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Conley
01-19-2012, 05:42 PM
What do you guys think about the rise of these extreme sports (freestyle skiing, BMX, skating, etc.).

They've gotten really popular especially with kids and the pro athletes are constantly dying - I think 12 last year - not to mention all the spinal injuries and TBIs.

Today another one died - http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/story/_/id/7466421/sarah-burke-dies-due-injuries-sustained-utah?eleven=twelve

Should we let these sports go for the sake of freedom (and $$$) or does someone need to step in and put the brakes on this stuff?

Mister D
01-19-2012, 05:48 PM
People get killed in regular sports too, I suppose.

Conley
01-19-2012, 05:52 PM
Not at this rate. Someone else's brain was turned to mush on the same course also.

I don't watch NASCAR very much but I wonder if part of the appeal is hoping for a crash, or if at the very least the dangers they face make it more exciting for some. Would it be as popular without the element of danger?

Mister D
01-19-2012, 05:58 PM
Not at this rate. Someone else's brain was turned to mush on the same course also.

I don't watch NASCAR very much but I wonder if part of the appeal is hoping for a crash, or if at the very least the dangers they face make it more exciting for some. Would it be as popular without the element of danger?

Sheesh, ya think. I would hope not. That's crazy but I can believe it. Just look at people on the highway when there is an accident.

Conley
01-19-2012, 06:11 PM
Yeah, good point about the rubbernecking.

The closest I can compare these extreme sports to is when I watch football, I love to see big hits but the idea of concussions or torn knee ligaments doesn't make it more exciting. If anything when that stuff happens it makes me feel like I shouldn't be supporting it.

Mister D
01-19-2012, 06:13 PM
Yeah, good point about the rubbernecking.

The closest I can compare these extreme sports to is when I watch football, I love to see big hits but the idea of concussions or torn knee ligaments doesn't make it more exciting. If anything when that stuff happens it makes me feel like I shouldn't be supporting it.

I remember my father saying that to me when I was a little kid. You never hope anyone gets injured. That stuck with me and I always thought that kind of behavior was repulsive. I think that's a part of football fan culture. My sentiment, that is.

Conley
01-19-2012, 06:18 PM
True. Also, if you've ever played - and it doesn't have to be at a high level - and gotten injured, you know how much it sucks.

Mister D
01-19-2012, 07:27 PM
True. Also, if you've ever played - and it doesn't have to be at a high level - and gotten injured, you know how much it sucks.

Can't say I was ever injured playing sports. I think the last time I played football with a bunch of guys toward the end of my sophomore year in high school.

Conley
01-19-2012, 07:29 PM
Yeah. Well everyone's at least twisted an ankle or been knocked down, kicked in the junk, etc. :grin:

Mister D
01-19-2012, 07:31 PM
Yeah. Well everyone's at least twisted an ankle or been knocked down, kicked in the junk, etc. :grin:

Been knocked down plenty of time and probably kicked in the nads but I've never twisted an ankle. Twisted my wrist one time and that hurt like a bitch. :angry:

Conley
01-19-2012, 07:33 PM
Been knocked down plenty of time and probably kicked in the nads but I've never twisted an ankle. Twisted my wrist one time and that hurt like a bitch. :angry:

Not even by your sister's crazy dog? My dog has tagged me plenty of times. Not kicked but just stepped on through inadvertent spasticity.

edit: NM, read that wrong. Wow, you do all that running and no ankle twist. Good for you.

Mister D
01-19-2012, 07:38 PM
Not even by your sister's crazy dog? My dog has tagged me plenty of times. Not kicked but just stepped on through inadvertent spasticity.

edit: NM, read that wrong. Wow, you do all that running and no ankle twist. Good for you.

Thank God.

Mr. Burns
01-27-2012, 11:04 PM
Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse. Speaking as an ice hockey player, I can say that ruining my joints and getting multiple concussions is more than worth the enjoyment I get out of the sport.

Elibe
01-27-2012, 11:14 PM
yeah but getting knocked around is different from dying

not too many rec hockey players are getting permanent injuries

anyways i hope you at least wear a helmet

Conley
01-27-2012, 11:32 PM
Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse. Speaking as an ice hockey player, I can say that ruining my joints and getting multiple concussions is more than worth the enjoyment I get out of the sport.

Skating seems better for your joints than running. Over course, once you get checked that all changes. :laugh:

Mr. Burns
01-27-2012, 11:42 PM
yeah but getting knocked around is different from dying

not too many rec hockey players are getting permanent injuries

anyways i hope you at least wear a helmet

Actually, a lot of kids die from collapsed or lacerated jugulars. It happens with startling frequency. Also, I play college hockey, so it's a bit more serious than beer league :grin:

Elibe
01-27-2012, 11:50 PM
oh really neat

sorry i shouldn't have assumed you were just goofing off

Mr. Burns
01-27-2012, 11:53 PM
Haha, no worries. Plenty of time for goofing off later in life

Conley
01-27-2012, 11:55 PM
Actually, a lot of kids die from collapsed or lacerated jugulars. It happens with startling frequency. Also, I play college hockey, so it's a bit more serious than beer league :grin:


Ugh. I remember seeing a video of a goalie who got slashed with a skate and he started gushing. It made me feel ill. I'm fairly certain the guy survived with no damage but they must have gotten him medical attention immediately.

That's impressive that you play at the college level.

Conley
01-27-2012, 11:57 PM
Haha, no worries. Plenty of time for goofing off later in life

Yeah and don't knock the beer leagues. :laugh:

Mr. Burns
01-27-2012, 11:58 PM
Ugh. I remember seeing a video of a goalie who got slashed with a skate and he started gushing. It made me feel ill. I'm fairly certain the guy survived with no damage but they must have gotten him medical attention immediately.

That's impressive that you play at the college level.

Well i've been playing for about 15 years or so, and I definitely love it. It's only D-II ACHA, but I won't say for who :p

Conley
01-28-2012, 12:00 AM
Well i've been playing for about 15 years or so, and I definitely love it. It's only D-II ACHA, but I won't say for who :p

Haha I still say it's impressive, although the fact that you've been playing for your college for fifteen years makes me question it a little bit. :grin:

Mr. Burns
01-28-2012, 12:02 AM
Hahaha, not college hockey, just hockey in general. I'm 20. Pretty sure the math checks out on that

Conley
01-28-2012, 12:04 AM
Hahaha, not college hockey, just hockey in general. I'm 20. Pretty sure the math checks out on that

:grin: Got it...that makes a lot more sense.

Mr. Burns
01-28-2012, 12:10 AM
But I suppose while the risk isn't as high, the idea that it's worth physical risk to do things you love makes it attractive. Like eating Burger King or smoking or extreme sports. People aren't ignorant of the risks, they just choose the activity instead of abstaining. A bubble wrapped life would suck anyway.

Conley
01-28-2012, 12:16 AM
Well, it's true you need to find a balance. If you know the risks and are cool with it, more power to you. I think some kids just think oh, it'll never happen to me...until it does. Same thing with kids drinking and driving. People know the risks but they just think the odds won't catch up to them. In most cases they don't. As far as these extreme sports go I don't know that there's really a solution I would support. It's not the government's role, it should be the governing body of the sport. Same thing in the NFL, helmets exist that would eliminate most concussions (hockey too probably for that matter). The problem is that they look ridiculous and players probably wouldn't want to wear them, plus I guess it might hurt short term with marketing as well. Are those good reasons not to use them?

http://thebiglead.fantasysportsven.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Mark-Kelsos-head-was-used-for-helmet-storage.jpg

Mr. Burns
01-28-2012, 12:24 AM
That's true, but no one skis down a mountain at 10,000mph and assumes no risk. For the same reason you can't sue McDonald's for making you fat. Sure, young people have poor risk assessment, but there is nothing anyone can ever do to fix that.

Conley
01-28-2012, 12:26 AM
That's true, but no one skis down a mountain at 10,000mph and assumes no risk. For the same reason you can't sue McDonald's for making you fat. Sure, young people have poor risk assessment, but there is nothing anyone can ever do to fix that.

You know off the subject but they were trying to sue McDonald's for making you fat. I think (hope) it got thrown out. People were hoping to cash in the same way that the lawsuits against the cigarette companies worked.

Mr. Burns
01-28-2012, 12:34 AM
No, it was definitely thrown out. People do know better

Conley
01-28-2012, 12:39 AM
Looks like quite a history...

Initially it was dismissed in 2003

...

A federal appeals court in 2005 reversed a judge’s decision dismissing the case, which sought billions of dollars in damages. The appeals court ruled that the teens and their attorneys should be allowed to collect evidence to support their claims that McDonald’s misled consumers about cumulative effect of daily consumption.

...

Then in 2010

McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, convinced a U.S. judge that consumers’ claims that its food contributed to childhood obesity were too distinct to be gathered in a single group lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs’ claims will necessitate extensive individualized inquiries,” Judge Donald Pogue in Manhattan said today in a 43-page decision in a lawsuit filed in 2002 by teenagers Ashley Pelman and Jazlen Bradley.

They accused McDonald’s of deceptively marketing its Chicken McNuggets, fish sandwiches, hamburgers and French fries from 1985 to 2002, harming their health and violating New York law.
Pogue, a U.S. Court of International Trade judge sitting by special designation in district court, said the consumers hadn’t shown that other people of a similar age suffered the same medical injuries after being exposed to the same marketing and eating the same food.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-27/mcdonald-s-obesity-case-judge-rejects-bid-for-group-suit-status.html

Childhood obesity...if they're looking for someone to blame and sue they should start with their parents that fed them this crap. :evil: :grin:

Mr. Burns
01-28-2012, 12:43 AM
Yeah, it is a bit like blowing your own foot of with a magnum, and suing Smith and Wesson because you were irresponsible. The court system panders to much to that shit because, let's face it, there is a lot of money to be had.

Mister D
01-28-2012, 10:29 AM
When this society not only condones but effectively rewards irresponsibility (e.g. living on fatty hamburgers and french fries) it's time to move.

Mr. Burns
01-30-2012, 03:44 PM
I would say the difference with extreme sports is that you don't sue anyone for your injury. It tends to be noted that any risk you take is on you.