Georgia Tech looked good against Clemson. Just not good enough to get the win. I didn’t watch the game, but I did have the running score up on my smartphone. Tevin Washington had a fine game, so that was nice to see. It’s hard to beat a team that’s stacked, though. And Clemson surely is. It’s also hard to write a column for a team that’s sub-500. Now I better understand the perils of loyalty.
This is a bye week. The coaches are probably getting together and circling the wagons, as it were. “The season is salvageable.” or “A bowl game still might be in the cards.” When you are down, it can be hard to get up. It’s so much easier to stay up than to get up. Me, I am just going to trash football, because it’s probably the best way to rationalize my despair.
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As I’ve mentioned before, football is inherently violent. People die playing, and those that play a long time may suffer debilitating lifetime ailments. But we the people like to see impact, and it’s a massive, massive business. So it rolls on. What about concussions, I wonder? Under ‘Brain Injury’ here, Wikipedia says, “Until 2010, the Concussions Committee of the NFL generally denied that concussions result in permanent brain injury.[38] Research, reported in 2009 and using phone interviews based on the National Health Interview Survey, showed increased incidence of diagnosis of memory loss and dementia among retired professional football players; chronic traumatic encephalopathy diagnoses are increasingly common among deceased football players. Such symptoms are believed related to the effects of concussions. This finding is considered significant as such injuries may potentially affect high school and college players also.”
Personally, I think it’s a real risk, even among youth. Some kids can flat hit hard. I played until 8th grade, and recall getting my bell rung more than once. It wasn’t pleasant, and I don’t think my character was improved in the slightest. I had a funny blurb I was going to write here, but I’ve forgotten it. I also had a funny link that enhanced it.
My conclusion is this: If you want your kid to be an athlete, either teach them to kick or steer them toward any sport other than football.
And NOW that I’ve written my rant and am ready to cut it off short for the bye week, I’ve just heard that Al Groh’s been fired. So here’s my thought: man, that sucks. I think he’s a good coach and a nice person. Paul Johnson is going to get paid $2.4 million dollars this year. That’s a lot of money unless you’re an oligarch. I wonder how much the top professors will make. I also wonder how much a 3-8 season might diminish the worth of my degree. or how much an 8-3 one could make it more dear. I don’t really give a flipping flarp anymore. I’ve forsaken TV, news and shows and sports and politics, and my life isn’t one bit less full than the guy who hasn’t. The circuses are losing their appeal. But hey, if we win out, I might be singing a different tune come late November! Still, I plan to get myself in shape, starting today! I’ll let you know next week if I’ve actually made moves towards such.
Notes
- Get outdoors and take in some fresh air.
- There were several injuries in football this past weekend.
- Football remains a game.
- Thank you for reading and Go Jackets!
- I told you: get outside. Go on, do it. Take a walk. Stroll down the avenue!
Geofferson P. Burdell was awarded a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Georgia Tech in August 1999. He is an Austrian Economics devotee, a shadetree mechanic, a hiker, and an improving bridge player. He resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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