Helmet Rule

All the way back in first semester I wrote a blog relating football in America today with gladiator fights in ancient Rome.  I said that only a significant change in morals would be able to cause change in the violence of football, relating to how it was the general acceptance of Christianity that ended up dooming gladiator fights. After some recent events I'm starting to think that this is not entirely accurate.

The NFL recently instituted a new rule, the "helmet rule", which can be read about it more detail here.  I wouldn't consider this a rule change that will be remembered as a turning point if football or one that will have a large impact on game play, but I do think it shows a larger trend.  In twenty years, I think that we're going to look back and think how crazy it was that these little rules didn't exist.  Just like right now it's generally accepted that playing professional football in leather helmets with no pads would be crazy.  The game hasn't really been affected by one specific change in thinking, there have been small rule changes throughout the years that cause it to evolve.

So my opinion now is that violence in American football will eventually end, but it wont be because of some major change in public beliefs.  It will happen slowly over a long period of time because of small rule changes like the new helmet rule.  Maybe still someday people will look back on today's NFL and see its violence like we see the violence of the Roman gladiator fights.