In this edition of Cardinal CounTree, Matt Vassar discusses former Stanford linebacker A.J. Tarpley retiring from the NFL at the age of 23. He discusses Tarpley's history of concussions, and the moral dilemma that football poses to fans. Finally, he wraps up the show talking about Stanford basketball legend Jennifer Azzi, recently becoming the first head coach in Division I basketball to come out as gay.
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Comments
"Does football create a moral dilemma for fans?"
It does for me. I’m probably in a unique position among football fans though. Despite growing up in Texas, I was completely apathetic about football until I got to college. I got swept up in it there even though the football team at Baylor was terrible when I was a student. But I fell in love with the traditions and pageantry that are part of the college football package (which is largely why I am still apathetic about the NFL version of the game).
Because I don’t have any childhood nostalgia tied up in football memories, and because I don’t care about the NFL, it’s probably been easier for me to view issues of CTE and it’s repercussions with an unbiased—or at least less biased—perspective. As much as I love Saturdays in the fall when I can spend all day watching football, how much joy should I really be taking from seeing young men risk their bodies and futures a hundred or so times per game? When it comes down to it, what’s the difference between the joy we take in watching football and the joy the Romans took in watching gladiator sports? These are questions I often ask myself even while watching the game.
By Omagus on 04.20.16 7:34am
In reality...
You risk your life everyday just getting in your car and going to work. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Certainly not one’s safety, no matter what they are doing. If they are enjoying what they are doing, that is just as important as anything else really.
By drkato9 on 04.24.16 9:26pm
That's just a bad comparison.
Yeah, you risk your life by driving to work everyday…but that’s an unavoidable byproduct of existing. We all risk our lives everyday simply by the virtue of actually having life in the first place.
That’s entirely different from people engaging in dangerous activity for the entertainment of others. And in case I wasn’t clear, this isn’t a criticism of players taking part in something they enjoy. It’s questioning the pleasure we as fans take from repeatedly watching that dangerous activity.
By Omagus on 04.27.16 6:29am