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We can all breath a sigh of relief that Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett is out of imminent medical danger and he may even walk again. We all hope Everett can recover to lead a somewhat normal life. What happened to him is everyone's worst fear: that someone doing what they love suffers a career-ending (or in this case, a life-threatening) injury.
Society may love the finished product of sausages and football, but most would prefer not to know how these great American staples are made.
Injuries are an inherent part of pushing the limits of human performance, as professional athletes do every day. What happened to Everett last Sunday is everybody's worst fear. Football players may not fully grasp the true risks of playing (perhaps it's better they do not), but it is something that everyone needs to look at.
In capitalism, we compensate for risk. The saying goes: “No risk, no reward.” Think of the converse: In exchange for great risk, athletes deserve to be highly compensated. While many have questioned the NFL for not doing enough to help its retired players, NFL players are compensated for playing a violate sport. (They also receive medical coverage for 5 years after they retire.) Certainly more can and should be done to assist retired players, but at least this issue is being addressed.
At the same time, we should not forget where our NFL beasts come from. They are bred in the high-tech, win-at-whatever-price-boosters-are-willing-to-pay world of college football. In terms of concussive impact, college football is no longer a quantum leap from the NFL. It was once rare to have a 300-pound offensive lineman in the NFL; now I doubt there are many sub-300 pounders playing for a BCS conference school. Lawrence Taylor broke the mold for linebackers when he entered the NFL in 1981; today he is the mold--6'4 and 240 pounds of sheer terror.
A couple weeks ago Tim Layden wrote about the "The Big Hit" in Sports Illustrated. The article's subtitle succinctly frames the issue: "Players live for it, fans love it, media celebrate it -- and all bemoan its devastating consequences. The brutal collision of bodies is football's lifeblood, and the NFL's biggest concern." Layden follows up with another article this week, "The hits keep coming." Both articles are worth reading.
Seems schizophrenic and self-defeating for you to refer to people as "beast", on one hand, yet attempt to raise concern for their safety on the other.
Mr. Unite Us
Posted by: MrUniteUs | September 13, 2007 at 09:20 AM
Thanks for pointing out. I think I am on pretty firm ground in saying that I used an accepted figure of speech that generalizes the physical characteristics of many NFL players.
A search of Google News just in the last week turns up several "football players as beast" references:
Colts Dwight Freeney referring to Titans QB Vince Young:
"Just know what kind of beast you're hunting. As a D-line, we have to understand who we're hunting...They want the ball in [Young's] hands to make plays. He's a different beast simply because they have plays designed for him to use his athletic ability."
Ben Grubbs, Ravens' guard on Haloti Ngata:
"Haloti is just a beast out there. You look at him and you think he's slow, but he's swift on his feet."
Seattle Post-Intelligence sportswriter Jim Moore writing on the Ohio State football team:
"My scout calls tackle Vernon Gholston 'a beast' and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins 'a freak of nature.' Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis sounds like he's a little of both."
Tennessee Titan player Tony Brown on himself:
"When I step onto the field for warm-ups, I turn into somebody else. Like David Banner and the Incredible Hulk. I call it my Beast Mode."
Like "football as war" metaphors, perhaps "football players as beasts" is overused. But I certainly did not mean it a disrespectful way.
Posted by: Marc Isenberg | September 13, 2007 at 10:29 AM
i like football even when i was very young and even played in little league football. Compared to basketball, football is more risk prone to injuries. I never thought about it until i hurt my knee that season and had to have arthroscopic surgery.
Posted by: Nancy | January 30, 2008 at 05:25 AM
nice blog, i am sure i will back here often
Posted by: zakłady bukmacherskie | June 27, 2008 at 11:24 AM
I agree with your comment about the leap from college to the pros. Heck, even look at the high schools nowadays, there are more than a few 300 pounders running around.
Posted by: Ryan - Packer Backers | August 18, 2011 at 07:26 AM