Parents seem to be boycotting football too ( at least in parts of NJ)

[Le Gaucher]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/the-leading-edge-of-a-much-larger-iceberg-new-jersey-high-school-disbands-football-team/2017/08/22/e13b6516-836e-11e7-82a4-920da1aeb507_story.html

‘The leading edge of a much larger iceberg’: New Jersey high school disbands football team
By Jacob Bogage
August 22 at 11:51 AM
Loaded in 1.01 seconds

The junior varsity football team of West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School practices Aug. 21. The varsity program was disbanded this year. (Mark Makela/For The Washington Post)
WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. — The nationwide forces that are beginning to uproot football have converged at a place called High School North.

Demographic shifts, concussions, single-sport specialization and cost — among the same issues that have caused youth football numbers to plummet around the country in recent years — have led West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North to drop varsity football this season. The Knights, with a roster of 37 players, will play a junior varsity schedule.

High School South, the other secondary school in the district, might have to do the same next year, along with high schools from four other neighboring jurisdictions, West Windsor-Plainsboro Schools Superintendent David Aderhold said.

The moves reflect a crisis for football all over the country, but one that has accelerated in this New York City bedroom community.

I posted a thread a few days ago that basically said "Fuck NFL" and I wishfully prayed it goes bankrupt.

But seems atleast one school district will not be a feeder for the football machine.. I am just hoping it catches on.

Many kids I know play soccer/baseball ..I dont know a single kid who plays football competitively. Tennis yes. Ping pong yes. Chess yes. But Football no. Most parents I know are starting to see football as entertainment but not something for their kids to be involved in.

If anything Football should become yet another regional sport like NASCAR with limited appeal.

[DetlefK]

1. Well, for example soccer is also cheaper for the school.

- a field
- two goals
- soccer-ball
- per player: 1 pair of shin-guards plus the matching shin-warmers, 1 protective cup for the genitals; plus the goalkeeper gets a pair of protective gloves; t-shirt, shorts

No helmets, no armour to maintain. And even in top-notch professional soccer-teams, the only extra equipment you need for training-sessions is a dozen traffic-cones.

[AngryAmish]

5. How in the world could you play soccer with a cup on?

Too much running.

[obamanut2012]

20. I am almsot positive they just wear a jock

[7wo7rees]

2. Sweet! Finally and about f'ing time!!

In 1980 my uncle called football "social masturbation".
It is.

[DarthDem]

3. It's A Cost Issue Too

Football requires teams of at least 25 to 40 players at the middle school level and above, more than any other sport. Moreover, the cost of equipping football players is higher per player than any other sport.

So it's not just the brain injury risk at play here. And as pointed out to you (I believe it was you, sorry if not) in another recent post on this topic, soccer offers roughly the same risk of head injuries as football. But because soccer is not nearly as popular, you don't hear about it as much.

I doubt football will ever become a regional sport.

[Trust Buster]

4. I love going to my local high school football game. This Friday is week #1. Yeah.

[AngryAmish]

6. It will become a niche sport for the lower classes.

[HAB911]

7. Will?

Is.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Huh?

A $13 billion pro league and $9+ billion from NCAA football is a niche sport? What's your definition of "nice"?

I'm not debating football, just your sense of perspective.

[HAB911]

11. hmmmm

what percentage of the total population supports the NFL?

[HAB911]

12. ESPN says 49%

I don't trust their numbers

[snooper2]

15. You seem to enjoy it by your threads, or just the halftime shows?

LOL


https://www.democraticunderground.com/122850602

[HAB911]

16. LOL

No that was much more about drone technology than half time shows. I dislike the NFL because I'm forced to build their stadiums, you know, Republican Communism.

[ProfessorGAC]

22. Apropos of Nothing

You said niche SPORT. The total population is not a relevant point of reference!
No wonder your perspective is skewed. You have little sense of proportion.
To whit; what percentage of sports fans support the NFL?
See now?

[HAB911]

23. I am skewed by hate

of paying for stadiums for billionaires, that's all. I am proud of that and even revel in it, LOL

[aikoaiko]

9. West Windsor has a household median income of $116,000.

I note this because in a lot of wealthier communities in NJ, football has always been a hobby. I grew up in an affluent NJ suburb and no one played football until high school to round out their college applications.

No one saw sports as a pathway to college scholarships or wealth even though we lived among the NFL and NBA superstars. It wasn't uncommon to see Mark Gastineau, Lawrence Taylor, and Bill Parcells around town (which dates me), but we knew the odds of earning 7 figures was greater in finance than sports.

[Javaman]

10. but hey, a town outside dallas just built a 70 million dollar stadium for high school football!

I couldn't think of a better way to spend that money!

except for: better teacher salaries, after school programs, lunch programs, library programs, literacy programs, etc.

we are a cartoon nation of fools.

[snooper2]

17. Well, Allen TX has a graduation rate of 97% and greatschools.org gives them a 9 out of 10

just saying..

But yes, stadium could have been 20 million cheaper One reason we didn't move their to help pay for that thing. Which by the way has major construction issues (I.E. bad concrete cracking everywhere, lawsuits now, fucking mess)


https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/texas/districts/allen-independent-school-district/allen-high-school-18562

[Javaman]

19. 97% graduation doesn't equate to a good education...

just numbers to push through.

[GusBob]

13. Just yesterday, one of the kids I coached in youth football was shot to death. 4th one in 2 years

3rd drug related shooting. 4th if you count the kid who was addicted to everything but life before he put the gun to his head

We dealt with high risk youths from risky neighborhoods and stressed family lives, obviously. There are a dozen of these stories in our paper every year.

I know of dozens, maybe several hundred, kids for whom the risk of playing football is and was their ticket out of the greater risks in their lives.

[Le Gaucher]

14. Very humbling to read your post.

There are really two Americas and we tend to forget the risks facing those who are forced to live on the edge.

[Egnever]

18. You are cheering the loss of sports programs in this case

It's not lack of interest they have 37 players it is lack of funding for the school creating this and that sucks.

[Le Gaucher]

21. West Windsor is one of the richest districts ( It is in the neighborhood of Princeton Univ)

Lots of students from this high school make it to Ivy Leagues.

Money is definitely no problem.

[RobinA]

24. I Was Just Reading

in my local paper that my old high school is having a problem with lack of kids coming out for football. I wonder if this is a result of a move away from the sport. No one at my high school needs football as a ticket out of a bad neighborhood and it's no football powerhouse therefore probably isn't someplace any colleges go to find scholarship material. Football there is just a high school thing that maybe parents just aren't finding worth the risk anymore.