What's Football Without the Hit?

The NFL wants to cut down on violent hits...

Why?

What is football without the hits? I'm still pissed at the whole roughing the passer thing. The quarterback is the most valuable and hardest to replace player. I get that. I still don't care. Football is about hitting. Besides hockey and boxing, it's the only sport where players understand the art of the hit.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to die out there but I do want them to earn their paychecks. The worst player on any team gets a minimum of $250,000. The average fan earns about a tenth of that. So Joe Sucky makes ten times what you make to do the exact same thing you're doing: watch the game. The difference? He gets paid to do it, you don't. He gets to sit on the bench which trumps any seat that you could ever buy. He gets a real authentic jersey unlike the "authentic" jersey you bought at Foot Locker or the knockoff from Walmart. He has top-notch doctors and trainers keeping him healthy and in shape on the off chance that he's called into the game. You're getting fat eating junk food and drinking beer. He travels with the team and stays in fancy hotels. You spend away games watching from bars and your couch.

So what's my point?

Professional athletes get paid an insane amount of money to do something that most of us do on the weekends for free. We pay them because they can supposedly do it in an entertaining fashion. Every time we buy a ticket to a game, a NFL cable package, jersey, t-shirt, lunchbox, or video game we add money to their pot. Maybe that's more of a problem with us and less a problem with them. Fine, we'll talk about that another time.

I can go watch my friends play flag football if I don't want to see anyone get hurt. (By the way, they pay fees to play organized flag football--unlike the NFL where it's the other way around) I talked about Joe Sucky who gets $250k, but we all know that the big name guys get paid tens of millions of dollars...to throw and catch a ball!

The least you can do is get hurt! Unlike real jobs, you still get paid your full salary if you do make the injured list. You don't even have to worry about FMLA, disability insurance and reduced checks like your fans. Getting hurt is part of the sport. Suck it up. What are you afraid of, ending your career? Didn't you go to college (on a full scholarship, no less)? I'm sure you learned something with those private tutors and rigorous academic requirements. Fall back on your education while the rest of us try to pay off those school loans. If you fear injuries, then don't play. But if you do play, you can rest easy that there is a hefty paycheck in it for you.