I like to see people get leveled when I watch football.That?s why most people watch sports anyhow.
Look at NASCAR ? we want crashes. But we want hard hits and car wrecks where everybody involved dusts themselves off and then the demolishee takes the demolisher out for a drink for congratulations on cleaning his clock.
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Nobody ever wants to see what happened to Brian Hampton. The Navy quarterback suffered a dislocated knee and tore three ligaments against Rutgers last weekend.
An injury like that makes me do two things. First, I think about what Ronnie Lott would do in the situation, and then I return to reality and think about how long this poor kid is out.
These kinds of injuries are nothing new. Joe Theismann was destroyed by Lawrence Taylor. Musa Smith got horse-collared by Roy Williams. Even Brian Roberts got plowed at Yankee Stadium. All were painful and public.
Theismann never made it back, but Smith and Roberts both returned to action for the Ravens and Orioles, respectively. As professional athletes, they had the time and the money to push their rehabilitation to the limit and return as soon as possible. For Hampton, however, a return to the Midshipmen might be all but impossible.
“I?m still under the speculation if I can get back or not,” Hampton told The Examiner this week. “I?m not too sure whether or not I should just say, ?Hey, you know, throw in the towel.?”
The good news for the senior is that his knee can be repaired and he believes it will not hinder his service selection in November. The Midshipman also is not daunted in the least by the biggest task he has ahead of him now: graduation. He knows he will miss some school after the surgery and he will be relegated to crutching around Annapolis for some time.
“School?s a mental game,” Hampton said. “It?s not about my physical wellness. I can do school work. It?s not going to be that difficult for me.”
I guess after plebe summer,a month or so on crutches is like a vacation.
Hampton is showing the courage and wisdom of a football player who is hanging up his cleats after a long career in the pros.
“I don?t cry over spilled milk,” he said. “It happens. It?s football. We?re not our here to just play patty-cake with each other. I don?t have any regret with the way I played. I play like every play was going to be my last.”
Hampton is going to focus on school and his goal of entering flight school as a Marine pilot next fall. He does, however, still have some hope that he can make it back onto the gridiron.
“I?ll cling on to taking victory formation and kneeling,” he said. “That?s still being on the field. I?m still holding on to that.”
I hope you get that chance, Brian.
Kevin T. Connor is a staff writer for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
