The First Rose Bowl – Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be

The Rose Bowl brings visions of a history of grand battles between football champions from two different regions. Struggles between two teams who are evenly matched both on the field and on the sidelines. The Rose Bowl is the “Grand Daddy Of Them All” when it comes to the bowl games and has always been a must-see football game for any college football fan… well, not always.

Before it was called the Rose Bowl it was called the Tournament East-West Football Game. In 1902 it pitted the University of Michigan (representing the East) against Stanford University (representing the west).

The game was never in doubt and the final score ended up being 49-0 in favor of Michigan. This was an embarrassing defeat for both Stanford and all west coast football fans. It could’ve been worse though… had Stanford not quit the game following the 3rd quarter.

Lowering the Risk of High School Football Injuries
By Jonathon Hardcastle

Football is a dangerous sport. Players endure bruising contact, long practices in hot weather and all sorts of unusual stresses and strains on their muscles, ligaments and tendons. It is not possible to prevent injuries in the game of football and for this reason many parents are hesitant to allow their children to participate. But the risk of injury can be minimized with cooperation between parents, doctors and coaches.

When your child comes to you and asks to try out for football, your answer should always be contingent on the results of a full medical checkup. Be sure that the doctor knows that it is a sports physical so that he or she can check for the appropriate things like joint flexibility and heart health. After your child is cleared medically, then you can move on to investigating the program and learning what safety measures are provided.

One of the most important facets of avoiding injury in any sport is maintaining proper conditioning through exercise and good nutrition. Ask your child’s potential coach how conditioning is handled. Year-round conditioning is ideal, but barring that, children should participate in appropriate conditioning programs for at least six weeks prior to the beginning of regular practices. Ask whether the coach is responsible for conditioning or if the program has a trainer that works with children.

Dehydration is a critical issue among football players since practices typically occur outdoors during the hottest part of the summer. Ask the coach what measures are taken to prevent dehydration. Know that fluid breaks should be taken about every 45 minutes and players should be allowed to drink all they want in order to keep properly hydrated. Also ask whether the coach, trainers or other personnel are certified in CPR.

Wearing protective equipment is a given, but you need to work with the coach to ensure that it fits properly. Whether or not the program requires it, your child should wear a mouth guard. Mouth guards are instrumental in preventing dental injuries and can protect against jaw and certain types of head injuries as well.

Ask what medical staff will be on hand during practices and games should an injury occur. To prepare for the worst-case scenario, consider giving the coach or trainer an emergency health care authorization letter. This letter will allow your child to be transported and treated at a hospital even if you are not there to give permission.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Football, Recreation, and Games

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Miami’s Lesson-Let the Super Bowl be Played Anywhere
By Jennifer Jordan

Anyone who lives in a “cold climate,” has probably wondered why the Super Bowl is never played in their city. They may have a large stadium, good transportation, great sports bars, nice hotels, and zealous fans: they may be the epitome of a sports town. No, no, the authorities say in reply to their plea, We don’t want to play anywhere there could be bad weather, unless you have a covered field. Doh!, or rather, Dome!

In keeping with the tradition of don’t play the Super Bowl in the elements that football was made for, Miami provided the NFL with a bit of irony last Sunday. It was the first rainy Super Bowl in the history of the game, played in a city known for sun. Miami was cold, dreary, and the rain came down so hard that, while bears and colts lined up eleven by eleven, other species lined up two by two. In comparison, Denver, a “cold climate” area, was nearly 50 degrees with zero precipitation; no one rained on their parade, no Denver animals anxiously waited for an Ark to arrive.

Come rain or shine, Miami is a great place to have a Super Bowl; quite frankly, it’s an ideal, exciting city with an environment conducive to the hype of a world championship. But, it’s hardly the only city with this criteria.

Limiting the Super Bowl to a handful of cities when fans from all over America dedicate half of their yearly Sundays to cheering, grunting, and rooting for the team they love isn‘t fair. It, in a word, is “Place-ism.” No city in the NFL should be kept from hosting the league’s greatest game. After all, it’s a championship game that belongs to all of us: we are the National Football League.

Some may disagree. Someone might point out that a place such as Denver will never see a Super Bowl because a blizzard could shut down the city. This argument is particularly poignant in light of recent storms; Old Man Winter has been shaking Colorado up like a snow globe whenever he gets bored. Yet, this argument can apply to any element of weather. Sure Denver has snow, but past Super Bowl destinations have weather elements even more capable of wrecking havoc: California has earthquakes, Texas has tornadoes, Florida has hurricanes (sure, not very likely in February, but with Global Warming, anything can happen). Detroit and Minneapolis, two cities that have played Super Bowl host, are even more prone to blizzards than Denver. They might have a dome, but only on the stadium; the arena roof does not protect the city from the factors of climate.

No matter where the Super Bowl is held, there is a risk that Mother Nature will swoop in and call timeout. If recent tragedies have taught us anything, it is that nature has a mind of her own; she simply can’t be controlled. Refusing to allow any NFL city to host the Super Bowl, however, can be.

It’s time to quit limiting the game to certain venues. It’s time to stop prohibiting certain cities from the economic prosperity the Super Bowl brings. It’s time to allow the game to be played in any stadium with an NFL team. It’s time for football fans to stand up and give Mother Nature their version of the giant foam finger.

Honestly, isn’t part of football bad weather? Isn’t part of the game slipping and sliding and catching a touchdown in a puddle of mud? Isn’t part of football tailgating with bowls full of chili and thermoses filled with hot chocolate? Isn’t part of football putting on a 1970’s Cleveland Brown’s hat so that your ears don’t freeze? Isn’t part of football being strong enough to stand the elements, whatever they may be? After all, we are tough, we are football fans…it’s not like we are talking about baseball here.

When it comes down to it, this year’s Super Bowl in Miami can be a turning point in professional football: it taught us that two teams can play a championship game in bad weather and the better team will still win. Sure, there were parts of the game where weather may have played a role - the best clutch kicker in NFL history missing a chip shot, receivers falling on wet grass, and both teams have more first half turnovers than a neighborhood bakery, but all that mattered was the outcome: the outcome was not dictated by the climate.

The conditions in Miami, theoretically, should have worked in Chicago’s favor. Chicago plays half its games in wind, rain, sleet, and snow; Indianapolis practically plays on carpet. But, it turns out that Mother Nature’s stint as a Super Bowl 12th man has always been overblown; her number is up and the idea of playing this game only in nice weather venues should be as well. Place-ism ends here.

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for http://www.milleniumlimo.com. An avid sports fan, she likes the Miami Dolphins but her heart belongs to the Denver Broncos.

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Worse Than The Bills Three Winless Super Bowls?

Long before the Buffalo Bills lost three consecutive Super Bowls, the New York Giants had a string of coming short in the big game themselves.

From 1958 to 1963, a total of six years, the New York Giants appeared in the Championship Game five times. Of those five shots at winning the NFL title, the Giants lost each one.

We all know that losing the Super Bowl or NFL Championship Game isn’t entirely all bad, after all second place in the NFL isn’t bad. But, for as much as the Bills get piled on for their three losses, these five losses by the Giants might be worse.