Football Season Sprung to Life This Week! So what better time for…

The Complex Problem: How to curtail the amount of and terrible consequences of football related injuries.
I am not going to bore you with statistics. Every year produces a startling number of injuries suffered by football players at all levels…from the NFL to Peewees. Knees, feet and conclusions constitute many of these injuries. Since the last is actually life threatening, as well as life lingering, your beloved Emperor of The Universe and Surrounding Areas ounce again has…


The Simple Solution:
Knee damages and concussions can all be reduced by removing the face mask!! Once it’s detached from a helmet, the tackler will not be able to take aim at an opponent's knees…unless he is a complete idiot. You wonder why? Without that mask, shoving his face into a runner's knee will produce a very ugly broken nose. I should know...I broke my nose numerous times and had a black eye or eyes for three months. Besides, what is the mask there for? It's there to keep the player's features less damaged so they can be more physically attractive when they hit the bars! All they need are rubber teeth protectors. So! Away with the knee destroyer!

Also once the mask is removed, one has to drop the head and hit with his shoulders. Not that my era didn't get our bells rung...but not at the force one receives. After all, today's players are at least half a hundred pounds heavier than players just twenty-five years ago. And they are also faster. Without a mask, all intelligent players will aim for the thighs or the ankles.

Now, the second problem is simple; speed cannot be coached or taught. But it can be increased by making the load you carry as light as possible. Wide receivers do not wear knee pads, and most do not have thigh pads, thus they can run faster. When your bare knee is out there and the mask is coming at about 23MPH, something has got to give. Guess which?

Then there are the shoes. There isn't any ankle support, and they are so light, if they are stepped on, toes are broken, arches crushed and tiny bones fractured. Why not go back to the high tops we wore back at the dawn of the T- formation? And demand that players wear the necessary protection. Oh! Here's an idea...if they don't want to do this and they are injured in unprotected areas, pay is suspended until they are back on the field! SEE? ONCE AGAIN!!!

THE SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR A SET OF VERY COMPLEX PROBLEMS!!!