No Helmets In Football?!
In the National Football league (NFL) concussions happen a lot. Most of the players concussions comes from blind side hits by the defensive player. Hits to the helmets happen on every play for the game because of the size of the helmets and how the player tries to block their opponent. Since the outbreak of when the public actually found out about what happens to a players brain after playing professional football for years the NFL has been working to lower the rate of concussions. In the past, the National Football League was under fire when the public found that players would be put back into the game after they found that the symptoms have subsided. However, even if the symptoms have subsided it doesn’t mean the brain has completely healed because it takes at least a few days for the brain to heal completely of course it also depends on how hard the hit was and how much the brain has banged into skull. Blind side tackling is when a defensive player tackles a offensive player that isn’t in the offensive player lines of vision. It is a very dangerous hit because an offensive player can sustain a head/neck region injury depending on how hard the hit was. The symptoms for a concussion if poor balance, confusion, drowsiness or feeling sluggish, dizziness double vision or blurred vision, headache, and vomiting. When a football player usually has a concussion they lay on the ground and they look a little disoriented after a hit.
A concussion is when a persons the brain is bruised because they were hit really hard or hit something really hard. Brain injuries is a very serious decision in sports because players get injured all the time. Inside our skull we have our brain and if something happens where a players brain bangs into the skull it could cause some harmful things depending on how hard the brain hits against the skull. Also, the brain is surrounded by spinal fluid and 3 layers (Dura mater, Arachnoid mater, and Pia mater) that’s between the brain and the skull but the layers and fluid have a limit on how hard the brain hits against the skull. A concussion rate is how many concussions happened in a game.
A helmet is aligned with thick padding all around the helmet. It’s main responsibility (if not its only) is to protect the head from skull fractures, but head injuries do still happen. If with all of the padding in a helmet concussions come from within the brain. While the padding protects from skull fractures the brain is still moving around in our head banging against our skull and the more hits to the brain the worse it gets. Continuous hits that are making the brain hit against the skull cause the brain to function less.
Rugby is a sport that involves no pads, and older versions of the American football helmets from back in the day. Some rugby players still do receive concussions but not as much as football. Rugby is actually a safer sport than football as far as concussions go. People maybe think how but Rugby is safer because of the stricter way they tackle. Rugby tackling is strict because the defensive players can not hit an offensive players blind side. Also, Rugby player have to tackle a specific way to be able to bring their opponent down, they would have to lean in with their shoulder and wrap their arms around the player they are tackling and than they will be able to tackle the player. Rugby is played around the world from America, New Zealand, Japan to list a few. Different countries play against each other, like New Zealand versus America or Japan versus Great Britain. People say rugby is like American football but without pads, however, that is not the case the difference is:
- They use a different method for tackling a player to the ground that has the ball.
- The ball is wider in shaped than the American football.
- The scoring is different. A “try” (touchdown) is 5 point, instead, of 6 points like the NFL.
- When in the in-goal, the player has to have the ball touch the ground for the touchdown to be official, that’s called “grounding.”
- Their field goal pole is in the front and middle of the in goal line. Like American football had it in the early years of football. Plus, it’s in an “H” shape.
- The time of play is not split into 4 quarters instead it’s split into 2 halves.
- The equipment that rugby players wear is different from the NFL’s equipment.
Work Cited:
Rowan Counterintuitive 