Football meaning soccer or american gridiron? I played the latter and the injuries I took affect me to this day. Back in the day, nobody mentioned the 100% injury rate - i.e. anyone who plays football will eventually get hurt bad enough they can't play. Thus, as I type this from bed, because one of my slipped discs has acted up, I have the opposite opinion - playing football was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made.

Almost every sport has a 100% injury rate where you eventually get hurt bad enough you can't play anymore. The trick is choosing a sport where the most common injuries prevent you from playing the sport but don't prevent you from walking. A good percentage of swimmers eventually develop shoulder injuries, but (AFAIK) that doesn't prevent you from doing anything except swimming.

maybe the 100% rate is true, but not 100% career-ending injuries.

Most people quit playing a given sport seriously because they have to choose between that and making money.

I swam for 4 years in college and I only know 1 person who had a career ending shoulder injury, and that one because it was misdiagnosed for a year.

OTOH everyone I know who played football at any level has at least a minor nagging injury.

I have played hockey for many years and know quite a few people who have done the same. I can't think of anyone with a long term injury.

I suppose it is reflected in 'old timer beer leagues'. There are a few 50 year old guys on my team right now, and they can play fine they are just slower. Sames holds for baseball.

Even though football isn't that popular here - most of the guys I know that did play with hopes of making it big in the US college system ended up injured.

Yes, football from what I've seen, is far worse than any other common sport. Even rugby is much safer.

That isn't true. It is rare that you would break a leg playing basketball or any bone at all playing baseball. It happens all the time in gridiron football. I wish I could find the chart where I got this information. The strange thing was, if I remember correctly, that the 2nd worst sport was women's soccer, because so many people tore their ACL.

"It is rare that you would break a leg playing basketball or any bone at all playing baseball."

I read somewhere that a lot of baseball players will just call a cab if they have to walk more than a block or two because their ankles are so shot. Not sure if this is true or not though.

That sounds kind of silly. OK, life has a high risk of death, but if sports really are that unhealthy, why pursue them?

Glad to see that even the smart folks at HN are subject to the temptation of mindless diversions.