Are sports "cool" for kids these days?

[Mudcat]

I guess this question is mainly for our younger members and any dads in the crowd.

I remember when I was a kid, I almost never stopped playing sports. If it wasn't road hockey, it was football (either regular or mini football) or tennis or swimming. I played in lots of organized leagues but mostly what I think of is just a bunch of kids getting together.

Sometimes there were big groups but a lot of times it was just me and Harry versus my brother and Gerber. That's all we needed. We never stopped. We invented games (tennis hockey comes to mind). Anyone else play "pickle"? I remember we even organized an Olympics at one time with about 20 events.

Do kids still do that? If some kids were hanging out and one of them suggested playing 2 on 2 football with a couple of trees as goal lines, would that kid be considered crazy? Is everything video games these days?

Just wondering what the kids are up to.

[Willie Bee]

My godson and another nephew and their friends a few acres over sometimes have to be forced off the video games and outside to play. But once they are, they sure seem to have fun playing pickup football games or having a catch or playing capture the flag, things like that. Most of the time they're playing on our property since I keep a big section mowed and relatively free of stickerburrs, scorpions, rocks, etc.

[Seattle Slew]

We were the same way. Spring and summer was baseball in the schoolyard (sticks, with tennis balls), street hockey (with tennis ball as puck) in the winter (basketball indoors) and tackle football.

Looking back, I can't believe no one was ever injured in our tackle football games. One time, in high school, a guy broke free down the middle of the field after a pass. A speedster tried to run him down from behind, and at the last second, reached out and grabbed the hood on his sweatjacket. He tore it cleanly off, pulling the guy down and making the tackle. The receiver just got up and walked back to the huddle for the next play. That play is burned into my memory. That "tearing" sound of the hood coming off.

On our block today, sometimes I see kids playing basketball but you never see the 5-on-5 hockey games or 6-6 baseball games we used to play.

I think the biggest problem is kids can't be kids anymore. Parents walk them to and from school and don't let them play down the street in the schoolyard anymore because of the possible danger level nowadays.

We invented games (tennis hockey comes to mind). Anyone else play "pickle"? I remember we even organized an Olympics at one time with about 20 events.

Do kids still do that? If some kids were hanging out and one of them suggested playing 2 on 2 football with a couple of trees as goal lines, would that kid be considered crazy? Is everything video games these days?

Just wondering what the kids are up to.

[Illusion]

We have a ton a kids on our block and every once in awhile I will see them playing basketball. A few of them tool around on skateboards, but other than that I do not see many kids playing outside.

[Mudcat]

Looking back, I can't believe no one was ever injured in our tackle football games.

That triggered a memory for me. I remember going deep for a pass - and of course I'm looking back for the ball - and running head on into a tree. I mean there was no last second letting up - it was full speed SPLAT!

I went down in a heap and figured for sure I must be dead. But it was just like, "Nope, guess not." Got up and kept playing.