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Professional Football Has Been “The Most Popular Sport

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Professional football has been “the most popular sport in America for thirty straight years” (Nussbaum). Sundays have become a day, in which football fans spend it lounging in front of their television, cheering on their favorite team. Many people love the game of football and dedicate a lot of time towards watching it. However, other people are starting to get concerned over the injuries, such as concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), associated with the game. A writer for The Atlantic, Jeff Nussbaum, released an article called, “How to Bring Pro Football Into the 21st Century”, about the dangers of football and his belief that the National Football League should make changes to some rules, to prevent future injuries.
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“He was one of an estimated twenty college football players to die that season and one of three to die that day” (Nussbaum). This story causes his readers to feel sadness and sympathy for that player and his family and friends. Many have experienced death, either in their family or friends. Therefore, death is something that stirs up a variety of emotions in people. While this happened over one hundred years ago, and new rules have been instated since, it highlights the dangers of football. This story helps the author to effectively deliver his message because it causes fans to look past the excitement of watching the games, and causes concern in a parent’s mind by highlighting the types of injuries that players could suffer.
Nussbaum brings up appeals to emotion again, later in his article, when he addresses the types of contracts handed out by National Football League teams. “NFL contracts aren’t true contracts…Players can be cut at any time, for virtually any reason-including injury” (Nussbaum). Due to this reason, many players often push through injuries, instead of resting and being concerned about their long-term health. Many NFL players have admitted to doing this. As a parent reading this, they might see that player as their own child. If a parent knew, their child was pushing through an injury to keep a job, they mostly likely would get very upset. As a fan, it would cause anger because the team would be putting a player at risk of

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