Injuries are always a possibility in sports and the players know the risks. On any given play a player can find themselves on the unfortunate side of an injury that could have them missing some time but you never imagine suffering a devastating injury like the one suffered yesterday by Alex Smith of the Washington Redskins.
While being sacked yesterday by J.J Watt and Kareem Jackson, Smith's leg got caught up underneath his own body and the impact of the three players falling onto the leg caused a complete break of both the Tibia and Fibula. Not only was there a clean break of both bones in the leg, one of the breaks was a compound fracture meaning the bone actually broke through the skin. A gruesome injury that will end the quarterbacks season and possibly his career.
This was a tough one to watch. As Smith rolled over, you can clearly see his leg flopping around as if there was no bone in the leg at all. It was one of those images that sends a shiver down your spine and makes you cringe. In what can only be some kind of twisted irony, the injury to Alex Smith happened on the exact same day that the same catastrophic injury happened to the then QB of the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann. 33 years ago to the day, Theismann suffered what many consider to be the most gruesome injury in sports history as he broke his leg while being tackled by Lawrence Taylor. His leg appeared to be nothing more than a dangling appendage.
What are the odds that not only the same injury would happen to another Washington Redskins quarterback but on the same date? Could the Redskins quarterbacks be cursed? Well, unless you believe in Voodoo magic it is very unlikely but wow, what an unbelievable coincidence.
These are a couple of the worst injuries I have seen but it got me thinking about some of the worst injuries I have ever seen live on television. There is a long list of injuries that would fall under the umbrella of GRUESOME but I am going to stick two that I personally saw live and felt the heebie jeebies watching. So here they are in no particular order:
Clint Malarchuk - Severed Jugular Vein
This is not one that I was watching live but the game that I was watching quickly switched feeds to what was happening in Buffalo. In a game against the St.Louis Blues goaltender Clint Malarchuk was almost killed in a freak accident on the ice. In what was a routine play where a St. Louis forward made a pass out of the corner to a streaking teammate. The defenseman on the play, Uwe Krupp, took the player down. When he fell he slid into Malarchuk skates first. A skate hit him in the mask and slid down and across his throat partially slicing his Jugular Vein.
This was one of the most gruesome things I have ever seen as part of a sporting event. Blood was shooting out of Malarchuk's neck like it was a tap, squirting with every beat of his heart. The ice was absolutely covered in blood. Fans were actually fainting from the sight and players were vomiting. Luckily, the vein was only partially sliced and they were able to save his life. If the blade had gone just a tiny bit further it could have completely sliced through the internal carotid artery leaving survival next to impossible.
Moises Alou - Dislocated Ankle
In 1993 during the Expos high years, Moises Alou was one of the best players on the team. He was also the son of the Manager Felipe Alou. During a game in September of that year, Alou was injured on what looked like a routine base hit. As he was rounding first, he attempted to stop to return to the bag when his ankle pretty much separated his foot from his leg. He fell to the ground is an extreme amount of pain and held his leg in his hands with this foot dangling as if only attached by a thread. I felt a quiver go right through me as I watched it and still do if I see it today. I can only imagine the amount of pain he must have been in at that moment. Even the umpire and players had to look away.
There have been so many jaw clinching types of injuries in so many sports. I really could go on for a very long time if I was just making a list. Did you see the injury to Smith yesterday? Did you have to look away? What are some of the worst injuries that you have seen along your sports watching time? I look forward to hearing from you.
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