WINNING IS THE ONLY THING

Ever since American Rugby Football began in 1876 it’s been about winning. Coaches have always skirted the rules in order to gain an advantage. By 1890 it was common for coaches to salt their teams with gifted “graduate student-athletes.” When Walter Camp,”The Father of American Football” and Yale’s coach suggested strict eligibility rules to outlawed this, the other teams in the league formed a new conference.so they could continue the practice.

The pressure to win in college football has resulted in an endless saga of recruiting and educational abuses.The early NFL was regularly vilified for secretly using ineligible college players on Sundays before they had graduated. This reached a high point in 1925 when George Halas signed Red Grange, the greatest college player of all-time to a $100,000 contract the day after his season at Illinois was over to play for the Chicago Bears and go on a cross-country tour. This and many other blatant violations of the eligibility rules rocked the college game and led to their deep-seated hatred of the NFL that did not end until the 1950’s.

Today things are no different. Considering the stakes the pressure to win is greater. We’ve witnessed “Bountygate,” “Spygate,” and most recently “Deflategate.” These practices and otters like them are not isolated incidents, they represent the teams who got caught not the magnitude of problem. From many reliable accounts the manipulation of the ball’s pressure and condition are common-place since teams were given responsibility for supplying and safeguarding their game-day footballs.

The NFL’s kicking balls are closely regulated by the league and its officials. This protocol should be the same for game-day footballs in order to insure fairness and the integrity of the game.

Please Comment, Like and Share with your football friends. If you would like to learn more about football history and the man who designed the modern game and the aerodynamic football…

read “THE NFL’S MR. EINSTEIN” or visit hughrayfootball.com

Speak Your Mind

*