I miss the NFL. I loved watching all the games. It was so exciting. But sadly, it’s almost like the NFL wasn’t meant to be here forever. There have been so many awful accidents in the NFL, it’s hard to even keep track of it all. I’m always so gutted when I hear another report of a player being injured.
One of the most heartbreaking stories happened in the 2015 season. It was a cold Sunday afternoon and the San Francisco 49ers were playing their rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. During the third quarter, a player for the 49ers named NaVorro Bowman was trying to tackle a Seattle player. But then something went terribly wrong. With a loud crack, a nasty sound that will stay with me forever, Bowman’s leg snapped in the wrong direction.
It was a gruesome sight. With tears streaming down my face, I watched as the medical team came on the field and tried to help the screaming, injured player. You could feel the despair in the stadium. His career in the NFL was effectively over, the doctors said later. The sound of the leg breaking still haunts me today.
Another horrible accident occurred in the 2019 season. A player for the Houston Texans named Lonnie Johnson was trying to sack the quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. The problem was, his helmet got caught on the QB’s shoulder while he tried to take him down. Sadly, the player broke his shoulder and is now out for the rest of the season.
And injuries like this have been happening for years. Players breaking their legs and getting concussions during fierce tackles, sprinting players getting tackled off-guard, helmets colliding with helmets during reckless plays, and so much more. These accidents are always too gruesome to watch. It’s such a shame that all these NFL season are often ruined by injuries like this, not to mention the pain and suffering these players have to go through.
People often ask me if I’m still watching the NFL, despite all these accidents. It’s a hard question for me to answer. Yes, the thrill of seeing the players make plays and score touchdowns is still there, and yes, I still love watching the games. But I can’t say I’m not worried about these kinds of accidents, and I definitely don’t like seeing all this carnage. I guess I just have to live with the fact that the NFL does have its risks, and that no matter how much I love the game, the safety of the players always has to come first.
NFC North
NFC West
NFC East
NFC South
The divisional rivalries. Usually when I think of the NFL, these four divisions are the first ones that come to mind. But the injuries that these players suffer during the games, it just puts a damper on the whole experience. I mean, even though it’s part of the game, all the head-on collisions, bone-crushing tackles, passes being blocked or intercepted, and so on, the risk of accident is ever-present.
Take for example, the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. Two teams in the NFC North that have been at each other’s throats for years. It’s a battle to the finish. Nobody wants to lose. So you can just imagine the intensity of the games. And unfortunately, with that kind of intensity, comes the risk of injury.
And that’s not all. All the hype that comes with the football season, the endless media coverage, the merchandising… it all just builds up in me the thrill of the game, and the anguish of an injury. It’s like living in a perpetual state of fear. That one play, one tackle, or one pass, can completely change the entire course of a season. There’s no telling what could happen on the field.
So I keep asking myself: is it really worth it? Do I really need to put the players in so much danger in order to have a good football season? I used to think that way, but not anymore. I have come to realize that all these accidents, scratches, torn ligaments, seasons ending injuries, concussions, and all that, are a part of football, and there is no way to avoid them.
In the end, all the NFL teams will have to figure out a way to treat these types of casualties and prevent it from happening in the future. Safety should come first, even in sports. It’s too bad that most of the time we’re just reacting to these incidents and not taking preventive measures.
The team doctors and trainers have to work extraordinarily hard to make sure that there are precautions in place to decrease the risk of an accident happening in the NFL. Their dedication to their jobs is admirable. But at the same time, there is only so much they can do. In general, it’s always better to focus on prevention than trying to heal the consequence of an accident.
A few years ago, the NFL and NFL Players Association did a great job at implementing some new steps to decrease the injury rate. For starters, they increased the number of medical personnel and created better protocols for evaluating a player’s concussion. This is a step in the right direction at least, but I still think there should be some more safety protocols that will help protect the players, not just from the injury itself, but also from the long-term effects that come with it.
I can only imagine the players’ families, their friends and fans being affected by these kind of accidents. Whenever an NFL player suffers a serious injury, it’s an incredibly sad moment, and not just for the player, but for all the people around them.
It’s like when a friend of yours is hurt, you can’t help but feel their pain and sorrow. So when an NFL player is hurt, and their future is uncertain, it’s heartbreaking. I really hope that the NFL can do something to prevent these kinds of accidents from occurring in the future. Because these players deserve to enjoy a long and fulfilling career in the NFL, without the constant danger of being injured.