Football helmets are a big part of the sport. They look cool. They pop off now and then. They inflict a ton of concussions. Without helmets, football would not be what it is. Much of football’s historic rise, in fact, can be tied to the helmet. Without helmets, football would have either become too lame to survive (people would lose interest) or too cool to survive (people would die).
Innovation in helmets, then, should be expected, and it is absolutely nothing new. For years, helmet manufacturers have fought to make helmets that look the coolest, or helmets that can inflict the most severe concussions, or helmets that can help prevent more concussions without looking devastatingly uncool. What changed this week? This time, it’s not about the helmets themselves. This time, it’s about how players are using them. Take a look at Appalachian State’s practice yesterday:
It appears that’s Shawn Collins, a fifth-year junior out of New Jersey, striking Garner Langlo, a fourth-year junior out of Alabama. Some have reported that App State wears guardian caps on the helmets at practices, those pads on top of the helmets that are supposed to help prevent concussions but aren’t used in games because they don’t look cool. Clearly, Appalachian State was ready for one of its players to rip his teammate’s helmet off and hit that teammate in the face with it. Why else would they be wearing the guardian caps?
Did DK Metcalf see that video? Possibly. I don’t know how online DK Metcalf is these days. Either way, he provided a stirring encore today at Seahawks practice, providentially right in the background of a live NFL Network hit from Renton:
What you’re seeing there is reportedly Metcalf ripping Tre Brown’s helmet off, trying to throw it at Brown, and instead hitting K’Von Wallace in Wallace’s helmet. Per reports, Brown has been starting a lot of fights. Reports have thus far failed to address whether Metcalf is finishing them.
A lot of advancements in sports make you say, “Wow. Why didn’t anyone think of that sooner?” Steph Curry proving it’s helpful to shoot a ton of threes. Billy Beane identifying that batters who walk still reach base. China’s swimming program realizing that the WADA will definitely let them dope. This is one of those advancements. We’ve long known that facemasks are a good handle. The facemask is such a good handle that players often even grab it on accident. Facemasks are like Velcro to the human hand. Nevertheless, it has taken us seventy years since the facemask’s introduction to realize that facemasks turn helmets into clubs. We’ve seen it done here and there. There have been smatterings of visionaries. Not until this week, though, has it become mainstream.
Shawn Collins, congratulations. You probably had to run a lot of stadium stairs yesterday, but hopefully you go to bed tonight knowing that you are the Steph Curry of extracurricular football violence. You’re pushing the sport into the future. You’re finally adding a little toughness to the game so soft it’s only played once a week.
Etc.
- Austin Riley was asked about playing at Bristol Motor Speedway next year, and he sounded excited. The best thing he said, though, was, “You know what’s crazy? I’ve never been to a NASCAR race. Never been to Talladega, as close as I am.” I like that. I like that Austin Riley believes he should have been to Talladega by now. That is the proper attitude to bring to regional cultural staples. A sense of duty. In that spirit: Really fucked up of me to not attend a rodeo yet. Really, really fucked up. I’ve lived in Texas for almost six years. I’ve attended zero rodeos. I’m going to go to the police station after this is published and request a flogging.
- I love Steve Kerr’s suggestion that Nikola Jokić has been sandbagging it against the U.S. and is going to unlock another gear in tomorrow’s Olympic semifinal. Firstly, because he might be right, and secondly, because the proper attitude every American basketball player should have towards Jokić is fearful respect. That’s where they need to start. They can then get up for playing him and make themselves confident and all that, but the process must begin with the same attitude one takes with them when walking into the polar bear enclosure at the zoo.
- I don’t want to say this, because I adore Dan Campbell as much as the next guy, but I’m getting worried the Lions are jumping the shark. Experts confirm it does take two to tango, so it’s not like all the fights with the Giants were entirely the Lions’ choice. But we’re at that point in the “guy becomes really cool” curve where the shtick becomes overplayed. This is around the time fads flame out. This is when zigging stops working. Hopefully, for America’s sake, this isn’t what happens with the Lions. But expectations seem inflated there, and like the actress playing Glinda in a Wicked production gone wrong, I’m worried this bubble’s about to burst.
