Coming up as a young sports fan, I didn’t enjoy debating injuries too much. Go ahead and talk about how deep a team was or how they could overcome a depleted roster. I rejected the concept that a season, let alone a whole team, was dropped from contention just because one player was out. Maybe, it was a superstitious, karma-based kind of thinking; if I ignored that it happened to other players, I could possibly protect the players I most enjoyed watching from falling victim. Maybe it’s simply fate with some players. If one guy was hurt on the way to being the greatest, he just wasn’t meant to be that great. I liked focusing on what happened with players on the field as opposed to the issues that kept them off the field. I didn’t root for the opposition to get hurt (which I have witnessed fans doing and don’t understand) along with me feeling it wasn’t necessary for me to cheer them on to stay healthy.
As I learned and even played the game more, my perspective matured. Hypothetically when you catch a glimpse of rising stars, you share your own initiation with those players. “I remember watching him run back kickoff returns for touchdowns, way back when he was playing for Michigan” is what it usually sounds like. Within that connection, if a career is cut short or stalled because of a medical setback, can one feel somewhat cheated, disenchanted or being robbed of the what could’ve been?
What I’ve discovered, which is what I assume the final stage of injury acceptance, is that it’s all part of the theater we call athletics. If humans were infallible, there would be altered Gale Sayers, Bo Jackson, Dante Culpepper, Sterling Sharpe and Joe Theismann stories. These men will go down in history, ever-hinged to the circumstances of their demises. It’s a faction of sports that can’t be overlooked and must always be discussed. When Peyton Manning has neck surgery or Tom Brady gets “whacked in the leg” (ACL tear), it’s as much of news as when they break another record. “It giveth and it taketh away.” Remember, it was when Trent Green tore his ACL that put Kurt Warner in, setting in motion the “Greatest Show on Turf.” St. Louis Rams fans know about quarterback ACL tears–most recently and frequently with Sam Bradford–as matters haven’t been so advantageous this time around. Donovan Mcnabb was hit in the knee and it gave Jeff Garcia a chance at arguably the best season of his career. I hardly believe anyone would have the slightest who Matt Cassel is if it wasn’t for Brady being helped off the field.
I watched the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, outside linebacker Dante Fowler, go down within one hour of his inaugural mini-camp. Before anyone could fully wrap their minds around the impact or make freaky comparisons, the Denver Broncos lost their newly-acquired tight end, Jeff Heuerman, to an ACL tear only hours later.
When tragedy strikes a younger prospect, some may say “Well, at least it happened at a young age; he can heal up good and bounce back. At least it’s behind him now. It still gives him plenty of time to make a long and prosperous career.” Bringing up the snake-bitten Rams again, they just drafted Todd Gurley coming off his own tear while he played for Georgia. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi twenty-first overall, also after his run-in with this epidemic. As it seems, it’s not affecting the draft stock of these players despite the relentless rumors. Re-tearing on the other hand, in the public eye, puts you in a whole other category of rumors (Bradford and Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose should start an exclusive China Doll Knee club).
Adrian Peterson recovered from his ACL tear, then had a near record-breaking season. Now, I wonder if he would rather be facing that than his current tribulations. Both Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski have had reconstructive surgeries, yet won the Super Bowl last year.
Moving past the injury acceptance is maybe going too far, supposedly it’s dark humor. Living in Las Vegas, the mentality is if you want to bet on something, eventually you will find someone here willing to take that bet. It would be a twisted game, like a celebrity death pool, an ACL Tear Pool or every year we can bet on which unsigned rookie or primetime player will be the first to go under the knife. Well, whoever had Dante Fowler in the “2015 Tear Pool” is really raking it in. Ryan Clady of the Broncos anyone?
