Iowa State loves football. Our football team has plenty of support from the students in the student section that refuse to sit for the entire game. Football games, however, are notorious for having minor delays. Maybe a play is under review or there is a time out, but if you went to the season opener against North Dakota State, you know that there was one delay that seemed to be happening a lot: football injuries. Athletes should follow these tried and true methods. 

1. Football players need to drink more milk.

The football players must have thought that once they drank enough milk to get big and strong that they were in the clear, but judging by the number of injuries that happened in Aug. 30’s game, the amount of milk being consumed is just too low.

Milk has many benefits to the human body, like providing probiotics and supporting bone health. Obviously, its great taste and ability to quench thirst is a bonus.

2. Wear armor. 

Injuries in the last football game took out two ISU players early in the first quarter. After both players had to leave the game because of knee injuries, it led me to believe that our team needs more protection on the field. 

Wearing armor sounds like the best way to do that. If football players are running around in a giant suit that will cover the whole body, they shouldn’t have to worry about suffering from injuries. After all, if armor can stop a bullet, it should be able to stop a tackle. There will no longer be any reason to lug those giant football pads around on their shoulders if armor can protect your entire body.  

3. Drinking energy drinks. 

Energy drinks have everything you are looking for right in the title. Football players need plenty of energy to be able to run up and down the field for an entire game, not to mention having to make a tackle or break out in sprint to avoid one — especially if they get the aforementioned armor. 

If football players drank energy drinks, they surely would have long lasting energy for the whole game. They would be able to make fast tackles and run for extended amounts of time. We might as well just have it in a cooler on the sideline for players that are starting to feel tired. Why refuel on water when you can have a Red Bull?

4. Eat apples.

The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” means that eating apples makes you healthy. On the day of a football game, we cannot afford to have a single sick player on the field. Every football player should be eating apples so that they never have to go to the doctor and are less prone to injury.

5. Eat mints when reading the playbook.

There have been studies that show eating something mints when studying and then eating them again during the test helps you remember. Football players should do this when they are reading the playbook so that they never forget plays.

If football players could learn the playbook sooner by eating mints every time they studied it, not only would they be able to practice those plays sooner, but the football players would also always have nice breath, and that is always a good thing.

These five things together are a surefire way to have a great football season. If every person on the team follows all of these tips, there is no way we could lose another football game this year.