Dementia In NFL Players

Some N.F.L players are paying a high price for the glitz, glamour (and in some cases) and big payday of playing American football. More reports are leaking out about the debilitating health of retired players. The latest highlights two players affected with dementia. They are 2 of 20 known, with an estimated 60 or 80 more unknown.

If I knew that the NFL was making such a fuss about church groups gathering together to watch the Big Game so they could support their retired players, I'd be sympathetic.

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The NFL (Death) Spiral?

Nwz Chik has a post on how the NFL is trying to trademark "the Big Game" as a phrase. Oh brother: this is the latest effort by the NFL to shoot their brand in the foot. First they told church groups they couldn't have Super Bowl parties because the big group would show up as one person watching when it might actually be 101. The blogosphere slammed the NFL for that bright move.

And now this. In the San Francisco Bay Area, "the Big Game" refers to the annual contest between Stanford University and U.C. Berkeley (Cal). I'm betting that lots of you out there have your own Big Game.

So I have to ask: Has the NFL had too many concussions? Where is their competition? Arena football? Is that why they've gone into testosterone overdrive? Where the heck else can advertisers go to reach the football-watching demographic? What is the viable option to advertising in the Super Bowl?

I’ve seen perfectly good teams blow themselves up. My team, the San Francisco 49ers, is a good example. And they did it in one season – or should I say, in one off-season. (Did you see Jeff Garcia step up in Philadelphia?) Now let's see how quickly the NFL can do the same, following this new game plan. Should we call this the East Coast offensive-defense? Sounds a mess to me.