[fullmetal]

If all the time and money spent on football were spent on constructive ventures...sigh.  It's bread and circuses right now.

I don't like the status and protection that playing football affords athletes who behave badly (borderline criminal and beyond).  That goes for Stanford players as well.   I don't like the inflated salaries of football staff compared to professors, grad students, and researchers -- I don't like what that says about our society's values and where we incentivize aspirations.  I don't like the fact that this sport rewards and celebrates people inflicting trauma on other people with as much brutality as possible within the rules, far and away the worst among all sports besides boxing (debatable?).  I don't like that the uncertain fate of Stanford's football conference affiliation is the linchpin of the athletic department's financial health; athletics has intrinsic value to society, but not like this.

I'll follow Stanford football as long as it exists, but with far less enthusiasm and support than I once did.  I'm not sure I want to perpetuate the cult of tackle football.

Flag football -- that's catching on at the high school level, and it seems far safer, and I'll take that athlete health win even if flag football merely replaces tackle football with its money and cult status.

[fullmetal]

If all the time and money spent on football were spent on constructive ventures...sigh.  It's bread and circuses right now.

I don't like the status and protection that playing football affords athletes who behave badly (borderline criminal and beyond).  That goes for Stanford players as well.   I don't like the inflated salaries of football staff compared to professors, grad students, and researchers -- I don't like what that says about our society's values and where we incentivize aspirations.  I don't like the fact that this sport rewards and celebrates people inflicting trauma on other people with as much brutality as possible within the rules, far and away the worst among all sports besides boxing (debatable?).  I don't like that the uncertain fate of Stanford's football conference affiliation is the linchpin of the athletic department's financial health; athletics has intrinsic value to society, but not like this.

I'll follow Stanford football as long as it exists, but with far less enthusiasm and support than I once did.  I'm not sure I want to perpetuate the cult of tackle football.

Flag football -- that's catching on at the high school level, and it seems far safer, and I'll take that athlete health win even if flag football merely replaces tackle football with its money and cult status.