA, I watched a lot of football live and on TV. The quarterback was the smartest guy on the team. He knew all the plays and led the squad. Each team member depended on him to tell them the upcoming plays, so they knew what they were to do. Today, it seems that the game is run by the assistant coaches and the head man. Most of this done while the assistants are sitting in the boxes high above the stadium talking into radio headsets to the head coach down on the sideline. He keeps a paper of some sort in front of his face so the lip readers in the area cannot tell what he is saying. Guys along the sideline with him then give all sorts of hand signals to different members of the team on the field. Before the ball is snapped, the team all stops and turns to the sideline to get instructions.
Football equipment has steadily changed over the years much to the well being of the players. Helmet design is a lot safer, as are the other pieces of equipment that players wear. Shoulder and hip pads were long time standards. Today, a lot of players look like they are in full body armor. They even wear gloves. They still seem to have a lot of injuries. I wonder if this isn't because they are so well padded that they can hit each other much harder. When an injury happens, it usually isn't terrible, but there are a lot of bad knees and shoulders in these player's futures. If your CAT scan and/or MRI scan looks OK, then you will likely be in the next game's lineup.
It took me a few views before I realized that some of the players did not have a real shag carpet hanging out from under their helmets. Some of these players are immense and yet still very quick on their feet. In my day, a lot of the team weighed at or near 200 pounds. Today, that is considered light unless you play quarterback or kicker. Three hundred pounds and 6-plus feet tall are the rule. Frequently, I feel like a spectator watching in the amphitheater, as the gladiators duke it out.
Maybe, I have this all wrong. Football is still a great sport, but I fear that the culture has left me a bit out of date.
I know this sounds like an old man, but I am an old man. Growing up in high school and college, as well as 25 years living in the USA, I watched a lot of football live and on TV. The quarterback was the smartest guy on the team. He knew all the plays and led the squad. Each team member depended on him to tell them the upcoming plays, so they knew what they were to do. Today, it seems that the game is run by the assistant coaches and the head man. Most of this done while the assistants are sitting in the boxes high above the stadium talking into radio headsets to the head coach down on the sideline. He keeps a paper of some sort in front of his face so the lip readers in the area cannot tell what he is saying. Guys along the sideline with him then give all sorts of hand signals to different members of the team on the field. Before the ball is snapped, the team all stops and turns to the sideline to get instructions.
Football equipment has steadily changed over the years much to the well being of the players. Helmet design is a lot safer, as are the other pieces of equipment that players wear. Shoulder and hip pads were long time standards. Today, a lot of players look like they are in full body armor. They even wear gloves. They still seem to have a lot of injuries. I wonder if this isn't because they are so well padded that they can hit each other much harder. When an injury happens, it usually isn't terrible, but there are a lot of bad knees and shoulders in these player's futures. If your CAT scan and/or MRI scan looks OK, then you will likely be in the next game's lineup.
It took me a few views before I realized that some of the players did not have a real shag carpet hanging out from under their helmets. Some of these players are immense and yet still very quick on their feet. In my day, a lot of the team weighed at or near 200 pounds. Today, that is considered light unless you play quarterback or kicker. Three hundred pounds and 6-plus feet tall are the rule. Frequently, I feel like a spectator watching in the amphitheater, as the gladiators duke it out.
Maybe, I have this all wrong. Football is still a great sport, but I fear that the culture has left me a bit out of date.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)