The NFL "remains the most followed sport in America by a wide margin," and the sport's "massive popularity has not waned in recent years," according to Kilgore & Clement of the WASHINGTON POST. A nationwide poll of 1,000 people conducted Aug. 14-21 by the Post and UMass-Lowell show that six in 10 Americans say they are "fans of professional football, roughly similar to polls" in '12. Fandom for pro football "far outpaces" baseball at 45% and pro basketball at 39%. Thirty-seven percent of respondents claim football is their favorite sport to watch, up slightly from 35% in '12 and "more than triple the percentage who pick baseball or basketball." Football’s dangers and drawbacks have "not turned away younger fans poised to become the NFL’s core fan base." Among respondents between 18-29, 61% "say they are football fans, roughly the same as the public overall." Adults under age 30 are the "most likely age demographic to say their interest in football has increased," at 41%. Poll results "indicated professional football fans recognize the danger the sport poses to its players but have chosen to watch, anyway." Eight-two percent believe it is either certainly true (45%) or probably true (37%) that "playing football causes brain injuries." Among sports fans, 90% "say head injuries causing long-term health problems for players is a problem for professional football" and 76% claim it is a "major problem." However, that is not stopping people from watching the NFL. Among those who say head injuries are a major problem, 74% identify themselves as football fans, 40% "called themselves 'big football fans'" and 44% "say football is their favorite sport to watch" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/6). The poll also showed that 19% of respondents identifying themselves as NFL fans "say their interest has decreased in recent years." Among that group, 24% claim "political issues had made them less interested in the sport, including 17 percent specifically citing" either protests during the national anthem or Colin Kaepernick. That compares to 7% "who mentioned injuries or violence in the sport as the reason they lost interest" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/6).
OUT OF HARM'S WAY? The NFL said yesterday that it "found no evidence" that Patriots QB Tom Brady or the Patriots "hid a possible concussion" for Brady last season. However, in Boston, Christopher Gasper writes the findings are "not progress for the league in dealing with concussions as an existential threat to the game and its players." Gasper: "Excuse me if I’m not convinced that Brady didn’t suffer a concussion last season, as his wife ... stated in May on national television." There can be "all the medical studies in the world detailing the link between concussions and degenerative brain disease, the NFL can institute as many player safety rules and protocols as it wants, the league can fund NASA-worthy advances in helmet technology -- none of it matters if the players conceal concussions and continue to put themselves in harm’s way." If a player like Brady "possibly felt compelled to hide concussionlike symptoms, then how willing is the average NFL player to come forward?" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/7). In California, Jeff Miller writes, "I'm going to tend to believe someone who shares a bed with Brady before I'm going to accept as the unequivocal truth the words of a football lifer trained to ignore pain to the point of refusing to acknowledge it" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 9/7).
