This news just in from the “Why didn’t they think of it sooner?” department: A Charlotte high school is putting sensors in the helmets of its starting football players so they can tell how hard their noggins get conked on the field.
“Getting your bell rung” is what the players call it, and from what I hear most just consider it part of the game. For some reason, high school football coaches are just now realizing that hard smacks to the head can lead to brain injuries. . . ?
If you want to know how fragile the brain is, ask any family member of an Iraq War veteran. Or you can ask about my dad’s accident sometime. Heck, you might as well just ask Steve Young. . . didn’t his career end because of one too many bumps on the head?
Now I’m a big fan of watching a football game on a cool fall day (preferably at Cougar Stadium with a thermos full of hot chocolate!) But I really don’t know why mommas let their boys play the sport. Brains are a scary thing to play roulette on.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this Charlotte team now that players and coaches will know exactly who’s head is getting hit, and how hard. Up til now, they’ve just watched for the tell-tale loopiness that comes with a concussion. I'm curious to see if they end up pulling more players from the field or changing the way they tackle. . .
Score one for the computer science nerds!
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