Football has got a bad rap lately. Enough is enough. It’s about time people start countering all this negativity and reminding people all the good things playing football did for them.
Here is something I just wrote on my Facebook page in response to the article below. It states what I truly believe about how playing football during my teenage years changed my life.
The article is right.
Playing football as a teenager did indeed change my brain. Playing football gave me pride in my hometown. I wanted to do well for my little town. I wanted to make Splendora, TX proud. I never really had that before I played football.
Playing football made me appreciate my coaches and teammates.
Playing football forced me to study harder and that in turn made me a better student and eventually a PhD.
Playing football made me realize the value of sportsmanship.
Playing football made me learn to respect other people, no matter who they were, where they were from, no matter what their background was, and no matter their economic or social status.
Playing football showed me that all people are equal. Playing football showed me that all opinions matter no matter if you vehemently disagree with them or not. Playing football showed me that when life get rough and dirty, you have to dig in and perform at your best no matter how tired you are. Playing football showed me that life is full of ups and downs, failures and successes. Playing football proved to me that because you fail on one play, that means that you can just as easily succeed on the very next play.
Playing football showed me that even though parts of our bodies may be broken, we all bleed the same color blood and heal the same way. Playing football showed me that even though our faces are covered with a helmet and sometimes covered in mud and gunk, we are all the same.
Yea, playing football as a teenager did indeed change me. I say playing football made me a better overall person.
Playing high school football changes the teenage brain | Berkeley News
— Read on news.berkeley.edu/2018/11/15/playing-high-school-football-changes-the-teenage-brain/
Joe Thompson, PhD. 