...When a football player is tackled with such force that they're motionless on the field...the stadium gets quiet, the player is surrounded by medical staff and coaches...the player isn't moving....the time keeps passing and you see no movement....the tension is thick...waiting, waiting for some motion, any movement, from the player...I say a prayer.

It makes me so nervous that I feel sick with anxiety. Is this a girl thing or what...what about you?

Can you name the worst incident when this happened while you were watching?

It was during a Jets game and Dennis Byrd collided head on with a team mate. He was motionless for what seemed like hours on the field he was paralyzed.

...When a football player is tackled with such force that they're motionless on the field...the stadium gets quiet, the player is surrounded by medical staff and coaches...the player isn't moving....the time keeps passing and you see no movement....the tension is thick...waiting, waiting for some motion, any movement, from the player...I say a prayer.

It makes me so nervous that I feel sick with anxiety. Is this a girl thing or what...what about you?

Can you name the worst incident when this happened while you were watching?


I've seen worse, unfortunately:

-Owen Hart breaking Steve Austin's neck at Summerslam in 1997. Austin was paraylzed for at least 60 seconds

-I remember watching a college football player getting tackled and ended up breaking his neck. He was paralyzed from the neck down. He died about 2-3 years ago.

During an arena football game, a guy was stepped on by an opposing player. He stepped on his neck, breaking it instantly. Unfortunately, it snapped a main artery and he died at the hospital that night.

It's the best feeling when the player moves and we get a sign that they're going to be okay, to the cheering crowd.

I remember the Byrd deal. ESPN just did a story on him 2 days about. He's 40 now and doing well. Still has a bad limp but other than that he's doing good.

The Joe Thiesman hit for LT has to be the worst ever! LT even was visibly shaken up from it. He was frantucally calling the medical staff over to the field.

Of course the Joe Theismann breaking his leg. THE CRACK HEARD ROUND THE WORLD!!!!! I ended up winning a contest with that bit of trivia years later.

There was a very sad story in Boston back in 1995 at a college hockey game. There's a book about it. Here's Amazon.com's description.

Within the 11 seconds that inspired this memoir, Travis Roy realized his dream, then smashed into his nightmare. On an October night in 1995, Roy, a talented young hockey player, skated onto the ice for his varsity debut with Boston University. Eleven fateful seconds later, he was paralyzed from the neck down. Aided by the sure touch of Sports Illustrated hockey writer E.M. Swift, Roy's moving account of his accident and his rehabilitation--confined to a wheelchair, he's gotten some use of his right arm back--avoids the maudlin. Instead, Eleven Seconds is filled with grit, hope, humor, and a thoughtful young man's introspection on the meaning of sports and the adjustments that follow when the ability to play them is taken away.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000IAZOYY.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_OU01_SCLZZZZZZZ_V41251943_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B000IAZOYY/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-5250952-9793722#reader-link)

I've seen worse, unfortunately:

-Owen Hart breaking Steve Austin's neck at Summerslam in 1997. Austin was paraylzed for at least 60 seconds

I remember seeing that when it happened, and immediately knowing something was seriously wrong, and just praying that Austin would be okay. Seeing him crawling towards Owen, with barely enough strength to pull him down for the pin, is a visual I will never forget. This incident unfortunatrely took a huge toll on him, and he's no longer wrestling today, in large part because of this injury.

I didn't see this one live, but I think the most shocking sports accident I ever saw, involved a pro hockey player named Clint Malarchuk. He was playing in a game and fell, and one of the opposing teams players skates slit his throat. Seeing the blood pouring out of his neck, was easily the most scary, and shocking sports accidents Iv'e ever seen. Miraculously, he ended up being okay, and even returned to playing two weeks later. :eek:

Clint Malarchuk incident (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4PenDwiPo)

I forgot the name of the player, but I remember a few years ago a Detroit Lions' lineman..forgot if it was offensive or defensive, go head-first into an opposing player's back, and he wound up motionless on the field for quite a long time.

Probably the most painful looking injury I've seen is Willis McGahee wreck his leg back when he was in college. Ouch.

Not a player injury, but I remember a few years ago at an NHL game in Columbus a puck went flying into the stands and hit a 13 year old girl in the forehead. She died a few days later.

Not a player injury, but I remember a few years ago at an NHL game in Columbus a puck went flying into the stands and hit a 13 year old girl in the forehead. She died a few days later.


I remember that very well. It was in early 2002. Because of that, they have nets on top of the glass.

Janice, I hope you aren't watching the game on NBC, because a Denver Bronco player was laying on the ground motionless for quite awhile.