A football
game has moments of pure grace: a diving reception, a field-spanning
run, a perfectly thrown spiral. But between the graceful moves comes
the sharp crack of contact. On offense, the object of the game is to
score, and to do that blockers must knock defenders out of the way.
On defense, the object is to stop opponents from scoring. NFL players
are well-protected by the latest in safety gear, and they are
well-schooled in safe tackling and blocking techniques. But no matter
how thick the pads or perfect the tackles, a collision between a big
defensive linemen and a medium sized running back or between a
hard-charging safety and a high-flying receiver is dramatic proof
that this is a contact sport. NFL players are some of the toughest
athletes in the world. They have to be, they play one of the toughest
sports.
Even back in the 1900s football was just as rough as it is today.
