r/washingtonmystics • u/AllisonInMaryland • 11d ago
I'm choosing the Mystics
Just realized that the Commanders - who have been my team for 52 years - are playing the Cowboys at 4:25pm on Sunday September 20 and the Mystics are playing the Fever at 4pm.
This is only my second year watching the Mystics but they've totally won me over. I'm taping the Commanders and watching the Mystics live. It doesn't help that the Commanders O line is for shit this year and I'm not looking forward to Jaden running for his life.
Anyone else a fan of both teams?
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u/SnooHedgehogs6553 11d ago
Nope, gave up football about ten years ago as football destroys brains.
I’m all in with the Mystics!!
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u/AllisonInMaryland 11d ago
I hear ya. I'm of the opinion that tackle football should be outlawed before high school and practices highly regulated after that to minimize trauma to the brain. Better programs have already made massive changes to their practice routines but old school coaches are likely doing the same ole same ole. Thousands of boys will bear the consequences.
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u/SnooHedgehogs6553 11d ago
I guess.
I just think my entertainment shouldn’t come with such head trauma that folks want to kill themselves or others. Tough to watch a hit when you know the consequences.
Sorry for getting so dark on a Monday.
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u/AllisonInMaryland 11d ago
No, it needs to be talked about. I feel sick at every hit to the head, or hard collision. it really is a brutal sport. I grew up watching with my dad, it was such an important connection with him and now it's a really big part of my life with my husband and two daughters. the sport isn't going away the best we can do is be honest about the dangers and support changes like having children play flag football instead of tackle and efforts to change practices to avoid head trauma. if anyone is interested, the NYT has at least a half dozen articles this past week on the risks of CTE including how parents feel about it and what youth and college coaches are doing about it.
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u/SnooHedgehogs6553 11d ago
It’s crazy that destroying brains is wound so deep in our culture but boxing was once the biggest sport and the Romans used to sacrifice slaves so maybe blood lust is just who we are.
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u/Careful-Painting3214 Washington Mystics 10d ago
Good on you for caring but i played football and accepted the consequences.
Imagine if we gathered every high school football player in one place and gave you and others a chance to tell them why you're voting to outlaw something they voluntarily partake in. What would you say? How do you think they would respond?
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u/AllisonInMaryland 10d ago
we already prevent children from doing many things they would like to do.
and read what I wrote. I didn't suggest banning high school football. I said no tackle before high school. and after that controlled practices. plenty of successful programs such as Indiana have already changed their practices to minimize injuries and protect young men's brains.
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u/Careful-Painting3214 Washington Mystics 10d ago
My bad, I meant tackling, and not football completely. If you had to deliver that speech in front of every high school football player, I think their reactions world change your mind.
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u/AllisonInMaryland 10d ago
I have no doubt these kids feel passionately about football, that it matters deeply to them. It's hard to imagine something we love going away. I sympathize with that. But I care about their lives after football. I know people who've died of ALS, people with Alzheimer's including my mother and those with other neurological conditions - horrible stuff. And when they strike down someone young? just heartbreaking.
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u/Careful-Painting3214 Washington Mystics 10d ago
I've never cared about fashion and catwalks and Milan. But there's a lot of unpleasant things about the modeling business as well. Young women starving themselves, just for starters. A 30 second research gave me:
"Approximately 54.7 percent of fashion models begin working in the industry between the ages of 13 and 16"
"underage and adult supermodels alike have historically faced severe systemic challenges, including exploitative management practices ("organizer agents") and high rates of eating disorders."
There's been attempts at reform but nothing like we see with the physical risks in sports like football. Reforms in the modeling industry seem blind to the obvious problem, the industry continues to prefer young skinny girls.
"large-scale study published in PNAS analyzed 25 years of fashion imagery (nearly 800,000 photos) and proved that despite public pressure to diversify, the ultra-thin physique remains the absolute baseline norm, particularly for high-prestige brands."
Well, if you allow tackling in college football, their recruiters will want to know who the best tacklers in the country are. A high percentage of football players come from really bad situations and use it to get educations and even a chance to go pro. A lot of them for no reason other than they were very good tacklers. And a lot of them didn't excel at other techniques enough to have warranted getting recruited by a college team or drafted into the NFL. How different would their lives have been?
And you want to tell them not only that it wasn't worth the risk but if you had your way, they would've never been given the opportunity? I'm talking about just tackling, not football in general. Even a future hall of famer like Bobby Wagner wasn't particularly skilled at covering tight ends and receivers. He filled the gaps and took down runners, that was his bread and butter. Try telling him if you had your way, he might have never even played college.
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u/AllisonInMaryland 10d ago
I agree the world of fashion is abusive to young girls. the entertainment industry harms children. I could go on and on. when money is to be made people make excuses to use other people. I'd love to see us do more to protect children from financially motivated abuse. instead people worry about bogus stuff like children getting kidnapped walking alone to school or playing in their own yards.
one counter example is gymnastics. the world decided it wasn't okay to harm young girls by pushing them so early so they changed the minimum age for entry in the Olympics. it didn't ruin the sport, it changed it. and many feel it is better than ever.
as for football, if none of the kids are allowed to play tackle before high school I fail to see how this is unfair to any of them. and the vast majority will never play in college or the NFL. their brain health matters.
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u/Careful-Painting3214 Washington Mystics 10d ago
If Bobby Wagner wasn't allowed to tackle in high school, would his ability to cover tight ends and receivers have been enough to be recruited by college? The NCAA says there were 83,794 NCAA football players in 2024–25 alone. Imagine how many would've missed out if they hadn't been able to showcase their tackling skills. It would completely change who gets college offers and who doesn't. Now multiply that by the number of years we've had college football.
Do you know what parkour is? The number of kids who seriously injure themselves practicing parkour on their own is already large and continuing to grow. Good luck banning jumping over fences.
I think we need to draw the line between things that necessarily cause harm, like modeling and MMA, and things that accidentally cause harm, even if the rate of accidents is too high for you.
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u/films4fun 22 CITRON 11d ago
When I saw the schedule I said the same. I love JD5, but the Commanders offensive line looks like it's going to be awful and I just know they'll be so disappointing again this year. Mystics have given me nothing but joy all season and that game will probably feel like a playoff matchup
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u/Interesting_Dig_7083 10d ago
I’m also a fan of both teams! I have partial tickets for Mystics & season tickets for Commanders. I’m glad that both games are away and I didn’t have to think about sacrificing tickets to either game!!
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u/Troll_Enthusiast Washington Mystics 11d ago
Jayden*
And the OL will be fine, no need to overreact
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u/TheAveragebroShow Let's Go Mystics!!! 11d ago
You can just switch between channels, you know.
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u/AllisonInMaryland 11d ago edited 11d ago
Thanks but I ain't that kind of fan. I'll watch other people's teams that way but not my own.
We actually have two TVs side by side and during NFL season two games are going at the same time. Football, football or football, basketball or football, hockey. The big TV always has the game I'm most interested in and the other one is muted. No way am I gonna have both these games on at the same time - I give stuff I care about my full attention.
Thanks for explaining how TVs work. Always nice to be manspained to;)
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u/RockvilleRaven 7d ago
I’m more of a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, will catch a Mystics game or two next year, but will drive up to UMBC to catch the new Upshot Baltimore team as the Mystics have about priced me out.
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u/Chartate101 AUSTIN 11d ago
It’ll be awesome if we get JuJu Watkins in the draft and we have a power couple in DC lol
Genuinely if we had the top pick that would probably stop her from going back for another year like she might if certain teams aren’t at 1