Someone said it to me, I can't remember where, but I agree with it... keep in mind there is a strong percentage of schools that don't want non-traditional seasons at all. Considering that say 20-25% are already voting against any non-traditional season to begin with, football already has a very large hill to climb.
No... the vote wasn't close at all. That vote basically said one thing: stop bring this up in it's current form. Let's be honest, the different in last year's bill and this year's was minute. If they want four more total practices (12 to 16) along with pads, helmets, etc. they have to come up with a better plan. Concerns are serious when it comes to not only player safety (more hitting), manpower (athletic trainers and others), facilities (making sure fields and equipment are set), along with other items. Schools who are voting against this, including some vocal football programs, are not doing this to be difficult... they have problems with the plan.
It is also telling that a former New England Patriot player who played in the Super Bowl and is now an AD at a Massachusetts school (sorry, forgetting name and location right this moment), speaks up AGAINST the plan especially saying that if coaches can't teach proper technique and evaluate players without pads that they basically should learn to be better coaches... the fight is very much uphill. The NFL is doing away more and more with padded practices and while the game may not be as high-quality as it used to me... it has less to do with pads and more about trying to make a highlight hit or catch.
Football can keep trying, but the membership is telling them either stop or find a better idea than what you have come up with the last few years. Plain and simple.
