Super Athletes

1462 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nutrition in sports eaasy

Super Athletes

In the last ten years there has been a drastic change in professional athletics. Players are coming out of college much bigger, faster, and stronger than players of the past. When players reach the High School level of sports it is forced upon them that their sport is twelve months long, and it is basically a job. Players are expected to run and condition, as well as lift weights every day in the off-season. Players training so hard and so much they come out of college fully matured and developed. Jevone Kearse of the Tennessee Titans was given the nickname, “The Freak, due to his massive size, amazing speed, and phenomenal strength his rookie year in the NFL. Players are much bigger than they were twenty years ago.

In 1979 the NFL's heaviest offensive lineman, Max Montoya of the Bengals, weighed 285 pounds. At the NFL scouting combine in February, 48 of 53 offensive linemen weighed more than 300 pounds (Oehser 2). The receivers are still fast, and the fastest guys these days are generally as fast as they were then. The difference is in who is running these speeds. As an example former Cowboys wide receiver and Olympic gold-medal sprinter Bob Hayes, ran a 4.4 forty yard dash, and he weighed 185 pounds. Jevon Kearse is 30 pounds heavier and he runs only 3/10 of a second slower in his forty yard dash (Oehser 2).

Athletes are driven by a fierce competitiveness to achieve at the highest levels. Athletes in professional sports getting bigger, faster, and stronger, has led to drastic changes in the entire world of sports. More frequent and severe injuries are occurring, which is leading to changes in rules, and proposed changes for current rules. Equipment has also changed along with demands according to the physique of the players. Some have proposed changes in size and dimensions of the playing field in both the NHL and NBA.

As players continue to get bigger, stronger and faster, the collisions between them cause more and more serious injuries. In the first four weeks of play in the NFL in 2001 there were 22 serious injuries, with five cases resulting in broken bones, eleven players tearing ligaments in their knees, and six severe sprains (King 106). With bone shattering collisions due to increased player speed and size, leagues have been forced to change rules and policies on hitting and contact between players.

Show More
Related

  • Playing Football: Is The NFL Getting Soft?

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Playing football comes with several risks factors that players’ acknowledge prior to playing the game starting a young age. Regardless, these players still chose to play the game, which they end up loving and cherishing despite all the risks accompanied with it. Football is one of the toughest sports in the world; it takes a certain amount of strength, speed, and aggressiveness to play 48 minutes of hard-nosed football. However, the National Football League (NFL) is in the midst of a controversial issue. Is the NFL getting soft? This has been a debatable issue for several years. While some believe that implementing all these rules in the NFL is progressively turning the game soft, others say that the NFL is not getting soft; it is just trying to make the game safer for its players.

    Read More

  • Positive Effects Of Tackle Football

    2237 Words  | 5 Pages

    Children who are active recklessly engage in activities where injuries can occur. Nobody can predict when or how seriously anybody will get injured during an activity, however, the risks of children playing tackle football is prevalent where the dangers are imminent. The game of tackle football on a youth level is dangerous for children since they are developing physically and mentally. According to an article from The Atlantic, “America’s most dangerous football is in the peewee leagues, not the National Football League” (Barra, 2013). According to a journal article, “sports injuries account for approximately 23% of pediatric emergency department injury related visits” (Podberesky, Unsell & Anton, 2009). “Of these sports injury-related

    Read More

  • What Are The Pros And Cons Of College Football?

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leonard Fournette is described as “not only the best player in college football…[but] the most dominant”(Walters) as well. The running back for football powerhouse Louisiana State University has N.F.L scouts and analyst raving about his talent. The only problem is, he is not eligible to be a professional yet. He

    Read More

  • Should Children Play Tackle Football?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.

    Read More

  • college athletes

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    College athletes are manipulated every day. Student athletes are working day in and day out to meet academic standards and to keep their level of play competitive. These athletes need to be rewarded and credited for their achievements. Not only are these athletes not being rewarded but they are also living with no money. Because the athletes are living off of no money they are very vulnerable to taking money from boosters and others that are willing to help them out. The problem with this is that the athletes are not only getting themselves in trouble but their athletic departments as well.

    Read More

  • Concussions In The NFL

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    The NFL is known for its gruesome de-cleating hits on players, but the rising number of concussions has stripped players from being able to make these types of plays anymore! After the 2011 lawsuit, the NFL realized that new player safety rules had to be enforced into the NFL rule book. Rules such as no crown on crown to the helmet outside the tackle box have taken away the element of “big hits” in a football game. 1Redskin’s safety Brandon Meriwether was fined $42,000 for a helmet to helmet hit on Packer’s running back Eddie Lacey. Thank God for technology, because back in the 40’s they played football with leather a helmet. Also the NFL stated a new rule that each NFL team has to have a neurologist placed on the sideline for every official game. Jet’s player Jeremy Kerley suffered from a mind boggling week one injury. Kerley passed the mandatory concussion evaluation and soon after returns to the team. Suddenly, the following same day Jeremy was diagnosed with a concussion. I agree with the saying taking one the team, but playing with a concussion is like playing with fire. Some big hitters in the NFL are viewed as dirty players because of their bone crushing tackles. A lot of coaches like to blame big hits for the fact of...

    Read More

  • Concussions in Football

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though football players are aware of the dangers the game can bring upon them, they take part despite it. The passion, the joy it creates; for professionals it’s also the devoted fans and compensation they receive is what keeps the players motivated. Today players are much bigger, faster, smarter, bigger, better. The game is more physical. The sport has never been so competitive. The popularity has reached new peaks, as much that the NFL has thoughts of moving a team to London, England. Additionally, Super Bowl XLVII (47) was one of the most watched television events of all time; an astonishing 108.4 million viewers (The Associated Press). Fans worship their teams and love to see big hits. Football is a contact sport; injuries are no doubtingly part of it. Concussions are one of the many detriments caused by the ruthlessness, but one of the few with perpetual effects: consequence of the brutality.

    Read More

  • college athletes

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Does it make sense for an academic institution to run a multimillion dollar entertainment business, which is what college football and college basketball have become? Does it make sense for these institutions to pay the student-athletes who participate in these football and basketball programs?

    Read More

  • NFL Championship: History of the New York Giants

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    Topic: The NFL injury report was initially made to make information about player’s injuries available to the public. This was meant to discourage gamblers from getting close to players for the sole purpose of gaining inside information. This decision ultimately protected the players from getting involved in gambling but also added new issues. There are many inaccuracies found in the NFL injury report. By letting the public know which players are hurt and where they are hurt, opposing teams are using this to their advantage. As predicted, coaches are going to try to obscure their player’s health to mess with their opponents game plan, while at the same time still following the guidelines of the NFL injury report regulat...

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Playing American Football

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Struggling to maintain consciousness as well as retain my vision after embracing a brutal hit enforced from an opposing player really makes me question the seriousness of football related trauma. How many injuries does it take until it really matters? For me, after having experience with concussions, I came to the realization that the positive externalities of football do not make up for the numerous negative externalities. Football, as well as any other contact sport, can be very dangerous and potentially threatening to a persons overall health and future.

    Read More

  • Football Is Too Dangerous Essay

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    To summarize, football is a dangerous sport that can cause multiple serious injuries like brain damage, concussions, fractures and or death. The majority of people still think football is a menace, especially for teens that are still growing and developing. Equally important, there are analysis and programs indicate a number of injuries between high school exposures and collegiate football exposures and trying to find safer ways to play. Then again, there are doctors, trainers, and N.F.L players that are recommending new ideas to create a safer game for everyone to play without risking injuries as

    Read More

  • Positive And Negative Effects Of Sports

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    From a high school level to a professional level football players everywhere have acquired a numerous amount of brain injuries and diseases from playing the sport that they love. According to Cook; concussions, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s are just a few risks that athletes put themselves up against when choosing to play. Cook explains that until the culture of football changes all we can do as Americans is to stop pressuring injured players to get back into the game until they have been cleared. While both the filmmakers and the author understand how important football is, Cook only comments on the negative impact that it has on players; Lindsay and Martin have an optimistic view on how football positively impacts the players’

    Read More

  • Hockey vs. Football

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Football and hockey are two sports, which are similar in objective, but very different in their rules and guidelines. In each of these major sports there are rules and guidelines that the players must follow. The topics that will be covered are the weight differences between the players in football and hockey, the use of Creatine Monohydrate, and last the equipment restrictions.

    Read More

  • Foul Play

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Year after year, college athletes make the headlines of newspapers and magazines across the country, not only for their accomplishments on the field, but more for their antics off the field. College athletes sacrifice their bodies, integrity, and character to gain an advantage over their opponent. Athletes give up the very things that make them who they are to feel appreciated by their coaches, teammates, and fans. Players cheat by taking anabolic steroids and other banned substances that give them a chemically induced physical advantage (Eitzen 3). Athletes desire to be identified with a team that works and sacrifices together to reach a common goal. The guestion we should ask ourselves is: Why? Why do individuals give up so much to be a part of a team? The answer lies within the organization of how big-time college sport exists. Fans are drawn to big sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the World Series. College athletes want to be in that spotlight, and they sacrifice everything to gain that status. Fans are consumed by sports. USA Today, the most widely read newspaper in the United States, devotes one-fourth of its space to sport (14). Fans know every detail about their beloved sports team. Not only the latest box scores, but also the win-loss record, point spread, current statistics, play-off probabilities, and biographical information about athletes and coaches (16). College sports appeal to the general public, young and old.

    Read More

  • Football Player

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    The training and practices required to play professional football are intense. You have to wear uncomfortable pads and helmets and endure grueling practices in the heat of the summer and you have to lift weights every day (Green 174). You have to train no matter what position you play. What’s important about is how the position works and how it contributes to the game. Young boys must join high school football team, the road to football star begins in high school.

    Read More

More about Super Athletes

Open Document