Football still reigns as king, but for how long?

Football frenzy has gripped the area like never before.

Certainly there was a ripple of excitement – just a ripple – when Norm van Brocklin, Tommy McDonald, Pete Retzlaff and the 1960 Eagles defeated Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers for the NFL Championship.

And the 1980 Super Bowl appearance by Coach Dick Vermeil and Ron Jaworski – in the only year all four major sports teams of a city reached the championship game in their respective sport – raised the excitement level.

The Buddy Ryan era for the Eagles, despite playoff failures, had an excitement all its own.

And the 2004 Super Bowl appearance by Coach Andy Reid, quarterback Donavan McNabb and an injured but gallant Terrell Owens had the city on the border of hysteria.

But even that trip to Jacksonville, which resulted in another Philly disappointment, isn’t quite at the level experienced in recent weeks. The region has been All-Eagles, All-the-Time. Football has overtaken everyone and everything. Well … maybe not everyone. There are still a few who continue to boycott the NFL in the aftermath of the Colin Kaepernick controversy and the support of other players who refused to stand for the National Anthem.

And there are others who have been turned off by the seemingly endless string of childish histrionics of the players after almost every play in an NFL game.

But the surprising criticism of the sport comes from one of the most storied figures ever to don shoulder pads and a helmet.

Brett Favre is no longer a big fan of NFL football.

The former Green Bay Packer great and NFL Hall of Famer lent a surprising twist to a new documentary, “Shocked,” which aired on WatchStadium.com. In advance of the documentary’s release, Favre told CBS Sports that all of the recent information regarding concussions has dramatically changed the way he perceives the game.

New information on the longterm effects of concussions has hit home for Favre. When he looks at his three grandsons – an 8-year-old, a 3-year-old and a toddler of a few months – he doesn’t see them as budding quarterbacks.

In fact, Favre was quoted in a story by Will Brinson that he is “not going to encourage them to play” football and, while he won’t stop them from doing so, he would vastly prefer they play a “safer” sport like golf if they pursue athletics.”

Contrast that with the fact that golf’s greatest player, Jack Nicklaus, has 22 grandchildren.

Amazingly, none of them play golf. But his grandson, Nick O’Leary, just completed his second season in the NFL as a tight end with the Buffalo Bills.

Different strokes for different folks.

“I have three grandsons – and people may wonder why a retired player would be so adamant about concussions and making the environment safer – I don’t know if they’ll play football.”

But don’t expect “PawPaw,” as he is called, to be teaching any of them to throw a perfect spiral or how to roll out of the pocket.

“What little bit I know now – and it’s more than when I played – concussions are not good,” said Favre. “And definitely not for youth.”

Asked specifically about how he would direct his grandsons, Favre said he wouldn’t discourage his grandsons from pursuing football, but he would definitely prefer it if they decided to spend their time playing golf.

“If my grandsons were to say that they wanted to play golf instead of football, I would be much more happy, satisfied and excited by that, then by them playing football,” Favre admitted.

“Every tackle I would be cringing, hoping they get up and not shaking their head and saying they got a headache. The likelihood of that happening by them playing football is very high. So I’d much rather them choose a safer route.”

All of that from one of the toughest guys to ever play in the NFL.

If he looks at the sport with that kind of redirection, imagine how the rest of today’s young parents feel.

Football is certainly still king in America … but how much longer before the king is dethroned?