The quarterback lines up for the snapback, calling out plays to his teammates as they run to their positions. The play is started, and a beautiful pass is sent to the star running back of the team, who quickly makes his move. He seemingly glides down the field, narrowly escaping every defender in his path as one-hundred thousand adoring fans marvel at his skill. Suddenly, the star player is on the ground, his epic play ended by a brutal tackle by a player on the opposing team. Yet the stadium still roars with noise as fans cheer on their favorite player to recover in time for the next play. Epic tackles have often been considered central to the sport of football, a game that is rapidly becoming America’s new pastime. Fans revel in the savagery of the plays, admiring the players who have the ability to sustain huge hits that no one would willingly endure under normal circumstances. The collisions are accepted as part of the game, and the strongest, most memorable players are often the ones who play through injury. However, attitudes towards the brutality of the game are beginning to shift. The ideas of playing through the pain and toughing it out are being replaced with mindsets focused on education about and prevention of detrimental, sometimes lifelong injuries. With a surge in research about concussions, football programs of all levels have been altering their protocols and mentalities about head injuries, and spreading this new mindset of awareness to the fans.