THERE'S BRAVE AND THEN THERE'S STUPID: MOTORCYCLES, HELMETS AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES
Super Bowl Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was in what appears to have been in a serious motorcycle accident this morning. This is the Monday after the Friday his coach asked him to pretty please wear a helmet. The injuries, of course, include head injuries.
I hope it's not as serious as the Pitt newspapers are making it sound and I hope this wakes up some professional athletes about the importance of their personal safety. It's like big Ben never heard of Winslow or Williams. At least Robin Yount wore protective gear and was professionally trained.
If I own a professional sports team, I'm gonna bargain for a no motorcycle clause that even precludes my athlete owning one! This is a modern epidemic and many dollars have been lost and many dreams broken because if poor judgment.
posted by UMRBlog @ 10:12
10 comments
10 Comments:
How bout a post on the poor showing by the US Soccer Team.
They're killing us out here, whitey!
Anyone else similarily shamed?
As shown by the comprehensive defeat of team USA by the bionics from the Czech repub (Jeez, one of their strikers is bigger than Adam Dunn!) and with all due respect to my dear friend, Matt Longo, soccer's pretty much for girls and foreigners.
Reminds me of Jeff Kent. Would think Big Ben had a harder head than that. Maybe he won't miss any PT. Thought he was over-rated anyway. SB perfomance was lackluster.
-Signed, ashamed to be an American today. (We could have at least won the yellow/red card tally!LOL)
Foreigners and Girls!! You abviously haven't seen the attendance at our local Quinsippi Soccer League lately!
Plus some soccer mom's are just MILF's!!
Now back to the Steeler QB situation. As a Cowboys fan from the 70's I still cheer against the steelers on every opportunity but hate to see something happen to an athlete of his caliber. What a shame.
On the otherside of that situation, as a motorcycle rider it drives me nuts to see people out riding without helmets. Yes, I know in IL we have the right to jump on a motorcycle wearing sandles, shorts, t-shirt, and sunglasses and we are in less violation of the law then the guy driving the cage without his seatbelt. (almost makes me want to ride the bike more because of the say the nazi ss is prosecuting seatbelt violations and gas prices) Can't say I am completely innocent of taking not advantage of that fact when making a short run to one of our local establishments or festivals. (can't beat the parking situation with a motorcycle) But on a normal basis, when I know I will be traveling with any speed over 30 mph I put the lid on. Does big Ben have anything more to lose than the rest of us? We have families to come home after out little liberating jaunts.
This is bad situaton because this person forgot to use what is between his ears to protect what is between his ears.
;)
Yeah, like we were gonna rought those guys up! The Wehrmacht on steroids.
Thanks for coming by.
The Soccer league comment is utterly tasteless. No doubt accurate, but tasteless.
I did once know a little league baseball coach who drafted his last four (spastic) roster spots by projecting (keep in mind this was in cool weather) which mommies would look good in summer halter top gear. That was also tasteless, resourceful but tasteless.
Now, on to Ben. I suppose Raider Fan will refer to this as the "Immaculate Intersection".
Two different questions. Does Ben have more to lose than anybody else by the decision not to wear a helmet? Only marginally. He's younger than the population median and he probably has a nicer life style so if he goes Reeves, he's falling a little farther perhaps than the 55 year old guy on his third divorce who has no retirement and a child support obligation until he's 62. But your point is valid. Closed head, facial injuries are dumpersville for anybody.
Does Ben have more to lose from the decision to ride a motorcycle than the average guy, helmet issue aside. Damn right he does. His career shelf life is probably 8-12 years. Top Earning is probably more like the 8. So any year he breaks a bone is one 12th of his legacy and his earning power going into the tank. For the rest of us that would be about one fortieth of our careers. Statistically, you're about four times more likely to break a limb riding a motorcycle than a wraparound vehicle. So yeah, he's taking a greater risk than Sam Sausage just getting on the bike.
I wish this weren't topical.
Thanks for coming by. Closing comments were good.
This MILF thing, when did that become a common term ?
I have the feeling if I ask a random old guy on the Sqaure what a MILF is, he would answer me easily.
I was hoping nobody would ask when it became a root word (you should pardon the expression).
I think it began when Jimmy Carter admitting to lusting in his heart. It was pretty much all downhill from there. Then Al Gore invented the iternet and we've had global hots ever since.
Yes sir, moderating comments has really elevated the dialogue on this one.
The Dean's gonna have us all on double secret probation
Had no idea about MILF, had to look it up! I was cool in 1983, though.
Sigh!
I like to think this page can be educational. Still, this is kinda not what I had in mind.
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