Illustration by Patrick Yeung.

Next Sunday, 125 million Yankees will congregate on couches from sea to shining sea and consume excessive servings of beer, chicken wings, chips and dip.

Super Bowl Sunday is the epitome of an American holiday — perfectly nondenominational, food-oriented and capitalist.

It is our second most gluttonous day of the year after Thanksgiving, finishing slightly before Christmas.

Yet something troubling separates the Super Bowl from our other two favorite holidays: We Americans don’t think about those in need while we stuff our faces in February.

As a nation, we need to remember that though we are warm and uncomfortably full of bean dip and guacamole during America’s game, there are many Americans who have neither a home nor an abundance of food.

There should be the same focus on charity during Super Bowl Sunday as there is during Christmas or Thanksgiving. On our days of copious excess, we have the responsibility to give food or money to those in need.

Now, the first response many will have to this statement is, “Christmas and Thanksgiving are a little different than the Superbowl.”

And that is true — unlike the Super Bowl, both holidays have morality fables that work to inspire people to help or share with their fellow man.

But we should be better than that. We should not need stories to tell us how to treat people.

Americans will spend $55 million on food on Feb. 6. And yet, the holiday’s major food drive, the Souper Bowl of Caring, raised only $4,484 last year, with only 15 organizations participating. Less than $5,000? That amounts to 0.001 percent of the money that we spend on snack food going to charity.

Now, compare that amount to the money raised on Christmas. The Salvation Army in Walworth County, Wisc. raised almost $330,000 during the holiday season, according to a Jan. 6 story in the Walworth County Today.

The discrepancy between our desire to give in December and in February is unacceptable. On both days, family and friends gather, celebrate in each other’s company, devour huge meals and watch football.

The only real difference seems to be the moral tale.Though the Super Bowl is not infused with the church’s moral guilt or America’s imperial guilt, we must find other motivation to help the needy.

We may be gluttons, but we still must look out for our fellow Americans.

So, when you’re buying Doritos next weekend, think about the thousands of people in Santa Cruz alone who have neither adequate food nor shelter and give a little to the homeless.

Instead of stockpiling 50 cans of black beans for nachos, start a canned food drive at UCSC or in your neighborhood. When you are trying to decide what to spend your last dollars on, please take a moment and choose compassion.

Illustration by Kristian Talley.

Last Sunday, the former head of a dogfighting ring threw a late interception that sealed his team’s defeat. Next Sunday, a twice-alleged rapist will face off with an ex-convict who once stood accused of murder.

So it goes in the NFL, which probably should stand for the Notoriously Felonious League.

Every Sunday, millions of Americans watch football without a second thought about the morality of the masked brutes. Football is a violent game, and fans have come to accept that not all the violence will remain on the field.

But as the drama surrounding Michael Vick has proven, America expects more from our quarterbacks.

Because of his position, Vick’s involvement in dogfighting offended football fans who casually ignore the scores of linemen, receivers and linebackers who have been charged with battery charges and drug offenses.

People could not believe a quarterback would commit such a heinous crime. It didn’t fit the classic storyline of the quarterback as a wise leader of men.

The quarterback is the field general and the face of every franchise. He touches the ball on every play and he, more than any other football player, is recognizable and relatable to the average fan. He is not 6-foot-6 or 300 pounds and he usually can speak coherently and read at at least a high school level.

But what if Vick played linebacker rather than quarterback? Would the public even care that he’d killed a few dogs?

Vick missed two years during the prime of his career, spending 182 nights in a federal prison cell. Still, many fans do not feel the punishment was harsh enough, calling for a lifetime ban from the league.

Jeff Benedict and Don Yaeger’s 1998 book “Pros and Cons: The Criminals who Play in the NFL” found that one in five NFL players at the time had been charged with a serious crime. Twelve years later, players continue to be arrested at an astounding rate. In November, a month when teams practice five times a week and play games on Sundays, three players found time to get arrested for DUIs and one for a brutal domestic abuse charge.

Ray Lewis, middle linebacker and team captain of the Baltimore Ravens, was accused of murder and charged with misleading police in 2000 and did not even receive a suspension from the NFL. He was awarded the Superbowl MVP the following season and Defensive Player of the Year in 2003.

If anything, the murder allegations added to Lewis’s mystique. Linebackers are big, bad bullies meant to be feared. They are behemoths who run like gazelles, crushing quarterbacks and running backs with violent force.

But Vick isn’t a linebacker and because of the public’s desire to frame quarterbacks as heroes, he continues to be admonished for his actions.

However noble, it should be irrelevant that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees gives money to cancer research. However pious, it should be immaterial that former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner publicly thanked God for his success.

The perception that a quarterback, or really that any athlete, is a man to be looked up to and followed is a foolish mistake that our country continues to make.

Charles Barkley famously said, “I’m not a role model. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”

As long as we continue to expect poorly educated men blessed with superhuman strength to show us how to be good people, we will continue to be let down.

Last Sunday I rooted for Vick, the convict, Lewis, the alleged murderer, and Brees, the philanthropist. I cheered for Vick’s knee-buckling jukes, for Lewis’ bone-rattling hits, and for Brees’ perfectly placed passes. Morality had nothing to do with it.

Football players are entertainers. They are gladiators born out of time. But they are not heroes.

Vick treated pit bulls in an unforgivable way. Lewis may have had a hand in the death of another man. But on Sundays, they’re just two more face-masked monsters, no different from any other NFL player.

Check your moral compass at the door. It’s playoff time.

Illustration by Kenny Srivijittakar.

Illustration by Joe Lai & Kenneth Srivijittakar.

His head was spinning. It had all happened in what felt like a split second — one minute he was sprinting past defenders toward the end zone, and the next his helmet flew off and he was lying flat on his back in the grass. Panting heavily, he scrambled to stand up and try to recover the ball, but before he knew it he could feel himself falling again as his vision quickly blurred. He tried to regain control, but it was no use — he was slipping into the black abyss of unconsciousness.

This scenario has become a reality for a growing number of collegiate athletes nationwide who have suffered a concussion while playing a contact sport. According to the Sports Concussion Institute, 1 in 10 athletes participating in contact sports in the United States sustain a concussion annually, which amounts to roughly 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related concussions.

Thanks to extensive media coverage on the much-debated issue of how to treat concussions and other serious head injuries in the National Football League (NFL), this topic has made its way onto the playing fields of high schools and colleges across the country, as well as into the halls of state assemblies and House judiciaries. That’s because for a student athlete who sustains a concussion, the severity of the injury and the way they address it can have a huge impact on their immediate health and the sustainability of their body and brain later on in life.

What Is A Concussion?

A concussion, otherwise known as a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), can be caused by a bump or blow to the head, neck or body that prompts the brain to move rapidly in the skull. There are different types of concussions ranging from grade one (which is considered mild) to grade three (the most severe, which is characterized by a loss of consciousness for at least a few seconds).

Depending on the severity of the blow, a concussion can be a significant injury — it can change the normal function of the brain and lead to serious long-term health problems if left untreated, or if enough time is not allowed to pass before the athlete goes back to his or her everyday activities.

Young athletes who return to play too soon — these make up 41 percent of all concussion cases, according to the American Academy of Neurology — put themselves at risk for additional concussions and even death in some cases, although this is a relatively rare occurrence.

Athletes who sustain multiple concussions throughout their playing careers also risk facing long-term health defects when they age. The Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill conducted a study, released in June 2007, in which they found that NFL athletes with a history of three or more concussions are more likely to experience depression and cognizance issues, both of which are often precursors of Alzheimer’s disease.

UC Santa Cruz head athletic trainer Primrose Pisares says that concussions are not something to be taken lightly, as they can lead to health problems later in life.

“Concussions caused by a sports injury or otherwise can be serious because they can affect motor and cognitive skills depending on the severity of the injury, which can range from mild to severe and even death,” Pisares said. “If an athlete returns to play too quickly, his or her symptoms can worsen and lead to more permanent damage to the brain.”

The Trickle-Down Effect

While concussions and head trauma have always occurred in contact sports, it wasn’t until recently that they began to receive widespread recognition. It first began in 2007, when the NFL began a study on the long-term effects of concussions in retired players. This did not receive significant public attention until last year, when an Oct. 28 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee eventually led the NFL to suspend its survey after intense scrutiny of poor statistical sampling and accusations of possible bias.

Shortly thereafter, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell implemented an overhaul of their previous concussion policies, which included a new rule that bans players from returning to a game or practice in which they have shown significant symptoms of a concussion. The policy now requires the player to receive clearance from a neurologist not associated with the team before he returns to play.

Pisares attributes the peak in concussion interest on the collegiate and high school levels to the recent NFL attention.

“Having the NFL in the news regarding concussions is a big thing, because people notice it,” Pisares said. “A lot of it has to do with the media, because otherwise how would people know this is coming up?”

Chuck Messimer, general manager of minor-league football team the Monterey Bay Vikings, believes the NFL’s actions have led the mass media to exaggerate the concussion issue.

“For lack of a better term, it’s a gore factor,” Messimer said. “People like to get hold of something that’s wrong with society and blow it up out of proportion.”

Jesse Trumbull spent nine years as assistant coach before becoming the head coach of the Santa Cruz High School Cardinals four years ago. He says the increase in concussion diagnoses can be attributed to a growing awareness of the injury.

“There have been head injuries in all contact sports since they started, but now that we have more information about it there’s obviously more concern over it,” Trumbull said. “It’s definitely a point of focus now for coaches. The medical staff has become more involved with the team and players.”

Concussion Commonality in Santa Cruz

Although UCSC doesn’t have a football team, concussions still occur in other high-contact sports on campus — particularly rugby, basketball, and soccer. Pisares said that one or two concussions usually occur per season for sports such as soccer and basketball. But for sports that involve more physical contact, such as rugby, concussions are even more prevalent.

“They’re definitely somewhat common, unfortunately, especially since there are no hard helmets like in football,” said Alex McKenzie, head coach of UCSC women’s rugby. “I’ve seen several a year, ranging in severity. … It’s relatively common compared to non-contact sports.”

When an athlete from one of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned teams on campus does get a concussion, he or she usually gets a medical evaluation from a UCSC athletic trainer, who uses a template called the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) to determine the severity of the player’s injury.

The SCAT card comprises several different components that test the athlete’s memory, cognizance, physical symptoms and demeanor. Depending on the results, the trainer will then suggest a treatment plan, which usually includes sitting out for a week to 10 days from when the player has stopped showing concussion symptoms.

The NCAA has a few general guidelines, but no set of requirements that specifically dictates how to handle a concussion.

Pisares says that since it is difficult to prevent concussions altogether, what is most important is ensuring that an athlete receives proper treatment when they do sustain a head injury.

“We don’t have sports that require helmets like football, so it’s just about more vigilance when they do get a concussion,” Pisares said. “[It’s about] making sure coaches are following our guidelines, making sure athletes don’t do any physical activity, et cetera.”

Coaches such as Todd Kent, head coach of women’s basketball, fully put their trust in the UCSC training staff when it comes to handling serious injuries.

“As a head coach, I do whatever the trainers and doctors tell me,” Kent said. “If a trainer tells me they’re still symptomatic, I don’t let a player practice. I trust their opinion of what they tell me a player can and can’t do.”

Coaches at the high school level, in particular, are becoming more aware of the dangers of head injuries. Young athletes are especially vulnerable to serious injury from a blow to the head because their brains are not as developed as older athletes’.

The commonality of concussions in high school sports has been well-documented, especially when it comes to football. According to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, roughly 68,000 concussions occurred during the 2008 high school football season. Although this may not sound like a very high number, concern arises from the very kids to play with good, safe technique to make sure everyone gets off the field healthy.”

Coaches and Congressmen Take Action

From Santa Cruz to Sacramento to Washington, D.C., various organizations are considering imposing more specific guidelines and requirements that outline how a concussed athlete should be treated and when they should be allowed to play again.

California Assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) recently co-authored a bill that, if passed, would require a high school athlete to provide a doctor’s note to the coach upon returning to the team after suffering a concussion. Several other states, such as Pennsylvania and Washington, either have similar bills pending or have already passed them.

Hill says his personal experience playing sports in high school inspired him to propose this bill.

“I played high school football, I was hit a number of times and I’ve got the scars to show it,” Hill said. “I know from a personal standpoint that head injuries are serious and that high school sports, especially contact sports, can be violent.”

Trumbull says he fully supports Hill’s bill, as he already requires a doctor’s approval for returning athletes who have been injured.

“If anyone, especially with a head injury, receives notice from medical personnel that they shouldn’t play, we don’t let them play again until they are cleared by that same medical personnel,” Trumbull said. “I would support that as something that should happen everywhere.”

The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports is currently reviewing its set of standards on concussions, but has not yet made any specific recommendations for stricter guidelines. Head trainer Pisares believes any changes they make will not occur right away.

“I think the NCAA might look into their guidelines again and see if they can do anything from their end, [but] it’s going to take a while because they can’t just say, ‘You have to do this’ and put it in their handbook,” Pisares said. “They have to do research first.”

Women’s basketball coach Kent hopes that the widespread attention this issue is getting will lead to an increase in awareness, regardless of whether rules are changed.

“From this, I hope, will just come a better knowledge and understanding to treat each head injury as if it’s severe so [the athletes] can get the best possible care,” Kent said.

Meanwhile, Monterey Bay Vikings general manager Messimer summed up why concussions should be taken seriously when they occur:

“You can fix a broken arm, but you can’t fix a broken brain.”

Illustration by Joe Lai.

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh is no stranger to controversy; in fact, one might call it his lifeblood. He is a notorious presence on the airwaves for his outlandish comments, devised, at least in part, to keep his name in the headlines while pulling in more listeners.

This past week Limbaugh managed to make news in both the sports and political worlds when he was dropped from a group of bidders — spearheaded by sports executive Dave Checketts — who want to purchase the lowly St. Louis Rams, a football team whose days as the “Greatest Show on Turf” are long behind them.

This news was met with many sighs of relief from football players and fans alike, as everyone from National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to Reverend Al Sharpton spoke out against the possibility of Limbaugh becoming a partial owner of a professional football team.

But the question that still remains is this: why did Checketts’s group even present Limbaugh with this opportunity to begin with? Besides the fact that he has no previous experience with football whatsoever (other than the fact that he likes to talk about it), Rush Limbaugh has proven time and time again that he is, to put it mildly, racially insensitive. It’s really no surprise that his reputation wouldn’t sit well with many people in involved in professional football — a sport with a player base of more than 75 percent African-Americans.

Case in point: on the 2003 set of the television show “ESPN Countdown,” Limbaugh commented that “the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is little hope invested in [Donovan] McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve.” After a significant amount of public backlash, Limbaugh resigned from his position at ESPN.

Blatant, negative and racially-fueled commentary hasn’t ceased flowing from Limbaugh’s mouth in the past several years since that incident, eliciting continuous anger from the public and the creation of Web pages like “Top 10 Rush Limbaugh Racist Quotes.” This is a man who once said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) should “have riot rehearsal … and practice robberies,” and who two years ago likened the NFL to “a game between the Bloods and Crips, without weapons.”

That someone as unabashedly loose with racial commentary as Rush Limbaugh would want to become involved in an organization with a predominantly African-American contingency seems terribly incongruous.

Fortunately, Checketts had the sense to publically expel him from the group of bidders after it quickly became obvious how unpopular he was in NFL circles. Checketts realized that very few team owners would vote in favor of his group of bidders with Limbaugh as a member, and that it would be extremely difficult to find players who would want to come to St. Louis and play for a team that listed Limbaugh as an associate in any capacity.

New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka summed up the sentiments of many fellow athletes on this issue when he told the New York Daily News, “[Limbaugh] can do whatever he wants, it is a free country. But if it goes through, I can tell you where I am not going to play.”

The NFL should be commended for taking swift action and expressing their misgivings on the possibility of Limbaugh becoming an owner. They moved quickly to try and nip this controversy in the bud, as they realized they couldn’t afford any more bad publicity after just starting to rid themselves of the Michael Vick dogfighting case. The league realized that having an owner with a reputation like Limbaugh’s would be detrimental to the NFL as a whole and would go against its standards for racial equality and inclusion — standards that have existed since the 1940s when, ironically enough, the then-Los Angeles Rams became the first football team to integrate.

And in case you’re wondering — it should come as no surprise — Limbaugh did have a response to being let go from the bidding group. He claimed what happened to him was the result of “blind hatred” of him by the media and “Obama’s America on full display.”

Limbaugh’s lame attempt to use the media as a scapegoat fails to acknowledge that he is implicit in the blind hatred perpetuated by the media every time he opens his mouth — and promptly inserts his foot.