Anybody watching it tonight? Interesting story--brain damage linked to football hits. I have some questions about this myself.

What's your opinion? You can watch the show at PBS.org/frontline. Makes me wonder???

Drinking and smoking causes brain damage, so does sleep deprivation. Lots of things do. It's only because football generates billions of $$ that people care.

I hear chemicals do too. I guess I'm screeewed.

Well I guess I'd be a freaking genius if it weren't for being a head hunting outside linebacker and strong safety in high school. Those skull and crossed bones helmet stickers for open field tackles and punishing hits were a big source of pride. More than a few times waking up with a coach shaking three fingers in front of the face mask asking how many fingers do you see. They always seemed to use three so that's what I would guess.

People want to live perfect little safe no risk lives and get all the same rewards the risk takers get. Nothing ventured nothing gained. There will always be some that get away with the dangerous stuff and some that get caught in the saw. Call it wheel of Karma or bad luck or good luck. It's all the same sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you.

I think there may be something to it. I got the tee shirt too!

I played DT on D line and LT on offense. Never came off the field. Once game started I don't remember ever hearing the crowd nor coaches. Many times it was a blur. Maybe the game was moving too fast but wasn't til after the game it all downloaded and Sunday/Monday film brought some back.

I've received more concussions due to automobile accidents, motorcycle and 4 wheeler wrecks, drunken behavior, water skiing, and fighting than I ever took playing football. I got knocked silly a few times and saw stars but nothing like the before mentioned. My 2 cents.

257 you live in a cloud, it's the booze killing your brain cells. Not feetsball.

Well you might be right. I think I'll go grab another.

Meh, if you didn't know that hitting folks with your head, helmet or no helmet, wasn't good for you then that's your fault. Been playing contact sports since I was 5. I'm 30. Still play rugby for a men's league team (at least I'm trying to at this point with moving to another city away from my team). You can live life one of two ways.. either insulate yourself from anything dangerous or risky and live to be 90... or you can really live it and let the chips fall where they may. I do think the way tackling is taught in football is not correct. After taking off the pads and playing rugby I feel there is a right and wrong way to teach tackling. The nature of football lends itself to violent hits lead by the head, take off the helmets, and I bet you see players tackle with the shoulder (and wrap up). Just my opinion.

I hope some of y'all will think first before your son or grandson starts playing. I loved football, but I don't think the risks are worth the reward.

This is just another money grab. Oder players that squandered their money are after more. players make more now, but the dollars were worth more then. Some players did well because they invested in more than hot chicks, fast cars and cocaine. Look at Troy Ackman, he owns car dealerships. Other players are part owners of pro teams. It's called investing wisely. Easy to do with the kind of money they made. They all need good managers and many didn't have one. I heard some are donating their brains to the study after death. Just about everything we do has some bad side effects.

I can't speak to the money or politics behind it. But it appears the relationship between brain injury and brain disease later in life is profound.

The problem is all the studies only look at former players that donate their brains. They don't look at all players. Guess which ones donate their brains. There has also never been a published study that compared the rate in football players with any other persons. There is no control group, this not a valid scientific study.

They say alcohol kills brain cells; but only the weak ones.

Had 5 play pro football from Lanett. One recently died from alzheimers. One died about 15 years ago from another problem but had the beginning of alzheimers. Another has the beginnings of alzheimers. Two are fine.

Interesting read here. https://whyfiles.org/2014/does-concussion-accelerate-alzheimers/index.html