This is why the transition from football player to civilian life is so difficult. In addition to trying to learn some new skill after “retiring” (football players retire the way JFK retired from politics), we must now do alone what it used to take a village of highly trained specialists to accomplish—and even they had trouble. To manage the deterioration without daily access to a single system of care—an umbrella with an orthopedist, a physician, a gastroenterologist, a joint-surgeon, a nutritionist, a psychologist, a neurologist, dentist, acupuncturist, yoga instructor, etc.—is difficult. Add to that the paperwork it takes to do it, and we simply can’t manage it. Not because we’re stupid, but because they kept us away from books. They kept us away from the Language of Life, because it was a “distraction”, and now a simple form may take an hour or two to comprehend. Especially with these headaches.
https://deadspin.com/the-nfl-broke-former-players-like-me-heres-one-way-to-1829914431
― omar little, Tuesday, 23 October 2018 18:52 (five years ago) link
those Nate Jackson articles are excellent. they always make me a bit nauseated.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 23 October 2018 19:59 (five years ago) link
this by his former teammate is also good: https://theundefeated.com/features/former-nfl-player-domonique-foxworth-big-questions-after-end-of-career
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 23 October 2018 20:04 (five years ago) link
nate jackson's memoir was great imo
― shwarmaduke (symsymsym), Wednesday, 24 October 2018 04:20 (five years ago) link
i have not watched a snap of football this season, and i didnt even try
― lag∞n, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:09 (five years ago) link
Bears QB Mitch Troobinski threw six TDs in one game and I felt no joy
― omar little, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:13 (five years ago) link
one time i turned on a chargers home game just to see how many road fans were there. answer: a lot
― mookieproof, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:38 (five years ago) link
i've legitimately only seen a couple people wearing Chargers gear in L.A., and tbh i don't see many in Rams gear either. Not compared to how many I see in Dodgers/Lakers/Kings gear.
― omar little, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:39 (five years ago) link
maybe its because they're having a down year but I've been hearing almost no one talk about the Packers this year. people were way more into the Brewer playoff run.
― frogbs, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:41 (five years ago) link
outside of that amazing first game I haven't really found myself caring much. in the past, that Ty Montgomery play would've ruined my whole week. now it's just, "oh well, sucks, what are you gonna do"
― frogbs, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:42 (five years ago) link
ton of packers fans at the coliseum last weekend
― mookieproof, Friday, 2 November 2018 18:45 (five years ago) link
im pumped for the sunday night NE/GB game.
― Machine Gunk Jelly (Spottie), Friday, 2 November 2018 18:47 (five years ago) link
that will be the first game i watch this year, yes
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Sunday, 4 November 2018 22:40 (five years ago) link
What is the future of football as concussion worries grow? I visited two families, one black and one white, with teenage boys, to examine the sport’s widening racial divide: https://t.co/K6nYHCq4Md— AlanaSemuels (@AlanaSemuels) February 1, 2019
States where high-school tackle football has added more players since 1998: Georgia (+52%)Florida (+34%)Virginia (+55%)North Carolina (+33%)It lost players in:Iowa (-20%)Kansas (-10%)Illinois (-9%)In Ohio, home of Pro football Hall of Fame, it grew just 0.4% https://t.co/4TXq05bH6a— AlanaSemuels (@AlanaSemuels) February 1, 2019
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 1 February 2019 16:45 (five years ago) link
Good article.
The stats in that tweet don't support her argument well because in the last 20 years the populations of the southern states listed have grown a whole lot faster than the populations of the midwestern states. A larger football-age population is going to produce more players regardless of its racial composition.
Some of the data cited in the article is much more damning: "...Today black athletes make up nearly half of all Division I college-football players, up from 39 percent in 2000. White athletes make up 37 percent, down from 51 percent."
― Brad C., Friday, 1 February 2019 17:16 (five years ago) link
the usa as roman empire analogy needs it gladiator class
― officer sonny bonds, lytton pd (mayor jingleberries), Friday, 1 February 2019 17:23 (five years ago) link
https://deadspin.com/what-andrew-luck-means-1837554491
― president of deluded fruitcakes anonymous (silby), Monday, 26 August 2019 17:41 (four years ago) link
Marshawn Lynch: A History is a worthwhile film to watch. David Shields made it. I'd only known him as a writer and the film's style is very much in his post-everything-collage writer style.
― Yelploaf, Monday, 26 August 2019 17:47 (four years ago) link
Joe Posnanski had a great post about this in which he brings up his old columns about how messed up Priest Holmes got from his overuse
https://joeposnanski.com/p/ignore-the-pain
pretty harrowing passage here:
Years after that Kansas City-Buffalo game, I visited Priest in San Antonio. He would tell me about lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, praying for the feeling to come back to his arms and legs. He told me about looking for cracks in the sidewalk when he walks because he knows that if he hits a crack wrong now, his whole body might crumple. He told me about the migraines that split his head open. He told me that he would never have a full-night’s sleep for the rest of his life.
― frogbs, Monday, 26 August 2019 18:48 (four years ago) link
https://deadspin.com/my-husband-is-dying-every-day-1837411982
― mookieproof, Monday, 26 August 2019 19:55 (four years ago) link
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/opinions/andrew-luck-nfl-risks-pearlman/index.html
Luck, on the other hand, spent his first seven years battling all sorts of injuries, missing a full one and a half seasons while facing crippling ailment after crippling ailment. Finally, enough was enough. The joy was gone. The pain overtook the pleasure.Enter: The gift.Knowing that their hero was exiting the arena for the final time, Colts fans booed. And booed. And booed. Not all of them, obviously -- but many. It was an ugly, vicious sound, generally reserved for led-off-in-cuffs Wall Street execs and political conmen ousted from office. Luck heard it all; later, he admitted the reaction left an Indiana-sized bruise. "Yeah, it hurt," he said. "I'll be honest, it hurt."What Luck probably didn't realize at the time, but will almost inevitably come to see, is that the boos were truth serum -- and one is far better off knowing such.Put differently, NFL players are meat. They are meat to owners; they are meat to coaches; and they are meat to fans. When a quarterback plays well, everyone loves him. He's the darling of the city -- free drinks, autograph requests aplenty, Instagram praise and Twitter glory, five-figure appearance fees and the finest cut of prime rib at the finest table in the finest restaurant. You are a king and a God, and you're making millions of dollars to live the life.Then, because your body is in constant pain and you want your remaining time on earth to be prosperous and you realize throwing a prolate spheroid through the air only carries so much bliss, you decide you are done. And they scorn you.
Enter: The gift.
Knowing that their hero was exiting the arena for the final time, Colts fans booed. And booed. And booed. Not all of them, obviously -- but many. It was an ugly, vicious sound, generally reserved for led-off-in-cuffs Wall Street execs and political conmen ousted from office. Luck heard it all; later, he admitted the reaction left an Indiana-sized bruise. "Yeah, it hurt," he said. "I'll be honest, it hurt."
What Luck probably didn't realize at the time, but will almost inevitably come to see, is that the boos were truth serum -- and one is far better off knowing such.
Put differently, NFL players are meat. They are meat to owners; they are meat to coaches; and they are meat to fans. When a quarterback plays well, everyone loves him. He's the darling of the city -- free drinks, autograph requests aplenty, Instagram praise and Twitter glory, five-figure appearance fees and the finest cut of prime rib at the finest table in the finest restaurant. You are a king and a God, and you're making millions of dollars to live the life.
Then, because your body is in constant pain and you want your remaining time on earth to be prosperous and you realize throwing a prolate spheroid through the air only carries so much bliss, you decide you are done. And they scorn you.
― omar little, Monday, 26 August 2019 20:45 (four years ago) link
The hatcats have lost Washington. Took long enough.
― Swilling Ambergris, Esq. (silby), Monday, 18 November 2019 04:36 (four years ago) link
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/opinion/sunday/nfl-retired-pension.html
Most N.F.L. players who retired before 1993 receive a pension of about $365 a month per season they played, meaning that the typical seven-year player gets about $2,500 a month. Thousands get considerably less, and have stories you won’t see on network broadcasts.One star of those New York Jets’ Super Bowl team videos now lives in a trailer; unable to afford a dentist, he barely has any teeth. A standout lineman from the storied 1970s Minnesota Vikings played 17 years and gets just $2,300 a month (he took some of his pension early). That’s not enough to cover his football-related medical bills, leaving him and his wife living check to check. There are countless more like them.
One star of those New York Jets’ Super Bowl team videos now lives in a trailer; unable to afford a dentist, he barely has any teeth. A standout lineman from the storied 1970s Minnesota Vikings played 17 years and gets just $2,300 a month (he took some of his pension early). That’s not enough to cover his football-related medical bills, leaving him and his wife living check to check. There are countless more like them.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Tuesday, 10 December 2019 18:50 (four years ago) link
NFL fans are remarkably resistant to noticing poverty, physical debility, and suffering among ex-players. The NFL is an entertainment business and these facts are not entertaining.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 10 December 2019 19:03 (four years ago) link
not sure focusing on pensions is great messaging -- i don't think too many fans are getting pensions from jobs they had for a while 30 years ago. better to demand coverage of football-related medical bills
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 10 December 2019 19:15 (four years ago) link
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/sports/cte-bennet-omalu/
― Mordy, Wednesday, 22 January 2020 20:22 (four years ago) link
players like Luke Keighly and Andrew Luck retiring so young is really going to have an effect in the coming years
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 22 January 2020 20:25 (four years ago) link
Trump is convinced that w/out the reopening of the NFL and the normalcy it projects, he's not getting reelected. The NFL (and its billionaire Trump donors) and ESPN by trumpeting a schedule that may not even happen, is now in partnership in the Trump reelection project.— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) May 7, 2020
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:38 (four years ago) link
Sure, there's that, but those billionaire owners make a mint off those teams and they stand to *gasp* lose a shit ton of money if the season, or some facsimile of one, doesn't happen.
― A is for (Aimless), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:42 (four years ago) link
still enablers
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:43 (four years ago) link
i can't believe i'm not blocked by zirin on twitter considering how many tweets i've drafted calling him an idiot
― Mordy, Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:45 (four years ago) link
figures
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:47 (four years ago) link
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29144297/mlb-return-play-proposal-expected-week-sources-say
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:49 (four years ago) link
theyre just tryin to catch up in the delusional game
Trumpists only care about NFL, NASCAR
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:51 (four years ago) link
this is silly right? obviously these major sports want to return to normal bc their raison d'être is playing sports not bc they are hoping trump wins. maybe they even do collectively hope he wins but why would that be on their mind when it comes to reopening their businesses.
― Mordy, Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:57 (four years ago) link
i'm actually kinda surprised in this take from zirin i thought he was more of a lefty guy but this take reeks of #resistance hysteria
― Mordy, Thursday, 7 May 2020 17:58 (four years ago) link
lol if only the XFL could've figured out how to do live sports during a pandemic
― frogbs, Thursday, 7 May 2020 18:00 (four years ago) link
watch what happens starting in mid-August, i'd say
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 18:13 (four years ago) link
they want to return to normal because they stand to lose billions in tv revenue. that is the only story here.
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 7 May 2020 18:13 (four years ago) link
surely the NFLPA will object to unsafe working conditions
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 7 May 2020 18:16 (four years ago) link
virus isn't too much worse than their regular unsafe working conditions
― mookieproof, Thursday, 7 May 2020 18:27 (four years ago) link
https://www.theringer.com/2020/5/11/21253986/college-football-season-coronavirus-pandemic-ncaa-amateur-model
― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Wednesday, 13 May 2020 02:50 (four years ago) link
I read that yesterday, it definitely made me feel better about the crappy Monday I was having
― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 13 May 2020 03:00 (four years ago) link
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29293290/panthers-moving-jerry-richardson-statue-stadium-precautionimagine how shitty of a human being you have to be that the people who run the house that you built don't feel comfortable leaving a giant bronze statue of you out in public
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 11 June 2020 02:06 (four years ago) link
NEWS: @gmraynor reports that 23 -- yes, 23 -- Clemson football players have tested positive for COVID-19. Up from just two last week. https://t.co/nfTQXp6W6L— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 19, 2020
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 19 June 2020 22:15 (three years ago) link
yes but has dabo called them pussies yet
― mookieproof, Saturday, 20 June 2020 03:06 (three years ago) link
14 at Kansas State. I guess one way to have football in the fall is to expose all the players in the summer.
― circles, Sunday, 21 June 2020 01:45 (three years ago) link
https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article243686637.html
― circles, Sunday, 21 June 2020 01:48 (three years ago) link
getting literal with the thread titlehttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/2898491-report-nfl-may-ask-fans-to-sign-liability-waivers-to-attend-games-amid-pandemic
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 2 July 2020 15:36 (three years ago) link
sheesh
― all cats are beautiful (silby), Thursday, 2 July 2020 18:07 (three years ago) link