Football in the Olympics?

     Earlier in the day, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the sport is fighting to become a part of the Olympic games. Football...in the Olympic games? There are some things football fans just can't picture, and football in the middle of the summer is one of them. First of all, the injury risk would turn away many of our league's stars, because no player making millions of dollars for their play wants to be hurt right before the start of the season. A report released in 2010 states an average close to 3.5 players per team per week suffers an injury. So would these games look identical to the Pro-Bowl; highly regarded players who are not willing to play their hardest due to the injury risk? And what about international competition? There are close to 65 other countries with a style of play somewhat identical to the NFL, a list that includes regions like Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. However, the skill level would not even be close to resembling the players found in the National Football League. With so much history and purpose behind this American-bred sport, opposing competitors wouldn't stand a chance. A compromise that could be made would be to play college stars on the American team to make it slightly more competitive. Even if university's were not willing to play their stars, the Olympic team administrators could start the nation's top high school prospects. Many (including myself) do not believe sports such as basketball should be a part of he Olympic games, especially when we see Kobe Bryant and LeBron James running circles around bottom-tier squads. The bottom line is that football's biggest stars should watch the Olympic games from home in 2016, so come September, we are hungrier than ever to watch the game we love.