Sevillista;3109376 said:The greatest evolution in the past few decades of all sports has been an increased athleticism in players (today's athletes would dominate any of the old greats), but I question how much farther that can go without steroids and such. I don't think the human body can get much more fit than the athletes we have today. We may see a greater number of incredibly athletic players, but I don't think we'll see players reach much greater heights, at least not in terms of athleticism.
Some predictions:
1) There will be some kind of rule change that we will look back and be surprised they ever played without it. It probably won't be significant, but something like the back pass to the keeper in the early 90's.
2) Jersey's will have more sponsors (unfortunately). Money always wins in the end.
3) There will be a debate at some point about acceptable prosthetic limbs. They are becoming so advanced, that at some point they will present an advantage instead of a disadvantage. They've already reached that debate in running competitions.
Not that I think you need to read all 63 pages of it (I certainly haven't), but regarding atheletic limits and doping, the website TrackTalk.net has been having a fascinating conversation on just how prolific doping is in professional sports (mostly track and marathon running, but they touch on other sports as well). The first few pages paint a pretty bleak picture for those of us who like to imagine ourselves being both competitive and clean.
Also, I'm assuming you're referring to Oscar Pistorius' cheetah leg prosthetics? They don't provide any advantage to him; in fact, his quads have to make up the power difference for his missing calves, which actually puts him at a slight disadvantage. The IAAF was being either overly cautious or outright paranoid when they banned him, depending on who you ask, but the Court for Arbitration in Sport has overturned that decision and he's generally accepted in the track world as a phenomenally gifted if over-hyped 400m runner who happens to not have lower legs.