‘Concussion’ is a movie I’ve been looking forward to seeing for some time now. For the pre-screening, I was joined by a good friend, Rory Ross, and was even able to chat with one of SeaSpot.com‘s newest bloggers, Stacey Jurrs. The three of us shared similar concerns about Smith’s accent but overall we really enjoyed his performance as well as the surrounding story.
Once the film got rolling, I was completely immersed in the educational dialogues and the action footage surrounding the NFL’s history. My entire life I’ve been a fan of the Oakland Raiders franchise. My father raised me to be a diehard member of the infamous #RaiderNation and I’ve always been in love with the violence and physicality of the game of football. Some of the most violent and dangerous hits in NFL history were delivered by the Raiders in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and I personally have been on the receiving end of a few knockout hits during my short high-school football career.
Thinking about my experience last night, I am entirely blown away by how much I enjoyed this film. At no point did I feel like Dr. Bennet Omalu was trying to ruin football or even attack the NFL. To me, it was obvious that he was trying to get them to be honest about their cover-up of concussions and the NFL was deliberately and aggressively attacking Dr. Omalu to paint an improper picture.
I definitely didn’t anticipate experiencing the emotions I did and I must give credit to the powerful scenes displayed throughout the movie. The science behind the sport of football brought back memories of the huge hits I’ve personally seen and experienced in my short life and this film is a reminder as to why I stopped taking the sport seriously.
Many of the most exciting ‘big-hits’ us fans have ever seen have now been proven as one of the thousands of reasons why athletes lose their minds later in life. The brain simply cannot handle the impact of these violent hits and it is important that everyone recognize the risks that come with physical sports like football.
‘Concussion’ is incredibly powerful for parents and teens everywhere and hopefully the NFL can take a top-down approach to enacting safer play for kids, teens, college students, and even professionals.
If you’re considering a movie to go watch on Christmas day, Concussion is the one that RMR recommends above the rest. You’ll get a heavy dose of football history and be able to learn a ton about concussion safety surrounding physical sports like football.
The critics have spoken: Concussion is “The best performance of Will Smith’s career.” See why he was nominated for Best…
Posted by Concussion on Monday, December 21, 2015
