Die-hard fans scoff at the notion that football will ever fade away, but they are overlooking the evidence. For many years now, the numbers of young boys playing tackle football has been in steady decline, even in states where football is akin to a social religion. More and more parents are facing the realities of playing the sport, and they are removing their kids from football and encouraging them to play other sports that do not risk brains, bodies, and promising futures. The result will be an ever-dwindling pool of new players, which will push football into being narrowly regionalized.  The ensuing burden of supplying bodies for the entertainment of the watchers will fall on boys from lower income families.  And this is already happening.