OK, who jinxed allthe Baltimore area quarterbacks last weekend?
First, Towson University sophomore Sean Schaefer came down with an unspecified illness before Saturday and missed the Tigers? blowout loss to UMass. About 45 miles away, Navy likely lost Brian Hampton for the season after he suffered a gruesome knee dislocation after getting tackled on a run against Rutgers. To top it off, the man the Ravens are banking their season on, Steve McNair, was sidelined by a concussion early in Sunday?s loss to the Carolina Panthers.
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I get the feeling we need to show McNair an educational filmstrip, hosted by The Simpsons? Troy McClure: “And remember, Steve, when you see a 300-pound defensive lineman barreling down on you, that means trouble. He?s a stranger, and he means to harm you. Be a good quarterback and duck and cover!”
Not coincidentally, all three teams lost without their main guy in control for much of the game. Only a fool would chalk those losses up to their replacements, who all did admirable jobs in unenviable situations.
None of the injuries was more heartbreaking than Hampton?s. When he was on the field, feeling nothing but pure agony, his teammates could only watch as he was loaded on to a cart and taken away to a nearby hospital. Seeing Hampton?s backup, Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada tear up afterward hit me square in the chest. The young man, simply called Kaipo, reflected on watching his pained “brother” on the ground. The bond between the two quarterbacks was evident.
The game of football is a refuge for many of the Navy players. In many ways, the field is where their last bit of innocence is played out. I thought about how for some of these Midshipmen, it could the first of many times they would see a “brother” or a leader fall in excruciating pain.
Many of them are trained to get back up, like Hampton did, albeit with the eventual help of crutches. Hampton hobbled out of the team?s locker room following the game. He wanted to finish what he started. His regret was evident.
In those moments, it was clear why his hardened troops cried. Their leader never wanted to leave them behind.
Matt Palmer is a staff writer for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
