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In all honesty, I figure we've got about 10 to 20 years of this game left. Youth leagues around here are half of what they were just 5 years ago. Sure, specialization and the rise of soccer and other sports has something to do with it. But is that the cause or merely the effect? The burnout factor may be part of it. But the head injury effect is real. And for my own part, I'm not all that unhappy that my kids gave it up early on.
We can tweak and tinker to make it safer - and there's an absolute need for that. But this game simply can't be *safe*. Not just from collisions. As more research comes out, it looks more and more like it's NOT the big, concussive hits that do the damage. It's the little, 20 a day subconcussive hits. Those simply can't be eliminated from the game because they're integral to the game.
It's starting already - youth numbers slowly erode, schools won't have the numbers for freshman and/or JV teams. Heck, that's happening now - had 2 games canceled this year due to low numbers. The richer, more well off schools will start giving it up first as it becomes more of a sport for those desperate for a way out or in the strongholds like TX or OH. But even there (and I'm in central OH now) you'll see it. A few lawsuits will be won, more will be lost but the cost of defending them will drive up insurance rates. Then, it'll reach a breaking point as schools can't afford to be pay those rates. Football will break away from schools and go the club route, accelerating the decline in numbers. This sport is headed the way of boxing...not today or in the near future. But that's what the future holds for it, in my estimation.
And by the way, there used to be high school boxing teams back in the day. Seems absurd now, doesn't it...
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