Football Essay by Pete

Have you ever sat down on your couch with some popcorn and a cool glass of Coca-Cola while waiting for the big game to start? Then you end up waiting an extra ten minutes just listening to a reporter list off all of the players who got broken ribs, concussions, pinched nerves, and torn ACL’s! But what they’re really trying to do is make you not want your kids play football even if they really want to! I don’t like the media, either here are some reasons why.

People shouldn’t get most of their football information from the media because the media speaks about football as a more dangerous sport than it really is. One reason I believe this is true because the media usually reports about every single bad injury they hear about. For example, a girl in my class named Maya said that her mom is scared of football because of a horrific injury in the paper she had seen. Another example is that one time, during the half-time show, they had a reporter list all of the injuries that had occurred during the week. In addition, the media has way too many articles and reports on football injuries. One time there were 8 reports about terribly injured players.

People shouldn’t get most of their football information from the media because I believe that you should learn from personal experience. One reason I believe this is because you shouldn’t just assume things like terrible injuries. Someone I know told me that his parents let him play football but he could quit if he wanted to, or if he got anything worse than a major concussion playing football. I can somewhat relate to my parents protection of me because I have already sustained a mild concussion and a broken clavicle. Both playing baseball! So it might not be the best decision. But I would do it anyway.

People shouldn’t get most of their football information from the media because they’re only trying to make you scared of football, therefore not letting your children play even if they really want to. My parents saw an injury report on a player from the stupid Carolina Panthers and then rejected me when I asked to play a week later. Maya also added the fact that her mother turned down her brother when he asked because of a reporter that said “Football is probably one of the most dangerous sports in the U.S.” The media shouldn’t be able to trick people like that!

This makes me realize that some people will believe anything they see. Including articles. This is why I believe that people shouldn’t get all of their football information from the media because the media sends negative scuttlebutt to the populous, you should learn from personal experience, and the media is only trying to scare you. It is true that some professional NFL players suffer from dementia that occasionally occurs when someone gets concussions. And other football players suffer from the more serious injuries including cardiac and pulmonary contusions. But I love football, so I would play on.