his lateness In a game against the Green Bay Packers on September 15, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson caught a short pass over the middle of the field, lunged forward, and lowered his body to prepare for contact. The side of his helmet hit linebacker Key Walker’s facemask, and the back of his helmet slammed into the ground as Walker tackled him. Granson stood up after completing the 9-yard gain, tossed the football to the officials and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap.
Other than being the first reception of the 2024 National Football League season, this unremarkable play was only notable for what Granson was wearing at the time of the hit. It was a 12-ounce foam padded protective helmet cover called Guardian. cap.
These soft shells are already required at most positions in all NFL preseason practices, as well as regular-season and postseason practices with contact, but the league has given the green light for optional game use. and received another vote of confidence this year. Since his official debut in 2022, he has suffered a concussion in training camp. According to a league spokesperson, through six weeks of games this fall, only 10 NFL players actually took the field with one on. But for Granson, the decision was easy. The Guardian cap he wore on game day (covered in a 1-ounce pinny with the Colts logo, mimicking the design of the helmet below) was tried out at a preseason game before he actually wore it. is.
“I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t affect me in any way,” the 26-year-old told WIRED a few days before Week 2’s game against the Packers. “I thought it was worth doing, even if it seemed silly.”
It’s impossible to ignore the silly aesthetic of the puffy, floppy Guardian Cap. Guardian Sports, the product’s parent company, also sells staff T-shirts that strike out LOOK GOOD and proclaim LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, PLAY GOOD. “Condom caps, mushroom heads, we’ve heard it all,” says Erin Hanson, co-founder of Guardian Sports with her husband Lee Hanson. “We’re just laughing because we agree.”
It can be hard to face the reality that the future of soccer headgear resembles a 60s sci-fi movie. But the fact that Guardian caps are now fully allowed at games in the NFL (a league known for policing every inch of its players’ equipment to protect its image) is a sign that the lab-tested Not only does it speak to its usefulness (even if published, peers still lack peer-reviewed field data). It also reflects the current urgency of football as a whole.
A link between repeated blows to the head, whether or not they cause a concussion, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (also known as CTE), a brain disorder associated with depression and progressive cognitive problems. When taken into consideration, the dangers of wearing a helmet have never been clearer. (dementia that can only be diagnosed after death). It’s no coincidence that between the NFL’s funding of private research efforts and the rapidly innovating football headgear industry, the race to find answers has become faster and more lucrative than ever.
And at the center of it all, on the sport’s biggest stage, is a literal mom-and-pop shop that was struggling to find its footing in a world of football that was little more than a joke a decade and a half ago.
