Fans: Concussions Cause for Priority Check

The esteemed writers at the California Golden Blogs couldn’t care less that the Bears lost to Oregon State on Saturday. Jahvid Best’s terrifying spill caused them to reflect on their priorities:

[I]t was a strange relief to find out that Jahvid ‘only’ has a concussion, his 2nd in as many weeks. But recently there’s been lots of talk about the science of concussions and the long term impact of repeated head trauma. Malcolm Gladwell wrote the original article that helped jump start the discussion. Ray Ratto talks about it. Scott Ostler talks about it with normal sentence structure. Everybody is reevaluating the most popular, lucrative sport in America. The NFL and NCAA have desperately tried to change the rulebook to protect players, but every attempt to change a game that has a long history of stunningly brutal events seems futile. Meanwhile evidence continues to mount – players effectively disabled, early onset dementia, and other debilitating injuries that boggle the mind.

Before Saturday’s game, to my discredit, I hadn’t paid much attention to the issue. I didn’t want to admit that a sport that takes up perhaps too much of my free time and disposable income was preying on the athletes that perform for my entertainment. This is particularly disturbing in the college ranks, when players receive no money, and most have no future in the sport. I couldn’t drum up a reason to care about the rest of the Oregon St. game and I wonder if I’ll care about the rest of the season.