It’s Friday Night. The lights are blazing down on football players colliding with one another, the smell of greasy hotdogs fills the air, and the dull roar and pure mass of the student section covers the nacho cheese stain on your tee-shirt. Friday night football is a national staple of the American way, and it has been since the 1950’s. But these days, it seems more and more people want to take this national pastime out of the agenda. But, it seems that football has more benefits than dangers.

Without football, where would our school spirit come from? Sorry, but teenagers will not get as hyped about the debate team as they would with violence spilling out under the Friday night lights. Football games allow for students to get together and make memories. Ask any senior, and they’ll tell you one of their best memories from high school was spending times with their friends at football games. Without football, cheerleaders would have no place to perform their heel stretches, and the marching band would have no place to showcase their hard work. Football games allow the community to gather and the football players, cheerleaders, and the marching band alike can showcase their dedication and perseverance for the entire school and community to see.  

The goal of most high school football players is to continue the sport in college. Whether it’s a starting position at a close college like Shippensburg, or a chance to play Division 1 football at a far away university like K-State, the chance for a scholarship depends on how hard the athlete works. Getting a full ride to college on a sports scholarship is well worth the effort, just ask any student loan free parent of a college athlete. Football scholarships allow students who beforehand couldn’t afford college a chance to make it big, in both education and athletics. Without this, many disadvantaged students, yet gifted athletes, would not have the chance to go to a good college, or any sort of college at all. Without football, many of these opportunities would not exist for players, and many students would miss out on higher education, and an experience that creates memories for life.

Finally, football players are not the big, brainless jocks that 2000’s teen movies paint them as. These athletes are well aware of the danger they put themselves in, just as much as athletes in any other sport, such as basketball or field hockey, are aware of the potential danger they are in. According to headcasecompany.com, most concussions come from football (64%), but other popular sports have high concussion percentages. For example, boy’s ice hockey skates in with a whopping 54% of athletes receiving a concussion. These athletes participating in other sports are just as aware as football players on their likelihood of receiving a concussion.  Marching band participant and freshman here at Big Spring Jay Ni said, “They’re doing it at their own risk, so I feel like if they love the sport and they don’t mind the possibility of being hurt, they should go for it.”

In conclusion, the dynamics of high school would be dramatically changed if football was removed from the athletic system. Football creates an outlet to create school spirit, as well as showcase the marching band and cheerleaders. Also, football allows talented, yet disadvantaged students a chance to go to college, which may have been something they might not have had the funds or means to do beforehand. Finally, football may be dangerous, but our boys of fall are quite aware of the danger they are in and try to keep themselves safe at all costs.

To see the Con argument, go to this link: http://www.bshspawprint.com/4422/opinion/con-if-football-is-so-dangerous-why-is-it-supported/