Falcons stadium proposal begs a look at football’s future
Before spending a few hundred million taxpayer dollars — for example, on a new stadium for the Falcons — it is worth mulling worst-case scenarios. The worst of the worst cases for the stadium is that, within a few decades, football as we know it is extinct.
Get this straight: I’m not predicting football’s death. The NFL and college football have never been bigger. Projecting the sport’s demise would seem to put one in the company of Harold Camping, the nonagenarian preacher who (twice!) last year forecast Doomsday, not among UGA football’s season-ticket holders.
That said, there are some dark clouds on the sport’s horizon. What better time to pause and consider those clouds than before a deal is signed and the bonds — for which Atlanta’s hotel tax revenues would be committed until 2050 — are sold.
The place to start is with the dominant story this NFL offseason, which concerns player safety. The NFL faces 70 lawsuits covering more than 1,800 ex-players who claim the league knew the dangers of concussions but didn’t fully inform players about them. A few cases were filed here in Georgia.
These legal filings provide context for the NFL’s biggest headache: the bounty program run by the New Orleans Saints. Coaches and players alike chipped in thousands of dollars to reward hits that knocked opposing players out of games, or worse. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hammered the team in response, suspending coaches and players, and taking away precious draft picks.
Only the willfully blind could believe the severity of the penalties was unrelated to the pending lawsuits. Or that the same motivation didn’t lead the NFL this week to release a study suggesting former players have longer life expectancies than average. The league clearly is taking the suits seriously.
In a way, though, the suits and potential damages are the least of the NFL’s concerns. If each of the 1,800 players was awarded $1 million in damages, that wouldn’t exceed the league’s reported profits for even two seasons.
But as the NFL changes rules to enhance player safety, including reducing the speed and frequency of collisions on kickoffs and penalizing hits against “defenseless” players, fans grumble. NASCAR, which has seen its popularity drop sharply since emphasizing protections for drivers, is an ominous comparison.
Even the players are leery of the changes. “This is football. It’s not powder puff,” Bernard Pollard, a safety for the Baltimore Ravens, recently told CBSSports.com. “When Nike unveiled their new uniforms, I’m surprised they didn’t have flags on the side. … You’re taking away the game of football.”
Players like Pollard know football is popular chiefly because it is so violent. Imagine a game in which every player is protected the way quarterbacks are now. Be honest: Would you watch?
There are other threats. Only a fraction of those who play football are pros. What if colleges or high schools are sued by concussed ex-players? How hard would schools — which, unlike the NFL, have a purpose beyond football — fight? Or might they be more inclined to fold their programs, costing the NFL its de facto minor leagues?
The supply of players could also drop if fewer parents let their children play the game.
A watershed moment may have occurred last week with the suicide of Junior Seau. He was one of the NFL’s best, most popular players from 1990 to 2009 — when many parents of young children, like me, were young fans.
Those of us who grew up watching the big-hitting Seau — fittingly pronounced “Say Ow” — will want to know if brain injuries played a role in his death. Many will think twice, at least, before letting our kids play his sport.
Still think football is invincible? As economists Tyler Cowen and Kevin Grier noted in a recent article at Grantland.com (“What would the end of football look like?”), the nation’s most popular sports in the early 20th century were baseball, boxing and horse racing. The latter two have lost much of their following.
They added, “If you look at the stocks in the Fortune 500 from 1983, for example, 40 percent of those companies no longer exist.” They’re not smaller, mind you; they are gone, 29 years later.
These concerns may not rise to the level of killing a proposed stadium (though there are other arguments against it). But given the pace at which they’re rising, it’s worth asking if football’s future might not be as rosy — that is, not $300 million in public funds rosy — by the time that new ballpark would open.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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128 comments Add your comment
@@
May 10th, 2012
10:09 pm
A safety, getting tackled in your own end zone, is 2 points.
Thank goodness I got one right…sorta.
a run is a run is a run.
And eight seconds is eight seconds. OUCH!
G’nite.
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 10th, 2012
10:24 pm
Mitt Romney Bullying: Classmate Says High-School Behavior Was Like ‘Lord Of The Flies’
A window into Romney’s soul.
The reality of the current way in which we pick presidents is that virtually everything you have done in your life is fair game.
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 10th, 2012
10:27 pm
@@@
May 10th, 2012
1:53 pm
Could it/he be any more obvious!!??!!
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s campaign sought on Thursday to capitalize on his new declaration of support for same-sex marriage to raise money while characterizing Mitt Romney as intolerant on the issue, even as top Republicans tried to shift the political conversation back to the economy.
Mr. Obama sent out an e-mail appeal to his supporters labeled “Marriage” that asked for campaign donations following an interview on Wednesday in which he revealed his personal beliefs about the divisive social issue.
“I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them,” Mr. Obama wrote. “If you agree, you can stand up with me here.”–NYTimes
Now I’m just embarrassed for him.
**************************************************************************
ARE YOU EMBARRASSED FOR MITT ROMNEY BEING A BULLY????????????
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 10th, 2012
10:30 pm
@iggy
May 10th, 2012
2:02 pm
Obama endorses gay marriage, however, its a States Rights issue. Could one be more shallow?
Then there is “Hoof in mouth” disease, Biden.
*********************************************************************
Then there is “Mitt Witt the BULLY.
Lord of the CON Flies.
heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee
getalife
May 10th, 2012
10:35 pm
You cons carry their water and not hold them accountable and they do it again:
“J.P. Morgan Flags a
$2 Billion Trading Loss
J.P. Morgan has taken $2 billion in trading losses in the past six weeks and could face an additional $1 billion in second-quarter losses due to market volatility” WSJ
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 10th, 2012
10:36 pm
@I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
May 10th, 2012
4:27 pm
Now you see it, now you don’t-
“Well, party platform issues are for the party to decide,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said when asked if Obama would call for the repeal of DOMA and endorsement of pro-gay marriage language in the party platform. “That process is underway, and I refer you to the DNC on the question about the platform.”
Looks like he might be devolving, hahahaha, suckas.
***************************************************************************************
Looks like MITT WITT the BULLY MIGHT BE devolving, hahahaha, SUCKAS.
KARMA IS A ???????????????????
heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheheehhe
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 10th, 2012
10:48 pm
@Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 10th, 2012
8:06 pm
Well, I look at it this way, folks.
The more drivel Bookman writes the less chance his malcontent adolescents have of coming over here to bother the grown ups.
*****************************************************************
For the record…….
On any given day BOOKMAN has more bloggers than WINGFIELD.
hmmmmmmmm
I WONDER WHY?
Could it be??????
Or maybe its????
Bookman is a fair Political commentator.
Wingfield is an obvious biased conservative Political commentator who
has a following of EXTREMIST RACIST BLOGGERS.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
May 11th, 2012
5:46 am
While there are many things JB can be accused of, being fair isn’t one of them.
And number of bloggers don’t mean a thing, if all they post is the same crap over and over again.
Kinda like when you call Kyle’s bloggers racist or extreme. Repeating accusations, without providing proof, is similar to listening to some whiner in kindergarten.
@@
May 11th, 2012
6:30 am
On any given day BOOKMAN has more bloggers than WINGFIELD.
That one always amuses me. It’s as if they, in some way, benefit…live vicariously thru. Does he share his paycheck with ‘em? Are they carried on his health care plan? Invited to attend local galas as his guest? When he’s invited to speak as a panel guest, does he take them along? Introduce them as his inspiration?
Too funny!
@@
May 11th, 2012
6:42 am
It’s kinda like “My daddy can beat up your daddy.” Difference being…Kyle’s participants don’t view Him as THEIR daddy.
Thanks for the early morning chuckle, Beggar.
Payton34
May 11th, 2012
7:38 am
It is often cited how many companies in the Fortune 500 at time x are no longer around today. I would like to know if those companies have been made part of another company – they would know longer show up as an independent company, but to say they no longer exist is not really accurate.
iggy
May 11th, 2012
7:40 am
“Then there is “Mitt Witt the BULLY.
Lord of the CON Flies.”
That the best ya got? Oh my, pitiful.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 11th, 2012
7:43 am
Welcome back to Kindergarten, America-
Romney is a bully! Romney is a bully! He’s mean! He’s mean! Blah, blah, blah, blah. Where’s my mommy? No teacher, that isn’t my diaper you smell. I didn’t do it, Tommy did. The dog ate my homework. Vote for obozo! allah akbar!
iggy
May 11th, 2012
8:12 am
Funny thing, the RomneyBully story has no legs and seems its BS. LMAO, once again the libTards make a stupid blunder.
Mitt Romney The Bully Begs Another Look at His Future
May 11th, 2012
8:23 am
@Tiberius – Banned from Bookman’s and proud of it!
May 11th, 2012
5:46 am
@@@
May 11th, 2012
6:30 am
6:42 am
@iggy
May 11th, 2012
7:40 am
@I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
May 11th, 2012
7:43 am
******************************************************************
GOOD MORNING TO:
The BULLY HE-MAN LIBERALS HATERS CLUB
HATE WAKES UP EARLY IN THE MORNING.
heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 11th, 2012
8:52 am
“Barack Obama,” Bill Clinton said, according to book excerpts, “is an amateur.”
No offense meant towards any amateurs who might read this, sorry!
sirwinston
May 11th, 2012
8:58 am
We have all got it! Football has seen its last real purpose. Money, crimes and mostly fanfair is all what it has become. Real grass, mud, rain, wind has been the glory days and fans sit and watch every second until the clock ran down. Some fans are happy and some are not…but you could not keep them away from their favorite teams! To much about making money from the cities, counties and its people torn the whole thing about football completely the other way. Parking, tickets, food, drinks, etc., made this came call sporting crash before our very eyes. Now we are into building a new stadium with retractable roof where it can accomodate thousands upon thousand of people with all of the bells and so many other things with the tax payers holding the bills to pay for water, electrical and anything that the stadium has to pay for including all of the ceo’s and player’s salaries. Now, it is just like having a credit card, using it but not paying off the final bill and when that happen; they try to up the prices for everything that goes with the stadium to make up for their lost. Football has no place now in our lives; it is all about how much money that can be made from having teams playing it. The game itself has lost all of its potential and what we should be seeing we are not and what we should be getting we are not. Let the owners and its CEOs, Board Members and all of the Players pay for the stadium and everything goes with it; we will just stay home and perhaps watch it on the TV if we are interested; we are not crazy about it because we get nothing in return. Atlanta is the wrose place for all sporting events; it is located in all of the same distance with poor parking and high prices and yet, they want to draw you down town, and what crazy people fall for it just to say they went to those events and don’t have money for gas or food the next day! Who actually benefit from your hard earn dollars are the CEOs Owner, City, Players because you are actually paying for your rental seat you sit in because the next game, have you notice you are sitting where else while the CEOs and Owner continue to sit and live it up in their football condos at the very high level looking down on you while they eat, drink their free stuff that your money is paying for…………did you all know that? Don’t forget about parking if you can find a place to do it. Traps are easy to set; but once you are traped, it is not easy getting out of it and you might find youself paying $200.00 for one football game and don’t even get your worth of it because of all of the small things put into this so called sporting event!
clyde
May 11th, 2012
9:08 am
Football has no future with me.It doesn’t have a past either.
Morning Reads: Friday 5/11/12 Edition — Peach Pundit
May 11th, 2012
9:32 am
[...] Wingfield wonders if taxpayers are about to buy a new stadium at the peak of the NFL’s earning power. Anyone else here buy a state of the art mcmansion in 2007? How’s that working out for [...]
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 11th, 2012
9:39 am
“The family of John Lauber is releasing a statement saying the portrayal of John is factually incorrect and we are aggrieved that he would be used to further a political agenda. There will be no more comments from the family,” she said.
Yep, the people running our great country.
Any wonder we have no hope?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
May 11th, 2012
9:52 am
For a story not having any legs, let’s count how many posts defending Romnay since it broke…..
mwuahahahahahahaah
Double D
May 11th, 2012
10:17 am
Maybe this is the opening soccer has been praying for……..
King Hardware
May 11th, 2012
10:18 am
What the heck is “mwuaha??”
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
May 11th, 2012
10:34 am
No offense to you personally, but soccer blows.
Morning Reads: Friday 5/11/12 Edition
May 11th, 2012
10:43 am
[...] Wingfield wonders if taxpayers are about to buy a new stadium at the peak of the NFL’s earning power. Anyone else here buy a state of the art mcmansion in 2007? How’s that working out for [...]
Hillbilly D
May 11th, 2012
11:18 am
Peyton34 @ 7:38
Good point. Commercial Travelers Savings Bank, formed in Atlanta in 1891, is still around as part of Sun Trust. Also notice that they became tied in with Coca-Cola, early on.
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1746
The Georgia Railroad and Banking Company of the 1830’s has also carried on, although it isn’t in the RR business anymore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Railroad_and_Banking_Company
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
May 11th, 2012
12:24 pm
Good article Kyle! Very insightful and it makes you think. I do believe though that whether the citizens of Atlanta & the state of Georgia wants one or not, a stadium is on the way. Sad, but true.
========================
why doesn’t the City of Atlanta build a giant toilet bowl (with real flushing action) to host all the visiting cars for Freak-Nik?
Freak-Nik? The last one was in 1997. Maybe what you’ve been watching all these years was just a bunch of local horny college kids, and not some out of town horny colleg kids, fooling around.
Edward
May 11th, 2012
1:18 pm
It is obvious Kyle’s orders from above were to write about ANYTHING other than Mitten’s blatant lie about the auto industry bailouts. Kyle received his talking point orders and his minions rally around to make sure they hold. Pathetic, all of you.