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Football is destroying men’s brains according to Vice

"...we tend to focus on retired NFL players, players who were in the game for years, often from childhood, and retired somewhere in their late 20s to early 30s."

Sounds like a certain UM Linebacker, or 'Animal House."
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Seven years of college down the drain.

Animal House (1978) clip with quote Seven years of college down the drain. Yarn is the best search for video clips by quote. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. Easily move forward or backward to get to the perfect clip.
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Walking across the street is hazardous to your health... The nannies would like to eliminate everything. Contact/combat sports/combat? All come with physical issues. If you don't want your kid to play, don't sign them up. We all know the risks, and anyone who says they didn't is a fat mouth liar.
 
Life is inherently risky. One could get killed or injured just sitting in the recliner. I'll bet there are posters on eGriz who wear a helmet before posting, and, wear a mask in the house.
 
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SinCityGriz2005 said:
Walking across the street is hazardous to your health... The nannies would like to eliminate everything. Contact/combat sports/combat? All come with physical issues. If you don't want your kid to play, don't sign them up. We all know the risks, and anyone who says they didn't is a fat mouth liar.
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A lot of people are saying they didn’t know the risks of playing football. The NFL and tackle football at the college and high school level is never going to go away in this country but people are better understanding the risks going into it than 50 years ago.
 
mthoopsfan said:
Who says they didn't know the risks of football?
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www.cnn.com

Former NFL players: League concealed concussion risks

Seventy-five former professional football players are suing the National Football League, saying the league knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects of concussions on players' brains but concealed the information from players, coaches, trainers and others until June 2010.
www.cnn.com

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Seventy-five former professional football players are suing the National Football League, saying the league knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects of concussions on players' brains but concealed the information from players, coaches, trainers and others until June 2010.

The players "did not know the long-term effects of concussions" and relied on the NFL to protect them, the suit says.
 
5280Griz said:
www.cnn.com

Former NFL players: League concealed concussion risks

Seventy-five former professional football players are suing the National Football League, saying the league knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects of concussions on players' brains but concealed the information from players, coaches, trainers and others until June 2010.
www.cnn.com

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Seventy-five former professional football players are suing the National Football League, saying the league knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects of concussions on players' brains but concealed the information from players, coaches, trainers and others until June 2010.

The players "did not know the long-term effects of concussions" and relied on the NFL to protect them, the suit says.
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Oh, NFL. I was thinking college. Thx.
 
AnotherGrizFan said:
So, Jack, do you think it was football or rugby that muddled your brain? I'm guessing both.
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My brain is still tip-top. Am writing 3 min-books, one longer on the History of World Civilizations. Have listened to over 30 books on world history, as well as over 30 tapes and some podcasts. The first will be several hundred pages long. Read or skim 200 or so articles a day 7 days a week. I plan all of our trips, including the 9 recent international trips., and do the bookings. The internal flights in SE Asia and Europe are a pain in the rear. The last 3 of 5, in last 18 months, have been for over a month. Run all of the family finances, including the family ranch and the mineral rights (we're still hoping for a big hit). I think things are pretty good so far. How many books are you writing. How many properties and investments are you running? How's the family ranch going, and has it been around for 135 years? Do you provide assistance to your colleges and grad schools and help recent grades? Bring us up to speed on what you do.
 
mthoopsfan said:
My brain is still tip-top. Am writing 3 min-books, one longer on the History of World Civilizations. Have listened to over 30 books on world history, as well as over 30 tapes and some podcasts. The first will be several hundred pages long. Read or skim 200 or so articles a day 7 days a week. I plan all of our trips, including the 9 recent international trips., and do the bookings. The internal flights in SE Asia and Europe are a pain in the rear. The last 3 of 5, in last 18 months, have been for over a month. Run all of the family finances, including the family ranch and the mineral rights (we're still hoping for a big hit). I think things are pretty good so far. How many books are you writing. How many properties and investments are you running? How's the family ranch going, and has it been around for 135 years? Do you provide assistance to your colleges and grad schools and help recent grades? Bring us up to speed on what you do.
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So you never made any violent contact in either sport that involved your head. I should have guessed that.
 
Not in foot
AnotherGrizFan said:
So you never made any violent contact in either sport that involved your head. I should have guessed that.
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Not in football after high school. Nothing close to a concussion. One in rugby when I was slung to the ground. I know how to tackle. That was my strength in both sports. My memory used to be great. Now it’s very good. I can recite my itinerary for my upcoming 35 day trip. Airlines, general flight times and length of flights. Dates. Hotels. Cars. Tours. Mode of non-flight transportation. Approximate costs. Any dinners already set up. Who is joining us when and where. 10 flight segments. Over 6 different days. The only thing I don’t know is the total cost, because I don’t care.
 
mthoopsfan said:
I can recite my itinerary for my upcoming 35 day trip. Airlines, general flight times and length of flights. Dates. Hotels. Cars. Tours. Mode of non-flight transportation. Approximate costs. Any dinners already set up. Who is joining us when and where. 10 flight segments. Over 6 different days. The only thing I don’t know is the total cost, because I don’t care.
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i just listened to a chinese kid recite an ancient poem. you reciters are pretty special:

 
mthoopsfan said:
Not in foot

Not in football after high school. Nothing close to a concussion. One in rugby when I was slung to the ground. I know how to tackle. That was my strength in both sports. My memory used to be great. Now it’s very good. I can recite my itinerary for my upcoming 35 day trip. Airlines, general flight times and length of flights. Dates. Hotels. Cars. Tours. Mode of non-flight transportation. Approximate costs. Any dinners already set up. Who is joining us when and where. 10 flight segments. Over 6 different days. The only thing I don’t know is the total cost, because I don’t care.
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I think this is a really valid point and one that isn’t addressed nearly enough. Your generation had the best tackling. Wearing shit helmets or helmets made of leather forced people to tackle well or get their bell rung. So many players today initiate contact with their helmet or shoulder and have no intentions of wrapping up. I’ve been told there were far less head injuries from your era than there are today. Not sure if that is true, but the logic seems to track.
 
catgrizfan said:
I think this is a really valid point and one that isn’t addressed nearly enough. Your generation had the best tackling. Wearing shit helmets or helmets made of leather forced people to tackle well or get their bell rung. So many players today initiate contact with their helmet or shoulder and have no intentions of wrapping up. I’ve been told there were far less head injuries from your era than there are today. Not sure if that is true, but the logic seems to track.
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Interesting. I don’t know on head injuries. And with rugby tackling you have to hit below the shoulders even if the runner ducks. And you have to open up your arms and wrap. No hitting with arms crossed in front of chest. A good form tackle is almost always better than a bruising-crushing tackle. Keeping the runner from moving a few feet or yard forward is almost never meaningful. And tacking without a helmet means you don’t tackle with your head.

I rung my bell in high school tackling when I hit good strong runners in their thighs. Casey Reilly of Anaconda had very strong and big thighs.
 
AnotherGrizFan said:
So you never made any violent contact in either sport that involved your head. I should have guessed that.
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Ya, that’s how you get to be a starter and all-conference. I played 3 sports in college and high school and rugby in 5 decades until into my 50’s and never had a surgery from any of that. Never came off the field in football ever due to injury except a knee injury my frosh year of college. Played with broken bones in football twice and a separated shoulder. One broken bone in high school and a separated shoulder in college were season-ending, but I finished each game when I hurt those.
 
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argh! said:
i just listened to a chinese kid recite an ancient poem. you reciters are pretty special:

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argh! said:
i just listened to a chinese kid recite an ancient poem. you reciters are pretty special:

Click to expand...

"The Professional Reciters

In Ancient Greece, there were two primary types of performers who carried these massive epics (like the Iliad and Odyssey, which consist of over 15,000 and 12,000 lines respectively):
  • Aoidoi (Bards): These were the "singers." They typically accompanied themselves on a four-stringed lyre (the phorminx). They were seen as divinely inspired, literally "breathing" the song as the Muses gave it to them.



  • Rhapsodes: Appearing later, these were professional reciters who carried a staff (rhabdos) instead of a lyre. The word "rhapsode" literally means "song-stitcher" (rhaptein = to stitch; oide = song). They didn't just repeat a text; they stitched together traditional themes and formulas to fit the occasion.

Ancient poets were the endurance athletes of the intellectual world. Their performances could span several days, requiring stamina that rivals a modern multi-day music festival.
The length of their recitations can be measured in three ways: lines, hours, and days.

1. By the Numbers (Line Counts)​

To give you a sense of the sheer volume, here are the standard lengths of the major ancient epics that were originally performed orally:
Epic PoemApproximate Line CountModern Equivalent
The Iliad~15,693 linesRoughly 400–500 pages of text.
The Odyssey~12,110 linesRoughly 300–400 pages of text.
The Mahabharata~100,000 stanzasOver 1.8 million words (8x the Iliad and Odyssey combined).
The Epic of Manas~500,000 linesA Kyrgyz epic that is one of the longest in history.

2. By Time (Recitation Hours)​

If a professional Greek rhapsode were to recite the Iliad at a steady, rhythmic pace (roughly 10–12 lines per minute), it would take approximately 20 to 25 hours of pure speaking time.
  • The Iliad: ~20–25 hours
  • The Odyssey: ~15–18 hours
  • The Mahabharata: Reciting the entire work could take weeks, though it was usually performed in sections over many days.

3. By Event (The "Multi-Day" Performance)​

In practice, an ancient poet rarely stood up and did 20 hours straight. Instead, performances were structured around the setting:
  • The Festival Relay: During the Great Panathenaia in Athens, the Homeric epics were recited in their entirety by a series of rhapsodes. This was a multi-day event where one poet would finish a "book" (about 500–800 lines) and the next would pick up immediately where they left off.
  • The Banquet Serial: At a royal court or a private feast, a bard (aoidos) might perform for 2 to 3 hours an eveningover the course of a week. They would choose "episodes"—like the Cyclops or the Funeral Games—that fit the mood of the night.
  • The Master Singers: Field research in the 1930s (by Milman Parry) found modern oral poets in Yugoslavia (Guslar) who could perform songs of 12,000+ lines over several consecutive days, resting only to eat and sleep. One particular singer, Avdo Međedović, was recorded performing a song of 13,331 lines from memory.

While the age of the traveling rhapsode has mostly passed, there are still a few "marathon reciters" and traditional "singers of tales" who keep this incredible mental feat alive today.

1.​

Perhaps the closest living equivalent to the ancient bards are the Manaschy. They are specialized performers in Kyrgyzstan who recite the Epic of Manas.

  • The Feat: The full epic contains over 500,000 lines (over 20 times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined).



  • The Method: They don't just memorize a text; they enter a trance-like state. A master Manaschy like Sayakbay Karalaev (who died in 1971 but left a massive legacy) could recite for days. Modern Manaschy still perform at festivals, often chanting for hours without a single break or a piece of paper in sight.

2. The Guslars (The Balkans)​

This is the tradition that actually helped scholars solve the "Homer Mystery." In the mid-20th century, researchers found singers in Bosnia and Serbia who could recite poems of 10,000 to 13,000 lines.

  • The Practitioner: One of the most famous modern examples was Avdo Međedović. He was an illiterate butcher who could hear an epic poem once and then recite it back, often making it longer and better by "stitching" in more detail.
  • Today: While the tradition has faded into a more "folk performance" style, you can still find Guslars in the rural Balkans who play the gusle (a one-stringed instrument) and recite long heroic songs.

3. The Classical Reciters​

In the Western academic and theatrical world, there are individuals who treat the recitation of ancient Greek epics as a professional discipline:

  • Stanley Lombardo: A renowned Classics professor and translator, Lombardo is famous for performing large chunks (and sometimes the entirety) of the Iliad and Odyssey from memory, using a drum to keep the rhythmic "beat" of the hexameter.
  • Alice Oswald: A contemporary poet who wrote Memorial, a "translation" of the Iliad that focuses on the deaths of the soldiers. She often performs her work entirely from memory, emphasizing the oral, atmospheric nature of the original poems.

4. Religious and Cultural Memorizers​

  • Hafiz (Islam): There are millions of people today who have memorized the entire Quran (roughly 6,200 verses). While not "poetry" in the secular sense, the rhythmic, rhyming nature of the Arabic text makes this a direct descendant of the ancient oral tradition.
  • Vedic Chanting (India): In India, there are priests who spend over a decade learning to recite the Vedas with perfect pitch and rhythm. Because these were forbidden to be written down for centuries, they developed "error-correction" methods (reciting the words forward, then backward, then in pairs) to ensure the 10,000+ verses remained unchanged over 3,000 years.
Gemini.

I learned about this in my world civilizations research.
 
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