Some Thoughts on NCAA Football, 2010.

I may be wrong.  Having lived overseas for five years, I missed a lot of televised American culture.  Chief among that culture, American Football, particularly NCAA Division I Football.  

Most of my favorite teams are in the SEC (for those that do not follow NCAA football, ‘SEC’ means ‘only college football conference worth watching’; just to clarify).  Apparently, last year was the final year that it was OK for a Florida Gators quarterback to cry like a baby while wearing references to Biblical passages written where his cork is supposed to be.  That’s a change which I can support.

One change that bothers me, however is the new Pop-off Helmet. Last time I checked, a football helmet was designed to keep the football player’s brains inside the helmet.  Football coaches, fans, athletic directors, or sadists apparently believed this to be a serious design flaw.  For 2010, football helmet designers have implemented a feature that certainly gets the attention of even the most football-hating passer-by (like my wife): a helmet that flies off with little or no physical contact.

Is this really by design or is there something more devious at play?  Is this a case of poor Chinese worker-toddler craftsmanship (er, crafts-toddler-ship)?  Who knows.  I think the important thing is that NCAA officials take a look at not having players’ helmets fly off at inappropriate moments with little or no impetus to fly off.  Maybe, and I may sound crazy saying this, a football helmet is MORE IMPORTANT than Christine O’Donnell’s avoiding giving answers to specific questions.  I like sports but I’d like sports a lot more if it didn’t involve skull fractures, paralysis or leaking cranial fluid.

1 year ago  /  4 notes