Clearly, you’re not blind because these blogs aren’t printed in braille (yet), so let’s cut to the chase: Sometimes I wonder what a blind person thinks of the National Football League.
He/she would hear the occasional “ooo”‘s from the crowd and audience; the frequent sentence from the announcer “Well, it looks like he’s down injured on the play”; and hear the violent metal and bone collisions that happen every play.
So, I just wonder if someone who can’t see football, thinks if it’s a good idea. Sure, he/she would understand that football brings people together for a common cause, helps soothe Thanksgiving family talk, is a big business, and at its core (we hope) is played for fun.
He/she would have all the facts of early death, diseases, mental instabilities and medical issues that trail behind an NFL career. But, without visually seeing the game — a game that no one would argue with a description of “gladiator-esque” — that millions love, what would our subject think of football?
I thought of all of this while on the floor of my friend’s basement watching Saturday night’s USC/Notre Dame showdown, as USC’s Trojan mascot was glaring at me through the television and sticking a sword in the middle of the field. Obviously, I didn’t give my friends that blind person hypothetical situation, as I enjoy having friends, but I did pose the question you now read in the headline.
Will football always be around? Maybe. I hope it is. But at this pace, I’d bet the next time I’m wearing a diaper, football will be a skidmark in society’s history.