Maybe I have always been on edge but why does it seem so pronounced now. When posters start bringing up players from the past a sense of joyful memories flooded in. I know it wasn't great back then either but why do I cheer up at the mere thought of certain bygone players? And perhaps if say Jordy, Decker , the rookie WR's as a whole and Chris Hogan were really killing it along with Thielen etc. I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Maybe I am expecting too much. But the NBA and these NFL protests likely reveal the source of my anxiety along with the fact that the 'white pipeline" from high school to college is horrendously thin making any large breakthroughs for the white athlete in the near future slim to nil.
Using the NBA as a guide I have noticed something over the past several years that certain star players" seem " to be running the league. That would include guys like LeBron James and Seth Curry and there are others, all black of course. And now in the NFL you see the black players pulling their weight around with the protests. As the white fan and so often the white player, sits on the sideline, we are witnessing the beginning of a complete black take over in sports. By take over I mean they get to dictate from stem to stern the way they want the league to play out. In the past it was the owners and management and the results weren't great either but this new alternative is worse using the NBA as an example. Baseball according to all reports I have seen will have dramatically less skilled white players ( CF's, SS's) within 5 to 10 years. And there aren't that many now. It is hard to conceive that this black take over will benefit the white athlete. Instead it will hinder them see the NBA as an example once again. That the mainly "black locker rooms" will dictate who gets the ball etc. Just look at the history of the relationship between the black QB and the white WR that was uncovered on this site and how it has decimated even the great white WR's. There is hard evidence to support what is now a fact. I fear that the white athlete will be pushed even further into extinction. And as I said up above I will simply stop watching and following sports if it becomes an even more tedious example of a wide spread black take over.
Not giving up hope but my constant unease is not something "in my imagination" either.
I agree to a certain extent. I follow bits and pieces of the NBA mostly because of the few good foreign players that seem to be thriving; Porzingis, Jokic, Nurkic, Vucevic, etc. Of course wanted to follow Hayward before his injury and Love and Kaminsky. That's about it.
With the NFL, I've stopped watching almost completely except for the Panthers, but only because of McCaffrey and Kuechley. I will also watch the Patriots when they televise their games here in NC. However, I haven't given up all hope just yet, either. Seeing Burkhead, Woodhead, and McCaffrey getting playing time and succeeding give me a little hope along with Theilen, Kupp, etc.
I'm probably going to rub some here the wrong way, but I've said it before and I'll say it again. Most white people quite frankly either don't care or are too lazy to get out and participate in athletic activities and if they do, it's generally baseball, wrestling, or hockey. Many whites have given up, are seeking some other form of amusement, or if they do play, regulate themselves to positions they feel they still have a chance play. Oh, they'll go out for football and be a part of the team, but they won't go the extra mile and do what it takes to be an exceptional athlete. It takes a lot of work to become and athlete that's good enough to play college football much less play in the NFL and both kids and their parents aren't willing to the extra mile to become or help their son become an exceptional athlete. Plain out toughness is a big part also. Kids just aren't tough anymore. We live in a soft society. You better raise your kids hard because life is neither easy nor fair.
With all that said, I for one realize more than anyone here how much of an uphill battle it is for white kids to get a shot at D-1 football or the NFL, but in order for them to make more strides, they're going to have to out work and out tough the other guys or it will never happen.
I've been through and seen it all, form taking my son to combines at an early age to visiting colleges and coaches and the whole recruiting process and I know what it's like. It's not easy and with exception of two major knee surgeries, he would have more than likely made it to D-1, but it wasn't meant to be, however I've seen what it takes. I'm in my fifties and I'm not having anymore children, but you can rest assured if either of my boys have sons, I'll do everything I can to help them athletically should they want to play. They have the genes. They just need to capitalize. I hope some of you younger guys here will do the same if you're children have the desire to participate in athletics!
There's going to have to be more white participation, work and toughness and their parents have to be willing help if there's going to big time changes in the racial make up D-1 Football and the NFL, and there's never any guarantees!
.....and yes the white athlete, especially in football will become extinct if we just roll over and let it happen!