04/19/24
August 14, 2010
NFL: One 300-Pounder in 1970, 394 Today: An analysis of National Football League rosters shows the number of 300-pounders has risen dramatically from a single player in 1970, to three in 1980, 94 in 1990, 301 in 2000 and 394 in 2009. "How big is big enough and when do we stop getting bigger and think more about getting stronger and healthier and better?" asked Cincinnati Bengals nutritionist Michele Macedonio.
The thing that disturbs me is when I hear the excuse that these men are "healthy and strong". I see fat men who can no way be healthy. I don't see what they do in practice, but I doubt they would be able to keep up with a high school two a day program. I've heard they report late, sit in meetings all day,(sometimes sleeping) and work only when they have to. I see them as just people to plug holes in the line by brute force. The future will tell us more, when these guys start dropping dead at 50.
posted by scuubie at 10:44 AM on August 15, 2010
These guys already drop dead at 50. And they don't have to be 300 pounds to do it, either.
Hard to argue with its effectiveness though. From a pure physical requirement perspective, big dudes are best. Sure, it'll probably kill them, but...uh... Football!
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:46 PM on August 15, 2010
I see fat men who can no way be healthy.
A 300-pound NFL player could not perform the job he does over four quarters for an entire season if he wasn't physically capable. I think your presumption that they couldn't handle two-a-days would be easily disproven by observing their training regimen. An unhealthy NFL lineman would be beaten so badly at the line that he'd be drummed out of the league in short order. These are the best of the best.
posted by rcade at 01:11 PM on August 15, 2010
It doesn't mean their frame is built to handle the load. No one's knees are designed to carry that much weight. You're asking a lot of what you have, especially when you consider we're still working with bodies that evolved to work on 40 year lifespans.
posted by yerfatma at 04:55 PM on August 15, 2010
A 300-pound NFL player could not perform the job he does over four quarters for an entire season if he wasn't physically capable.
Well, clearly they're physically capable of something -- that's not in dispute. What's at issue is the downsides of this physique that performs one task very well.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:18 AM on August 16, 2010
What's at issue is the downsides of this physique that performs one task very well.
Scuubie suggested these guys are so unhealthy they can't handle high school two-a-days. I'm not disputing the notion that playing the NFL at that weight is unhealthy, particularly in the long-term. The NFL shortens lives. But to claim they can't handle two-a-days?
One thing I learned when I followed sumo wrestling avidly was that some athletes can bulk up for their sport and go back down in retirement. Sumo wrestlers get big with a strict eating regimen heavy on chanko-nabe, a protein-rich meal. Many use the same regimented eating habits to take the weight off after their sumo days are over.
I don't think the weight these players carry is as dangerous as the physical damage they do to their bones, joints and brains by playing.
posted by rcade at 10:41 AM on August 16, 2010
How big is big enough and when do we stop getting bigger and think more about getting stronger and healthier and better?
I think this is the answer.