{"id":77928,"date":"2016-02-09T15:58:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T15:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=77928"},"modified":"2023-04-12T21:36:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T21:36:48","slug":"behind-mic-super-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-super-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Super Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Super Bowl<\/a> was played this past Sunday. \u00a0Denver\u00a0<\/a>won.\u00a0 Don\u2019t stop reading yet \u2013 I know the WHOLE WORLD knows the Super Bowl was played this past Sunday and who won the game.\u00a0 But it is a good starting point for this blog.<\/p>\n

Amidst all the hoopla, commercials, the halftime show, the parties and the game itself, is the looming conversation about the danger of the sport and, in particular, concussions.\u00a0 You cannot watch the NFL <\/a>anymore without seeing a particular play or be reminded about a particular player in the past who now suffers from or died of \u201cchronic traumatic encephalopathy\u201d.\u00a0 There is a film out now, Concussion<\/span>, which features the attempt by the NFL to suppress the research of Dr. Bennet Omalu.\u00a0 That attempt by the NFL was shameful and they deserved to be exposed for turning their attention away from the controversy.\u00a0 But what we did learn and continue to learn is that the dangers of playing the game are now self-evident.\u00a0 Every parent, every participant, every team from midgets to professionals now know that football can be a very dangerous game.<\/p>\n

So where does that leave us?\u00a0 Absolutely nowhere.\u00a0 The choice still lies with the individual who decides to put on the helmet and the shoulder pads to play.\u00a0 People decide to do things every day that endanger their health.\u00a0 Choices are made to smoke cigarettes, to drink too much alcohol, to smoke marijuana, to live a sedentary life, to eat too much, to sky dive, to take on a giant wave, ski down the steepest of mountains, drive a race car at ridiculous speeds, etc.\u00a0 But the participants make that choice and, I\u2019m certain they do not make the choice blindly.\u00a0 The risks are self-evident for some activities and well-documented for others.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long time since I played organized sports.\u00a0 I played football, basketball, and baseball in high school, received 11 varsity letters for my efforts.\u00a0 I continued to play basketball and baseball in college.\u00a0 Back then, there was not much concern for the dangers of any of those sports.\u00a0 And besides, I truly loved playing them all.\u00a0 I still reflect back on what being part of a team, disciplining myself to practice and work out, feeling the \u201cthrill of victory and the agony of defeat\u201d, accomplishing individual success and learning to meet difficult challenges meant to my growth and fortitude as an adult.\u00a0 Risks be damned (even though I gave them very little thought).<\/p>\n

I can say I was fortunate because I was only injured twice during my athletic career \u2013 a broken collarbone and a severe case of dehydration that put me in the hospital.\u00a0 These maladies occurred, not playing the three – football, basketball, and baseball.\u00a0 Both of the injuries occurred playing – wait for it \u2013 SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL!!\u00a0 That\u2019s right and nobody ever told me how dangerous that sport could be.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t have mattered anyway.\u00a0 I loved playing softball and continued to play even after both my body and my wife started to discourage my participation.<\/p>\n

The point I am trying to make here is that, in this day and age, we all know the risks involved in the decisions we make every day.\u00a0 But they are OUR decisions and we must weigh the choices and then take responsibility for those decisions.\u00a0 I am not implying we shouldn\u2019t continue to warn people of the health hazards, the dangers, and the consequences of those choices, nor should we discontinue all the research that makes us safer and more knowledgeable about those choices or make rules that help protect the participants.\u00a0 I am a fan of \u201cconcussion protocol\u201d.\u00a0 What I am saying is that if individuals decide to participate in dangerous activities, SO BE IT!<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME SUPER BOWL \u00a0MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Here are my favorite commercials from the Super Bowl:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Seth Rogan and Amy Schumer for Bud Light<\/a>. It was funny from the beginning to the end and, unlike many other commercials, I got it.<\/li>\n
  2. The Apartments.com ad<\/a> was good with Jeff Goldblum playing the piano, but what was it about? Landing a better apartment?\u00a0 I guess it worked because I now know about the site.<\/li>\n
  3. The sheep singing a rock song<\/a> in the Honda truck ad, but was the selling point – that you can listen to rock from the bed of the truck? What?<\/li>\n
  4. Hot dogs<\/a>, literally, running to human catsup and mustard bottles, literally, made by Heinz. It was cute and made some sense.<\/li>\n
  5. Oh, wait there weren\u2019t five I liked. What\u2019s a Marmot <\/a>or a \u201cpuppymonkeybaby<\/a>\u201d? The ads were pretty lame this year and the game was somewhat boring. I liked the halftime show.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    NFL PICKS LAST WEEK \u2013 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)<\/strong>
    \nNFL PICKS (WILD CARD) \u2013 3-1<\/strong>
    \nNFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS \u2013 3-1; PLAYOFFS (6-2)<\/strong>
    \nNFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS \u2013 1-1; PLAYOFFS (7-3)<\/strong>
    \nSUPER BOWL \u2013 0-1<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Super Bowl was played this past Sunday. \u00a0Denver\u00a0won.\u00a0 Don\u2019t stop reading yet \u2013 I know the WHOLE WORLD knows the Super Bowl was played this past Sunday and who won the game.\u00a0 But it is a good starting point for this blog. Amidst all the hoopla, commercials, the halftime show, the parties and the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: Super Debate - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Mic: Super Debate - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Super Bowl was played this past Sunday. \u00a0Denver\u00a0won.\u00a0 Don\u2019t stop reading yet \u2013 I know the WHOLE WORLD knows the Super Bowl was played this past Sunday and who won the game.\u00a0 But it is a good starting point for this blog. 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