Are You Not Entertained?

"Are you not entertained?"
"Is this not why you are here?"

I'm not trying to make any humor here, but that's what went through my mind when I read the news that Junior Seau had killed himself today. He didn't die on the field, so it isn't as if we are watching athletes fight to the death for our amusement, but we do enjoy watching our violent sports. His death looks eerily similar to Chicago's Dave Duerson's death. Both men choose to take their own lives, but I think any rational person begins to worry about the serious links to head trauma. Many athletes will still choose to play violent sports because we love to play them, and know most likely they won't have the same issues down the road. But can you blame a parent who chooses to keep their child out of football or hockey because they worry what repeated brain injury might do? I remember watching a safety video in football and not leading with your head to avoid snapping your own neck. I honestly wouldn't have question someone quitting football then and asking if it was worth it. It is the player's choice when they go on the field, and they know injuries can happen.

They accept that. We as fans accept that.

Did playing football lead to this?  Do we know yet if Seau is like others who the repeated hits caused this to spiral into depression? No. I have to imagine losing a lot of your support network and walking away from something that you have done your whole life hard. But you begin to wonder how all these repeated impacts are affecting players. Maybe we are jumping the gun on what brought Seau to that point, but we do know other athletes have went down a similar road and part of the problem was the repeated brain trauma. Will I still watch these violent sports? Of course. But with stories like this coming up again and again in our more violent sports, you begin to wonder more and more if they players we love have a similar path in store. I know some will cry that we are getting soft, and that two hand touch is next. But I cringe more often now when I see a big hit. I may let out a wow, but when the guy can't get back up, you start to wonder what that hit means for him long term. You wonder about all the concussions that Austin Collie has racked up. Do we take this violence away from the sports? I don't know, but maybe we should realize just what violent the speed of the game and the size of the bodies has created.  The players choose to put their bodies on the line for our entertainment, and we watched as they limp, crawl, and are carried off the field.

Are you not entertained?