What's Wrong With This Picture

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Welpe

I'm not saying its an epidemic, just a trend I've been noticing. I don't think this one picture is influencing kids all over to tailor their pants to be too short but it is indicative of a trend I have noticed in youth games and at the high school level. Same with the wearing of the under armour bands and even the short jerseys from the 80's and 90's, etc. You're right, most coaches and players are good about keeping it legal at the lower levels (though we did see an 8 year old kid do an uncontested flip into the endzone last week).

I also work baseball and I notice similar things such as the way the pants are worn, etc. Like in the fashion world, most people start going with a trend because that is what the celebrities or professional athletes are wearing. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with it though, that's just how it is.

I am concerned over the unprotected knees but at the collegiate level, I guess they are old enough to make their own decisions about that. Seeing it at the high school level bothers me but in a game of that size, I guess it is going to get overlooked as being insignificant.

I played high school football and the knee pads never bothered me. I imagine getting smacked in the knees would hurt a bit more however I have a friend that is a LB in the NFL and he hates having his knees covered. Different strokes I suppose.

My point is that this is not an "automatic" thing players will do. I think if your state does a lot to educate their coaches, you do not have these kinds of problems. Maybe those that say this is a problem your state or jurisdiction is not doing a very good job to inform their schools what is legal or illegal. The officials are often the last people to deal with this. But if it is made clear that these would be violations of rules and penalties to remedy this will follow, not much of a problem. I think that is why I hardly ever see jewelry like you see at the pro level in all sports. And that includes baseball, basketball or football. The NBA is a huge influence on basketball players and I do not see the antics of players that you often see in the NBA. The coaches that no better and put the kibosh on that type of activity before it gets started. This in my opinion is the reason you do not see it very often. The problems we tend to have are the schools that are not in the higher income areas, the teams might not have certain pads, and not just the ones that make you look cool.

Peace

[hawk65]

I've heard several excuses by experienced officials why they don't enforce this rule on the HS level, and all of those excuses come from officials who also do college level:

1) "I heard [official] didn't get any more [D1 conference] assignments after he tried to enforce this at a game."
2) "Don't go looking for trouble."
3) "Knee pads don't protect from knee injuries so it is no big deal." (Makes about as much sense as saying shoulder pads don't prevent a QB from getting a sore arm so QB's shouldn't be required to wear shoulder pads.)

Short pants and non-coverage of knees by knee pads is a problem in our area and it stems from a dismissive attitude at the top of our association and the region outside our association's service area.

[OverAndBack]

And here I thought you were talking about the bicep bands.

[parepat]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Players do not like to wear their pads on their knees because they feel funny, not just because someone was wearing them at another level. I serious doubt that this picture had that much influence on teams across the country and how they wear their uniforms. I live in Big Ten country and I do not see this on a regular basis. The reason is coaches, and officials address it long before the game is played.

I work 3 sports and I see many things that are allowed at the higher level that clearly is not allowed. For some reason, players (and coaches) seem to know or understand what they cannot do. Just like I heard all these celebrations by NFL players would result in many celebrations by high school players. For some reason they just hand the officials the ball and I have almost never had an NFL style celebration in a high school game. And you must consider the video games from the NCAA and NFL ranks that show over the top celebrations. Now why is that part of the game non-existent in my experience (not only the games I work, the games I watch on TV in my area as well)?

Peace

So...you don't see alot of chest bumping in your neck of the woods? I do. Just like the throat slash craze of a couple years ago, and the diving into the end zone era after that.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by parepat

So...you don't see alot of chest bumping in your neck of the woods? I do.

Nope.

Originally Posted by parepat

Just like the throat slash craze of a couple years ago, and the diving into the end zone era after that.

I have never seen a throat slash. I did see one time a dive into the end zone, but we disagreed whether a foul should have been called because of how close the opponents were. That was it; I have not seen it since.

And I am a Back Judge where I tend to the first on a big time offensive play. Most of the time I see the kids just hand me the ball and hug a teammate after they score a touchdown. I am not suggesting that there are never problems, but they are so rare I would not call it a problem. This is why I suggest that kids do not automatically follow what they watch on TV like brainless cattle. Coaches must be doing a good job telling their kids to not give the team an advantage through penalties. This is not much different than parents teaching their kids values so they do not do what they see on TV, YouTube or any other forum that shows behavior that would not be acceptable.

Peace

[ODJ]

Originally Posted by GPC2

This picture is from ESPN Fantasy Games' College Pick 'em front page. I found it pretty funny. Unfortunately this stuff trickles down to the high school level.

Notice the Swoosh. Blame Nike. I blame Nike for everything, and it works well for me.
Until a rash of knee injuries occur, things won't change. (NCAA)

Don't forget the basketball shorts under the butt. Nice boxers, pal.