(08-13-2014 08:03 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote: As much as it pains me, football is a dying brand that already seen it's peak. For one, less kids are playing sports, and in particular... football. This is due to things like video games, but the concussion issue is the 1000 lb gorilla. You're already seeing less and less kids play HS football. When I graduated from Clairton in 01, the team our Sr. year had 40-45 kids on the roster. Today, the roster is 30-35 and sometimes dresses as few as 20 kids. There's a school nearby that is double the size of Clairton and is barely able to field a team, as well as numerous schools the size of Clairton. And this just isn't a trend here in WPA, it's a national trend... with an exception of Texas and Florida.
Lets look at attendance; schools like Alabama & Michigan are struggling to keep their students the entire game. Football games are more of a chore to students rather than going out and rooting for the team. Hell, even a lot of long time fans rather sit at home and watch on the big screen than head out to the stadium. And don't be surprised if the D4 stuff drives more fans away from major college football.
So while everybody is debating what will happen, 10 years from now, regarding future realignment... just remember that football might not even be the sport the "drives the bus" anymore. I'll predict that a basket of sports will be the ones that drives the bus, football (universal), basketball (universal), baseball (south & west), hockey (north & upper midwest), lacrosse (east coast & I think in some parts of B1G country), and soccer (universal).
It pains me to say this because I'm a die hard football fan; however, I see the writing on the wall. If football, in general, were a stock... I'd short the hell out of it.
What a wuss of a generation! Joey the moment you are born something is going to kill you. You live anyway. If you live in fear of everything that can happen to you then life is a drag. If you acknowledge the risks and prepare for them then many things that seem dangerous or threatening can be enlightening and fun. It really is a get busy living or get busy dying issue. I bet more of this generation gets killed texting than ever will get a damned concussion playing sports. Shoot they may even get a concussion while texting. Are we going to legislate against their cell phones too?
As for attendance I'm one of those guys who stays home (even though I have season tickets) and watches the games on HD. It's not because its cheaper as much as because I can't stand the rudeness of people at the stadium (all the thirty somethings who think it's all just about them and their brats), or the loud piped in noise which is supposed to make the stadium seem more exciting. No it's just a generational thing. Bright lights and noise doesn't make football exciting to me. A beautiful pass, a great catch, a jaw dropping tackle makes football exciting to me. It did when I played and it still does now as an old man watching it.
Baseball is fading because this generation is wired to a 30 second attention span and needs whistles and bright lights going off when a computer game scores to keep them interested. That is why soccer is never going to take off in this country. There is beauty in it, but it's not exciting enough to capture the attention of 20 year old spectators, unless of course they play.
And that my friend is the real issue. These kids don't play team sports. Yes it is time intensive for parents, but it is also a generation that can't look you in the eye when you pass them walking on a sidewalk, a generation that resorts to drive by shootings because they lack the confidence and courage to face their adversaries and talk it out. They are into themselves and into electronics and perhaps the most antisocial group I've ever been around. They don't know how to talk to one another face to face, can't dance, don't do big group things as a rule, don't know their neighbors, and will never sacrifice or communicate well enough to play team sports.
The military academies adopted football as a combat simulation of what teamwork accomplishes. It was designed to build courage under duress, and foster a fondness for what could be accomplished as a unit if everyone did their job. That is a concept that has been lost, and sadly so.
I don't know what if anything is going to turn this around. Football may be the first casualty, but sports in general will falter because of the social trends which are now in place. Add the economy into the fray and the outlook is indeed a short sell, but on sports in general.
I know old farts always say remember the good ole days, but the truth is I don't find too much going on with young people today to get excited about the prospects of their future and I still work with them. The kids aren't bad, but they have no concept of a community beyond self and gadgets and that's frightening!
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Future of athletics, specifically football
