That's the football way

December 12, 2013 1:25 PM

But I learned to deal with the pain, the instability, the imbalance, just like every other NFL player does. My story is not unique. Every other football-playing man deals with the same cycle of injury and rehab, separated by periods of relative health. Some bodies are better suited to the demands of the game than others. They stay healthy longer, play more, smash more skulls, die younger. I should see my inability to stay healthy as a blessing in the long run, because it spared my brain the extra punishment. The fact is, no one remembers any NFL game I ever played in but me. My Injury File: How I Shot, Smoked, And Screwed My Way Through The NFL.
posted by Ghostride The Whip (12 comments total)

Every injury I ever had was described somewhere in that file. But I never saw it. It wasn't my property.

This is legal?

I'd understood that everybody in the US has a right to copies of their medical records.
posted by weston at 1:32 PM on December 12, 2013

Ouch that is hard to read. I guess the money and (perhaps) the fame make it worthwhile, and for a certain type of mindset the need to compete and play as long as possible but man, what a way to make a living.
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:59 PM on December 12, 2013

This is (part of) the reason I get pissed off when fans grouse about the players being overpaid, but don't pay any mind to the profits being raked in by the owners.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:04 PM on December 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

For a site that depends on sports to exist, often Deadspin does a great job exposing me to stories that make it hard for me to continue to like said sports.

(Note: I actually really like Deadspin for this reason. That and Drew Magary hating on stuff.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:16 PM on December 12, 2013 [5 favorites]

> stories that make it hard for me to continue to like said sports.

One of the worst things about getting older is continually learning that things you like (or liked as a child) are harmful, unfair, corrupt, and/or downright evil.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:34 PM on December 12, 2013 [10 favorites]

Lol card cheat, this growing up thing is a bitch. I can never properly calibrate my cynicism/innocence meter.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:47 PM on December 12, 2013

I can never properly calibrate my cynicism/innocence meter.

I just buried the needle in cynicism, then I'm always pleasantly surprised when something is good.
posted by nevercalm at 3:07 PM on December 12, 2013 [5 favorites]

I still have no idea how Butkus is alive to this day.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 6:05 PM on December 12, 2013

This is legal?

I'd understood that everybody in the US has a right to copies of their medical records.

No idea. However, I DO know what would happen to the career of anyone suing the team to get their medical records
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:52 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Apparently it is possible for something to be both, the best, and the worst of the web.
posted by effugas at 9:34 PM on December 12, 2013

I really like watching football, but after reading this, maybe it's time to look into better protective gear for the sport... I'm thinking exoskeletons, and maybe some flimsy robot drone blockers the human players can simply tear straight through so the visceral element is preserved.
posted by Ryvar at 9:48 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

I still have no idea how Butkus is alive to this day.

I remember watching the halftime of a Bears game, not sure the reason for it, but Butkus and Sayers were being honored. They walked out from the endzone to the center of the field. It took them forever to get there, and as painful as it must have been for them, it hurt to watch them hobbling, endlessly hobbling to get there.
posted by Ghidorah at 10:56 PM on December 12, 2013