There is a contrast in the sporting world hard to ignore - sports are becoming both safer and more extreme at the same time.
Sports like hockey and football are paying very close attention to injuries their players sustain, most specifically head injuries. What once just constitued getting one's "bell rung," a common event for many athletes and something that came along with being tough enough to play some sports, doctors are now stepping in and insisting on a proper recovery time.
Hockey's golden boy Sidney Crosby is obviously the most glarring example, his concussion symptons have plagued him over the past season and a half. He may never be the same, and it's why he's not seeing the ice as much anymore.
In the interest of Crosby himself it relly is a wise move.
Football has started handing out fines and major penalties for hits to the head, which was once just considered a high hit and was perfectly acceptable. Many players, such as the Steelers James Harrison, got plenty upset about it, but it is looking out for the long term health of the athletes.
On the opposite side of things comes the UFC, a sport which lives on the knock out - which is in fact a concussion, the exact same injury that other sports are combatting. If a firm, hard stance on concussions is ever handed down by the U.S. government you can be sure that the UFC will suffer a great deal from the ruling.
But even more extreme is Ultimate Tazer Ball, a full contact spin off of soccer where players can kck, throw, or carry a ball into the opponents net - while dodging tasers from their opponents.
Well in all fairness, it's a stun gun, not a taser. It is not nearly as powerful, it's nowehere near as lethal.
But it still stands firmly opposed to the notion of cleaning up some other sports we cherish as national past times and have enjoyed for generations now. Presently the league is comprised mainly of a viral video on YouTube, their first tournament takes place in March in Thailand. But if it gains widespread popularity our society may be left between a rock and a hard place.
Many people are glad that some sports are cleaning themselves up, there isn't even much of an outrage concerning the lack of fighting in hockey this season - so long as you leave the Coaches Corner set of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.
But many also follow The Ultimate Fighter on television and pack UFC events worldwide. Adding Ultimate Tazer Ball to the mix would further the hypocrisy.
The manner in which we want to watch our gladiators compete may never be resolved, there will always be an element that chooses the extreme of one over the other. But if both keep moving in such different directions it may be hard to silence any of those voices pushing for more of the extremes.
We're such a bipolar society sometimes. Oh well, I can always sooth myself with some sweet Slamball highlights.
(photo by lajz)
