How Has Football Changed

Football, one of the most beloved pastimes and fastest growing sports in America, is making its way into our lives more than we could ever realize. Our lives are surrounded by football. We watch professional football on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. We have collegiate football on Saturdays and high school football on Fridays. All while checking player stats and injuries for fantasy football, or for small talk among friends. We dedicate one day a week just for sitting on the couch, eating snacks, and watching non-stop football. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. It attracts 114.4 million viewers annually (Pallotta, Stelter 1). People consider it to be a national holiday. Heck, some people even compare

Teams have developed better playing fields and playing conditions. Back then, all fields were made out of grass, and the grass would wear thin towards the end of the season. Now, most fields are made out of astroturf and some even have domes over them. There are a lot more efforts to increase safety. The thing that has changed the most are the pads. Pads nowadays are specifically designed to decrease the number of concussions or other injuries a player may face. Leagues have also adopted better coaches and more rules to protect a player’s safety. Some new rules like unnecessary roughness and helmet to helmet contact were added. Coaches are now required to take player safety courses. Now, coaches are more experienced and educated on the player’s safety. The kids themselves have changed also. They are bigger, stronger, and faster than kids were back then. They are also smarter. Kids in this day and age know more about the game and how to avoid injury. More kids partake in youth football today than ever

Football helps kids in everything from frustration management to teamwork and determination. The kids may not realize it, but they are enjoying the benefits of physical exercise while learning life lessons through the sport. In football, kids are taught to play through the pain and to make sacrifices for the better of the team. By playing this sport, young athletes learn football’s timeless qualities of leadership, responsibility and teamwork. The great teams are united, like the states we call home. Athletes learn what it means to be great; that whatever they do, they do it great. Kids learn how to deal with losses and disappointments. Kids will learn at an early age that life isn’t perfect and sooner or later life will try to get them down, but they will learn that they have to keep their heads up and keep moving forward. Football also teaches them the importance of hard work. They are trained to believe “you get out what you put in” and “nothing worth having comes easy.” In football, like life the easy route is rarely an