Late in his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers on September 15, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson caught a short pass over the middle of the field, charged forward, and lowered his body to brace for contact. The side of his helmet smacked the face mask of linebacker Quay Walker, and the back of it whacked the ground as Walker wrestled him down. Rising to his feet after the 9-yard gain, Granson tossed the football to an official and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap.
Aside from it being his first reception of the 2024 National Football League season, this otherwise ordinary play was only noteworthy because of what Granson was wearing at the time of the hit: a 12-ounce, foam-padded, protective helmet covering called a Guardian Cap.
Already mandatory for most positions at all NFL preseason practices, as well as regular-season and postseason practices with contact, these soft shells received another vote of confidence this year when the league greenlit them for optional game use, citing a roughly 50 percent drop in training camp concussions since their official 2022 debut. Through six weeks of action this fall, only 10 NFL players had actually taken the field with one on, according to a league spokesperson. But the decision was easy for Granson, who tried out his gameday Guardian Cap—itself covered by a 1-ounce pinnie with the Colts logo to simulate the design of the helmet underneath—in preseason games before committing to wear it for real.
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Can you imagine trying to catch a 90 mph fast ball gloveless? Fuck machismo, I need to use my hands tomorrow
Were they actually throwing 90mph fastballs back then? As I understand it athletes weren’t like…training to be athletes in those days. I always thought early baseball was a bunch of pudgy near-drunks who were good at throwing or hitting or catching.
Even if it wasnt going 90 mph its the balls would still be going a respectable speed regardless, reminder we are literally evolved to throw shit even a person with a shit throw is still gonna get it going with a good bit of force.
I was gonna say cricket but their keeper is actually the only one allowed to wear gloves lol
Damn, I might actually watch baseball if they went back to that.
The actual logical conclusion of this will almost certainly be proper deformable helmets which gets replaced frequently during the game.
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Maybe we should change how the game is played instead of putting helmets on the helmets
We’ve seen the same issues with hockey. The use of plastics in shoulder and elbow protections versus the older leathers and felt padding. When delivering a hit both players feel it, today not so much as a plastic shoulder goes into a face it’s more one way.
As much as they have been changing the rules, a crazy part of me wonders if less equipment might help more, like those old leather helmets. Would players not be hitting as hard?
NHL players not wearing full masks is the height of idiocy. Most of them have worn full masks for at least a decade before going pro so it’s not like they’re going to get screwed up by them.
The really scary thing though isn’t the plastic shells. Those are fine as long as you have proper gear yourself. It’s getting cut by a skate. Every year one or two players will die from getting cut. It’s wild to me that Hockey literally has an acceptable death rate without talking about things like underlying medical conditions.
Is it really that wild? Hockey players are insane people. They literally cannot remove fighting from the sport without the entirety of Canada revolting.
The referees back off and give people space to fight. In the middle of the game. They go from refereeing hockey, to dirty boxing, then back to hockey. It’s a crazy sport.
I mean…
Aren’t there rules for the fighting tho? Like you gotta drop gloves sticks and helmets.
And then don’t both guys fighting ( in this hypothetical scenario) get the penalty?
Idunno man it seems downright civilized if you ask me.
Fwiw, I’ve literally never played hockey in my life. And the last “fight” I got in was a playground scuffle back in fight grade.
Edit: I meant fifth but it’s funnier as fight grade
Other sports don’t allow fighting, but part of the draw of hockey is the morbid curiosity kinda like NASCAR.
In 2023 it was a guy in England. In 2022, a 10th grade kid in Connecticut. 2024 hasn’t had one yet though. So yeah.
You could be right. CTE wasn’t known about back then, but you don’t hear a lot about pro football players in the first half of the 20th century acting like the ones today.
There wasn’t as much media as there is today either, so that may be a factor.
There’s also the fact that advanced in nutrition, exercise, and medicine mean that today’s players move faster and hit harder.
Look at the size/build of the players back then compared to today… It probably didn’t happen as much because people weren’t as big and didn’t hit as hard.
Also enjoying that we have a method for reducing concussions by half, but it isn’t mandatory in games why?
Yeah one of the biggest issues is the fact that nobody teaches how to properly “hit” and, equally problematic, how to properly “be hit.” Contact sports don’t have to be as violent as they are now.
I think rugby does a fantastic job of this. It’s a much more controlled violence.
Or maybe we should just discourage hits in the first place.
Flag football doesn’t get as many viewers
Ah, well. Guess we’ll just have to live with CTE then.
This is a materials science issue to solve. The NFL now realize putting a hard shell outside of a skull doesn’t do much for soaking up impact but a soft body provides protection. The game also discourages hitting the head and does try to avert damage as best as possible. They learn like OSHA; seeing what hit the wall and stuck.
They really ought to put helmets on helmets on helmets for maximum safety.
Would I be way out there to suggest that if you have to go to these lengths to protect a player, maybe it’s not a good sport for the 21st century?
If people want to play it & people enjoy watching it, why discard it rather than make it safer?
I enjoy skydiving, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, & eating fried foods. It’s on me to do those things in moderation.
People enjoyed playing and watching jousting. We stopped doing it because it’s dangerous and stupid.
Also, drinking copious amounts of alcohol isn’t just on you if you have a family.
No, we actually didn’t stop doing it. You probably haven’t heard of it because fewer people no enjoy watching it.
I watched numerous jousting matches in my life.
What we did stop was pretending it’s real combat. Today’s jousting matches are more like pro wrestling, where the bruises are real, but the outcome is scripted.I watched numerous jousting matches in my life.
You’ve watched numerous safe modern versions of “jousting” put on by SCA groups. That is not jousting.
But hey, you want scripted football, be my guest. People won’t get so badly hurt.
I want no football at all, thank you.
It’s the most boring sport possible, and designed to maximize the opportunity for commercial breaks.I will completely agree about the commercial breaks. Professional American sports are nothing but commercial cash grabs as it is, college is headed the same way.
Dangerous sports may be the issue in the near future, commercials & betting may prove more damaging to sports than injury ever will.
Ok, well my point to the person I replied to is that we stopped doing dangerous and stupid sports.
“Jousting” that’s scripted is not what I was talking about. I was talking about the real thing. Especially the kind involving quintains, because, again, it was dangerous and stupid.
So you argue we should work to replace football with “football” over time, making the game more safe until it has your (dis) approval?
I’m not arguing anything except maybe we shouldn’t encourage something this dangerous. And I’ve only ever said maybe.
Which I know is a terrible affront to football fans and you have my sincere apologies for saying something so incredibly hurtful.
I mean that’s cool about jousting, but I think you’re missing the point. Which I don’t believe was about jousting specifically.
Maybe they should have referred to how we used to watch lions eat humans for sport in the colosseum. Popular shit from what I understand. Should we keep doing that because people liked it?
Public executions are another one…
People stopped jousting because heads were severed & blood was spilt. I quite enjoy watching the jousting at ren fairs.
Drinking copious amounts of alcohol is not something I invite my family to participate in.
Unless they want to joust. Then I might be swayed.
Heads weren’t severed in jousting, what are you talking about? How would that even work? The jousting you’re watching in ren fairs is scripted. Also, blood is spilled on football fields all the time.
Also…
Drinking copious amounts of alcohol is not something I invite my family to participate in.
I seriously hope you don’t have any kids.
I have 40 children, they’re all drunk now because of you. Just out of spite.
What are you on about? You think those jousters knocked the other jousters off their horses & just started mocking their opponents?
“Hahaha look at the no horse dummy! You lose & I will now abscond with your princess! Hooray I am a jouster!!”
No. They got off their horses & aimed to behead, or otherwise cease the existence of, their opponent.
Yes. Ren Fairs are scripted. So is Wrastlin’ & they spill blood while wrastlin’ too.
What is your point here? You’re above it, so the rest of us are lesser for enjoying it.
People enjoy sport & specifically football. What’s the real problem here? That someone’s subjective opinion differs from yours?
I can only speak for myself, but my main problem is the culture and how these people become football players. They start from a very young age, and if I had kids, the thought of letting them destroy their developing mind like that for a sport would be completely out of the question.
Instead, in some areas of the country, we have families that are pressuring their very young children to enter a sport that will affect their developing brain in profoundly negative ways.
This isn’t only encouraged, it’s highly rewarded. College football coaches at big state schools, are often the highest paid public employee in their respective state.
Once again, this is not society’s responsibility, it’s on the parents.
Don’t want your child to become a roided up rage monster with CTE? Don’t raise them up to believe that sports is their only way forward.
Sports are a path for SOME individuals & those individuals have the CHOICE to decide what is right for them & what isn’t.
Yes family pressure exists, but so does individual choice & the two conflict every day. Hell, I’ve got boobs & a vag despite my parents protestations & I’m better off for it.
For many of those individuals they only see sports as their path forward. Want them to find a better path? Show it to them…
But don’t judge them when they strike out down a path you don’t approve of, if you aren’t willing to provide a better solution.
Sitting here saying football shouldn’t exist because people get hurt is just lazy hand wringing & judgemental nonsense.
That’s absolutely not how the sport of jousting worked. You’re just making things up. It wasn’t gladiatorial combat. And even that resulted in death less often than is usually portrayed.
Well alright expert now I’m shitfaced & ready to learn. Do, please educate us all on aspects of jousting that did not lead to mortal combat.
By your logic, Football isn’t about hurting people any more than jousting is.
Sports are sports. They aren’t going away just because you think you’re better than their fandoms.
Because in order to allow them to play it, we are literally damaging our children’s brains?
Don’t let your kids play it? That is your responsibility, not society’s.
“It is tradition that athletes must be harmed for our entertainment.”
I’m not sure that people have moved on all that much from Roman gladiatorial combat.
Dumb people can’t play chess (well)
Football is for dumb people, got it
All that brain damage, proven by countless studies, does make a person dumb.
Get rid of the pads and helmets and play like the rugby.
I don’t think you could really say they’re changing the nfl, I’m watching the game right now and I don’t think there’s a single one anywhere on either team. In fact other than maybe one or two players I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wearing them at all this year.
Thought it was this guy:
Will those ridges catch on a face guards rails? Looks like a shearing injury waiting to happen.
Adding 12oz of weight to helmets is better than TBI but doesn’t feel like the best solution. I think a helmet redesign to incorporate those features would be better, like how MIPS helmets were introduced in other sports.
