ProCon’s Football Quiz
- Question: English kings banned football in the 14th and 15th centuries not just because it was violent, but because the game diverted attention away from which other activity?
- Answer: They banned football because it diverted attention and energy away from the more important military discipline of archery, which was critical for national defense; golf was banned by Scottish rulers for the same reason.
- Question: Which of the following is a justification for not allowing youth to play tackle football?
- Answer: All of these are common arguments for not allowing youth to play tackle football.
- Question: Which holiday in England has been associated since medieval times with a violent form of football?
- Answer: Since medieval times and continuing today in the English town of Atherstone, a rough and chaotic form of football has been played annually during the festival of Shrove Tuesday (“Fat Tuesday,” or Mardi Gras), celebrating the last day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
- Question: The oldest outdoor game in history likely involved which of the following?
- Answer: Ball-based games are likely among the oldest outdoor games in history.
- Question: Which of the following is a justification for allowing youth to play tackle football?
- Answer: All of these are common arguments for allowing youth to play tackle football.
- Question: Which U.S. president “saved American football” by convening meetings at the White House to discuss reforms for curtailing the sport’s violence?
- Answer: During the 1905 season, in which 18 college football players died and 137 players were seriously injured by November 25, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt convened meetings at the White House to discuss the sport’s violence; the result was the 1906 formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the U.S. (which became the NCAA) to reform the game and establish athletic standards.
- Question: Which game was a precursor to American football?
- Answer: All of these were early forms of American football; pasuckuakohowog was a rough form of early football (soccer) played by Native Americans.
- Question: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease tied to several contact sports, affects which part of the body?
- Answer: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease typically associated with concussions and repetitive trauma to the head.
