If football players were like horses

I’m not sure how many of you actually watched the Preakness Stakes last weekend (I only did because it was in HD), but if you watch SportsCenter at all there is no way you could’ve missed the highlights. Just to bring you up to speed real quick; the heavy favorite and Kentucky Derby winning horse, Barbaro, pulled up lame shortly after the race started when he broke his right hind leg. So obviously, as horse racing goes, if a racing horse breaks its leg its career is pretty much over. Which I understand completely because there is a lot of training that goes along to be able to compete at that level.

But the biggest shocker to me was the doctor reporting on the status of the surgery to repair the broken leg. Dr. Dean Richardson, who performed the six-hour surgery, reported to ABC News on Monday that Barbaro’s chance of surviving the surgery was a 50/50 shot. Am i missing something here?? Since when does having a broken leg mean you die?!?! I could understand if this was some new species that doctor’s had no expierence with, but horses have been breaking legs for thousands of years!

This incident however has got me thinking. Can you imagine if football players were like horses? Back in 2004 Atlanta Falcon star and STD carrier, Michael Vick, broke his leg during one of the first preseason games of the year. I can just hear the doctor after the game now: “Mike has broken his right leg in two places, and as of right now, we’re afraid he might not make it through the night. This injury coupled with his herpes outbreaks make his chances of survival very very slim.” I mean, after I think about it for another minute, I kinda wish football players were really like horses. That way when LT broke Joe Theisman’s leg back in 1985, the Redskin trainers could have taken Joe out behind the stadium and put him down. But instead we’ve been forced to listen to his lame and arrogant sunday night football commentary! But alas, humans are not horses and doctors apparently are not very skilled at all. Guess I better get my gift basket full of Beef-a-roni cans ready for Barbaro’s funeral.

4 Responses to "If football players were like horses"

Jon 05252006

In case you were wondering a horse’s legs are their lifestream. The nerves in their legs are strong, but just strong enough that 4 good legs can only support a horse’s weight…not just 3. A horse cannot survive on just three legs as the circulation would get all jacked up and would effect other major organs.
Luckily for our good friend Barbaro, he is doing fine and was last seen checking out the mares in the stable for breeding time.
Dr. Doolittle…Out.
Adam Little 05252006

Thank you Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. :)
lisa 05302006

burn!
Daniel 0692006

“But instead we’ve been forced to listen to his lame and arrogant sunday night football commentary!”

Ha ha! So true! Theisman’s comments tend to make my blood boil, which is kind of sick when you think about it.

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