Cancelling high school football

[JWags85]

It might not show up in those areas yet but even some like Favre have stated they would discourage any sons from playing. It just might take longer to be a factor in those areas but 10-15 years down the road who can say?

I dont entirely disagree, just more that places like Wisconsin, Illinois, or other non-D1 football hotbeds aren't the best leading indicators.

As Pakuni said, the difference between places that feed lower level football programs and those that feed Powerhouse programs with strong NFL pipelines are noticeable. 

My Milwaukee suburb HS was a really good team, won a WIAA title when I was there, and a couple more during the 11-12 year stretch my sisters and I attended.  But there was only a couple legit D-1 players at most and it was a fun fall activity in town.  Not like everything stopped on Friday nights.  Stark contrast to stories I hear from my BIL who grew up in NE Texas or my friends in college from the Cincy/Louisville areas who revolved everything around HS football from their middle school years on.

[Jockey]

It might not show up in those areas yet but even some like Favre have stated they would discourage any sons from playing. It just might take longer to be a factor in those areas but 10-15 years down the road who can say?

Why take a chance of getting hurt when you can just steal money from the gov't?

[tower912]

To become famous enough to steal money.

[The Sultan]

I mean, eventually it will right, assuming the trend continues? I've always thought that the reason that the US isn't good at soccer is because our best athletes are going into football and basketball instead. Guys who are football and basketball pros in the states may have been soccer stars if they grew up in Europe or South America. If more and more of the best athletes go into basketball and soccer instead of football, won't that eventually impact the way the sports are viewed?

Eh. I never played organized football but I watch it all the time. I doubt I am alone.

Ditto my kids who played one year and hated it.

[The Sultan]

Ya'll been to Texas lately?

Or Florida?

Or anyplace in the deep south.

Football is alive and well.

Football participation rates are declining in both Texas and Florida.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/texas-high-school-football/amp/

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/full-circle/decline-in-florida-football-leaves-high-schools-struggling-to-field-teams?_amp=true

[MU82]

Football participation rates are declining in both Texas and Florida.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/texas-high-school-football/amp/

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/full-circle/decline-in-florida-football-leaves-high-schools-struggling-to-field-teams?_amp=true

Just checked. North Carolina down too.

[warriorchick]

Maybe the NFL should underwrite amateur football teams in third world countries to get more kids to participate there.  It wouldn't be long before Pro Football will be as full of foreign players as Pro Baseball.

[JWags85]

Maybe the NFL should underwrite amateur football teams in third world countries to get more kids to participate there.  It wouldn't be long before Pro Football will be as full of foreign players as Pro Baseball.

You mean like all the players coming from Europe, a place that actually has football infrastructure and leagues?  Or Canada?

Football isn't like baseball.  The equipment demands and sport complexity make the barrier to entry much higher.

[cheebs09]

You mean like all the players coming from Europe, a place that actually has football infrastructure and leagues?  Or Canada?

Football isn't like baseball.  The equipment demands and sport complexity make the barrier to entry much higher.

Yea, that comment doesn't make a ton of sense to me. NFL Europe never really turned into the Minor League type of league some hoped for. I don't think the NFL has thoughts of their games in Europe producing talent. Just dollars and eye balls.

I'm sure there may be more foreign players in the NFL in the future. However, I don't think it's going to turn into the NBA because the sport doesn't have that much global reach from a participation standpoint. Much less MLB.

[StillAWarrior]

I often wonder whether, at some point, insurance companies will stop covering tackle football for youth, middle school, and/or high schools (or at least make it prohibitively expensive). If that happened -- and I honestly wouldn't be too surprised -- it could mark the beginning of the end for the sport overall.

[The Sultan]

I mean just because less high schoolers are playing it doesn't mean it's going away.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I often wonder whether, at some point, insurance companies will stop covering tackle football for youth, middle school, and/or high schools (or at least make it prohibitively expensive). If that happened -- and I honestly wouldn't be too surprised -- it could mark the beginning of the end for the sport overall.

Football insurance is all surplus market now, no standard carrier would cover football.  You are starting to see concussion exclusions being added to policies.

Head injuries are becoming a problem in soccer big time.  Especially in the boys game.

[muwarrior69]

Maybe the B1G should reconsider UCLA joining the league. Maybe UCLA should drop football.

     https://www.foxnews.com/sports/troy-aikman-rips-ucla-fan-base-lack-attendance-game-this-embarrassment

[Billy Hoyle]

Maybe the B1G should reconsider UCLA joining the league. Maybe UCLA should drop football.

     https://www.foxnews.com/sports/troy-aikman-rips-ucla-fan-base-lack-attendance-game-this-embarrassment

I know its in teal, but it's all about the fact the BTN will not be over $1.50/subscriber in the LA market instead of the current 10 cents. UCLA can have zero people show up and the Big Ten will still consider the move a success.

[muwarrior69]

I know its in teal, but it's all about the fact the BTN will not be over $1.50/subscriber in the LA market instead of the current 10 cents. UCLA can have zero people show up and the Big Ten will still consider the move a success.

Still not a good look. With the Hispanic population in LA I think more eyes will be watching Futbol instead of Football.

[Billy Hoyle]

Still not a good look. With the Hispanic population in LA I think more eyes will be watching Futbol instead of Football.

Maybe, though Chivas USA tried to capitalize upon that and failed miserably. Also, remember there are so many Big Ten country expats in the LA area that ratings will be high. Trust me, sports starting at 9 am is pretty damn nice. For me, watch MU, and get on with my day.

[Uncle Rico]

Maybe, though Chivas USA tried to capitalize upon that and failed miserably. Also, remember there are so many Big Ten country expats in the LA area that ratings will be high. Trust me, sports starting at 9 am is pretty damn nice. For me, watch MU, and get on with my day.

Nobody should watch Big Ten football immediately after breakfast

[JWags85]

Maybe, though Chivas USA tried to capitalize upon that and failed miserably. Also, remember there are so many Big Ten country expats in the LA area that ratings will be high. Trust me, sports starting at 9 am is pretty damn nice. For me, watch MU, and get on with my day.

Thats cause Chivas USA had terrible owners.  They folded almost a decade ago, its a very different landscape.  I don't love MLS but its grown exponentially since then and LA has 2 clubs thriving and tapping into that market.

[The Sultan]

Not only were the owners of Chivas terrible, but I think the concept of trying to tap into a market using one team that plays in one league as a way to do that wasn't well thought through. There are more than Mexican Latinos in LA, and many of the Mexicans aren't Chivas fans.

[JWags85]

Not only were the owners of Chivas terrible, but I think the concept of trying to tap into a market using one team that plays in one league as a way to do that wasn't well thought through. There are more than Mexican Latinos in LA, and many of the Mexicans aren't Chivas fans.

Yea, especially since C.D. Guadalajara/Chivas in LigaMX is the only club to sign solely Mexican players.  So you take a niche, pseduo-exclusionary club, and then try to expand them in a further niche way to a US market, it was a futile effort even if their owners weren't idiots.

[#UnleashSean]

Sports in general are on a massive decline.

A few years ago when I helped run the cudahy youth sports program, our rec girls league was outfitted for 5 teams (a far cry from when I was a child with 12+ for each gender in a much smaller town)

We had 6 girls join. Not teams, girls. We partnered with Oak Creek, to make a total of 3 teams.

This year oak creek, cudahy, south milwaukee, and greenfield all partnered. To make 5 teams.

[tower912]

Youth sports have evolved from the municipal little leagues to the insanity that is travel sports.     I completely recognize your problem, unleash?.    But how are the travel organizations doing in the area?

[The Sultan]

Exactly. My kids had a wonderful youth baseball experience with at least 8 teams at each level - all kids from where we lived.  That is all gone now due to the travelling teams taking many of the top players and parent volunteers with them. I doubt even half the kids are playing baseball because of this - and for what?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Youth sports have evolved from the municipal little leagues to the insanity that is travel sports.     I completely recognize your problem, unleash?.    But how are the travel organizations doing in the area?

Travel ball in Milwaukee starts with kid pitch at 7u.  I can't imagine how awful those games are.  New "academies" opening every year, parents are mercenaries when it comes to switching teams.

I am amused by baseball recruiting twitter to see these kids playing for the big time travel ball teams that are committing to the local JUCO that they probably could have played for just by playing high school baseball.

We are a little more insulated from the academies in the Madison area, but new programs are still popping up all the time.  We are lucky in that my 8th grade team truly has the best 12 kids in our town, none have migrated to academies.  We compete with other good community teams and academy B teams.

[#UnleashSean]

A great conversation I had with one of my fellow travel basketball coaches I had was very enlightening for myself about travel ball.


Backstory: our 5th grade travel basketball tryouts in cudahy went terrible. Of the 13 kids who tried out, one had any kind of talent. The rest were literally awful. And I mean, could not make a layup in 10 tries bad. Zero form, etc.

We honestly thought we were on candid camera.

We go on to explain to the head of the organization that the 5th grade team would be better served by joining the community rec league, not as an insult, but as an actual suggestion. I CORRECTLY prophesied that they would only score a single basket in a game.

The conversation:
After coaching one of their disasterious practices (they did NOT want to learn, mainly tackle on a wrestling mat)

my fellow coach with a son on a very good travel baseball team was conversing with a player on the 5th grade team. The child told him he played for GRB baseball out of milwaukee. A very well known travel team. This kid did not have an ounce of athletic ability.

My fellow coach looked at me and asked "What is Greg doing, stealing his money!?!?!?. I responded, "aren't we doing the same thing?" And I was correct.


That's the unfortunate state of travel ball now.