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Everyone in Buffalo including myself have been praying for Everett.

"Bills' Everett improves, may walk again"


It's a miracle.

Everyone in Buffalo including myself have been praying for Everett.

Posted by pragmatous

I think all football fans are, myself included. It is a game after all.

It's a miracle.

Holy smokes! The headline earlier this evening was "Bills Player Unlikely to Walk Again."

I was just going to say that the headline needed updating when it just did.

The last Buffalo Bills' game I was at Bruce Smith sat on the Chief's Joe Montana and the Bills won the game to advance to their theird straight Super Bowl appearance. That was during the Bills' string of 4 consecutive Super Bowl losses. Buffalo's Rich Stadium (I guess its called Ralph Wilson Stadium now) is a great place to tailgate before the game and downtown Buffalo is a great place to go out for pizza or wings afterwards.

The most tragic thing in the Bills' history however still remains QB Jim Kelly's little son Hunter. He was diagnosed with Krabbe's disease as an infant and died when he was only 8. At Kelly's HOF induiction a few years back the little guy was there in the front row, and not being much of a fan of the brash, arrogant Kelly during his football career, I just had to shed a few when he dedicated his induction speech to him.

Good grief! Happy for this guy if all goes well. I am praying for him and his family. This is tough for anyone--no doubt.

But WTF! What is wrong with these doctors? Either the spine is snapped or it isn't..

How does this get so turned around?

The family must be scratching their collective heads...

Hope the progress stays positive and not go backwards--like oh--we made a mistake--again..


Murphy

There are two "categories" of spinal cord injuries-incomplete and complete. You can have a complete injury with the spinal cord still intact but if the cord's transected, it's always a complete injury. I know these things from first hand experience. Obviously Everett's injury was incomplete...very cool.

Oops, forgot...complete means total paralysis from the level of the injury down. Incomplete can mean anything from some sensory and motor to being able to walk with next to no sensory and motor deficits.

Now this morning on the news they said that while he does have some limited voluntary movement in his extremities he still has an extremely long way to being able to walk and to not get hopes up too much.

Ralph Wilson, the owner of the Bills, has donated a significant amount of $$$$ to research and implement the fast treatment of spinal cord injuries at football games. They are crediting this with the great results Everett has had so far.

"Ralph Wilson, the owner of the Bills, has donated a significant amount of $$$$ to research and implement the fast treatment of spinal cord injuries at football games. "

Yes. Must keep the gladiators fit and healthy to entertain and distract the masses.

zot, you got it. Sports on TV to watch while their asses get fat and cold beer to reshape their belly and mind.

Yes. Must keep the gladiators fit and healthy to entertain and distract the masses.


Posted by ZOT at 2007-09-12 09:32 AM | Reply

Or the alternative where Wilson did not donate the money and implement the procedures that helped this kid out and he is at best a quadrapalegic for the rest of his life or at worst dead on the field.

But hey, you are entitled to your opinion.

"Or the alternative where Wilson did not donate the money and implement the procedures that helped this kid out and he is at best a quadrapalegic for the rest of his life or at worst dead on the field."

I would be most interested to know if Wilson has donated large amounts to non-sports concerns.

Granted, these procedures will eventually percolate into the general public. But the first and foremost is to keep the herd healthy and hale, like breeding thoroughbred racing horses.

Groom them, pamper them, feed them the best food, give them the best training so the masses can be entertained, and pay dearly for the pleasure.

And these players are worshiped, idolized, paid obscene amounts of money, expect to be treated like gods descended from Mount Olympus.

Team loyalties? What is the fan loyal to? A name? A location? Can't be the players because they sell themselves team to team to the highest bidder, or are traded back and forth like hookers at a stag party.

What stake does the fan really have in whether or not a team loses or wins? Nothing.

Football, baseball, hockey, basketball, all nothing more than corporations marketing a product and hoping you will by it in mass quantities. All hail the corporation. That is what you are cheering on. It is false. It is fantasy. It is cotton candy, sweet but no has substance and provides no sustenance.

Want to get me started on NASCAR, the national association of stock car racing that has nothing to do with racing stock cars?

My opinion...

ZOT

In the department store of life, sports is the toy department. One has to keep in in perspective.

Good post.

"In the department store of life, sports is the toy department."

LeeAtwater, I like that. Will use in the future. Original from you?

Yep.

Now, it was.. wait, I want to make sure I get the exact quote here... ah okay here we go, it was Zot who stated:

Yes. Must keep the gladiators fit and healthy to entertain and distract the masses.

"...his days of playing football for an "obscene amount of money" (and I do agree with you there, make no mistake) have come to an end."

Undoubtedly. And what will he make of his life now if he recovers to the point at which he can hold a real job of some sort?

A handful of pro athletes make good after their sports careers are over (other than morphing into a sports commentator, or shilling for the latest exercise gadget or weight loss product). Once they are off the roster, what do the majority do with no education under their belts (despite the years some may have spent at some college or university on a sports scholarship), no skills other than playing a game?

Zot, regarding your question about the majority, honestly I have no answer. With any luck (for themselves at any rate), they'll live off of the interests of sound investments.

I'll give you my take on these folks: They went into this knowing that something like this could happen (granted, you don't normally forsee an extreme case such as this), and (assuming common sense) you plan ahead for it. If they don't, it falls on them.

"And these players are worshiped, idolized, paid obscene amounts of money, expect to be treated like gods descended from Mount Olympus."

Football players face the most risk of permanent physical disability and have the worst contract terms and benefits of any pro athelets. The average career is less than three years. And the guys who do play a long time often live in pain for the rest of their lives.

Do they make good money? Sure, while it lasts. Not alot of money compared to the owners and not alot of money compared to other pro atheletes, whose sports bring in less revenue than the NFL. And certainly not alot of money compared to some other people in the entertainment industry who are revered as "geniuses" for playing make believe.

"Team loyalties? What is the fan loyal to? A name? A location? Can't be the players because they sell themselves team to team to the highest bidder, or are traded back and forth like hookers at a stag party."

Being traded isn't disloyal, it is being traded. And in the NFL, they have non-guaranteed contracts and are cut as soon as a younger, cheaper alternative is available. Only suckers show blind loyalty to people who have no loyalty to them. If I knew my career was going to last maybe 5 years and that I could be screwed over at any time, I'd get mine when I could.

"Football, baseball, hockey, basketball, all nothing more than corporations marketing a product and hoping you will by it in mass quantities. All hail the corporation. That is what you are cheering on. It is false. It is fantasy. It is cotton candy, sweet but no has substance and provides no sustenance."

It's a form of entertainment. These guys are highly skilled and put lots of preparation in before we see the final product. And what happens on the field is real. It is pure snobbery to act as if it is any less legitimate than any other form of entertainment.



By the way, I'm very happy to hear this guy's prognosis has improved so much.

If I am not mistaken, there is a sticker on every football helmet that says,
"WARNING:
Do not strike an opponent with any part of the helmet or facemask. This is a violation of football rules and may cause you to suffer severe brain or neck injury, including paralysis or death. Severe brain or neck injury may also occur accidentally while playing football. NO HELMET CAN PREVENT ALL SUCH INJURIES. YOU USE FOOTBALL HELMETS AT YOUR OWN RISK."

He lowered his helmet, he is lucky, not a miracle, Media outlets that "hero-ify" idiots that survive their mistakes are getting tiresome.

But what is the fan loyal to?

I was riding my bike though a neighborhood the other day, rode by a house that had Broncos horse head in every window, a Go Broncos banner hanging from the porch, a couple of Go Broncos signs stuck in the yard, and the guy sitting on the porch, looked to be 30 something, and was wearing a Broncos t-shirt and hat. For all I know, his underwear was probably orange and blue.

What is the source of all this fan craziness, money and time expended, noses and jaws even broken over team rivalries, for what is essentially a corporate symbol?

"What is the source of all this fan craziness, money and time expended, noses and jaws even broken over team rivalries, for what is essentially a corporate symbol?"

People choose to spend their money and time on things they enjoy. Alot of people enjoy following sports for a variety of reasons, one of which is the shared experience that comes from rooting for a team with other fans. I enjoy going to games and watching them on TV and following the progression of certain teams and talking about sports with other fans. I personally don't buy much of the associated products but I don't begrudge people who do. To blow it all off as worshipping a corporate symbol just because you don't get it isn't nearly as impressive as you think.

As for the broken noses, people who get into fights at ballparks also get into fights at concerts and bars and parties and anywhere else. Any excuse will do.