Love this. My hope is that flag football becomes the standard for American high school football next. This would be so much safer for the next generation of athletes.
I could see something similar happen with rugby in the UK for the same reasons. There's a void to fill and the NFL has the pizzazz to attract youngsters. Rugby is too class-driven (still) in the UK,
Makes sense. Do you see any progress toward rugby reaching more of the population? Also, I didn’t cover in the piece but NFL Flag has made a big push in the UK as well.
Rugby is regressing for the same reasons football is in the US, plus the 'posh-boy' reputation. Yes, I know about it here: hence 'pizzazz'. It's on the radar for a lot of schools.
The NFL pouring tons of money into flag football feels a bit like gateway drug funding but I’d argue FF is more ozempic than vaping in terms of reduced health risk/reward. And I do love the game of flag football. Some of my best parent- friendly memories from college were playing competitive and co-rec flag football. It’s fascinating to watch what the NFL does to tweak the game each season to try and make it safer. Very fine line to walk. Great article, as usual. Thank you Melissa!
Love this. My hope is that flag football becomes the standard for American high school football next. This would be so much safer for the next generation of athletes.
I suspect you’ll be getting your wish!
I could see something similar happen with rugby in the UK for the same reasons. There's a void to fill and the NFL has the pizzazz to attract youngsters. Rugby is too class-driven (still) in the UK,
Makes sense. Do you see any progress toward rugby reaching more of the population? Also, I didn’t cover in the piece but NFL Flag has made a big push in the UK as well.
Rugby is regressing for the same reasons football is in the US, plus the 'posh-boy' reputation. Yes, I know about it here: hence 'pizzazz'. It's on the radar for a lot of schools.
The NFL pouring tons of money into flag football feels a bit like gateway drug funding but I’d argue FF is more ozempic than vaping in terms of reduced health risk/reward. And I do love the game of flag football. Some of my best parent- friendly memories from college were playing competitive and co-rec flag football. It’s fascinating to watch what the NFL does to tweak the game each season to try and make it safer. Very fine line to walk. Great article, as usual. Thank you Melissa!