Football can give.
Oh, it can give. A school, a town, an entire state in need of a shot in the arm can reap the rewards.
People who have placed value within institutions, within teams, within athletics find themselves appreciative of football’s gifts. They reminisce. Over the good, over the bad, over what they saw and what they didn’t, how they felt and how they didn’t feel.
People try to analyze, but the best memories stay fresh, stay vivid. Games neatly fold into the greater context of the history of football. The most special moments always emerge, like the cream rising to the top. At its best, football is – is there any more appropriate word? – winsome.
Facts, names, dates, memories, heartbreak, tragedy, love, loss, storylines, technicalities, details, representations – these all came flooding back on Sunday to Duck fans old and young.
The top-ranked team in the nation residing in the state of Oregon? Not thirty years ago, Oregon’s two flagship universities engaged in a football contest in deplorable conditions of questionable competitive merit. The symbolism was lost on no one when the result was a 0-0 draw.
These days, the Toilet Bowl is laughed at. Its mention is followed by a grunt of disgust and a shake of the head. This No. 1 ranking? Regardless of what happens this season, its mention will be met with a vocal exaltation and an upward tilt of the chin. Memories – good, bad, as of yet unmade – will be flooding back, in stunning clarity and vividity.
Football can take.
Eric LeGrand is a junior defensive tackle for the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University. The Avenel, N.J. native has recorded 13 tackles through six games, with two tackles for loss, half a sack and a fumble recovery. He does not start but contributes within the regular rotation and on special teams.
This past Saturday, Rutgers was embroiled in a close game with the Black Knights of Army. Scarlet Knights quarterback Chas Dodd, a true freshman, connected with Mark Harrison for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 5:16 remaining. The score was tied at 17 apiece, but momentum was with Rutgers – head coach Greg Schiano’s team had just erased a 14-point deficit.
Army running back Malcolm Brown fielded the Rutgers kickoff. LeGrand, a member of the kick coverage team, raced downfield toward him. He leapt into the air to tackle Brown. According to the New York Times, “The top of LeGrand’s helmet made contact with Brown’s left shoulder in a thicket of bodies near the 25-yard line. LeGrand crumpled to the ground, his body stiff. He lay motionless on the field as medical personnel from both teams attended to him.”
Eric LeGrand is paralyzed from the neck down.
Emergency surgery was performed on Saturday night to stabilize LeGrand’s spine. Whether he may regain control of his limbs will likely remain unclear for several months.
Rutgers wound up winning the game against Army, 23-20, after Joe Martinek’s one-yard touchdown run in the first overtime period sealed the victory. Afterward, no heart or mind of a Scarlet Knight was focused on anyone else, or anything else, but Eric LeGrand.
“Eric’s spirits were as good as you can expect,” Schiano said Sunday in a teleconference, as reported by the New York Times. “He was cognizant of me being there, his mom, everybody. He’s a fighter.”
Schiano and several medical experts cited the case of former Penn State defensive tackle Adam Taliaferro. In 2000, Taliaferro fractured the C5 vertebra in his back while making a tackle. Eight months after the incident, he regained the ability to walk.
In 2007, Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered a spinal cord injury while making a special teams tackle on then-Denver Bronco Domenik Hixon in an NFL game. Everett suffered a break between the C3 and C4 vertebrae of his spine, similar to LeGrand. He would regain the ability to walk.
In 1991, Detroit Lions guard Mike Utley suffered a fracture of the C6 and C7 vertebrae during an NFL game. He remains paralyzed from the chest down today.
In 1978, New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley suffered a spinal cord injury after a collision with Oakland Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum during a preseason game. Stingley remained a quadriplegic until his death in 2007.
In 2010, on October 17, Lions linebacker Zack Follett and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, former teammates at Cal, were both knocked out and assisted off the field in separate games. Neither suffered neck or spine injuries, though both suffered head injuries.
In 2010, on October 9, Oregon running back Kenjon Barner was hit by Washington State safety Anthony Carpenter during the Ducks’ 43-23 win over the Cougars. Barner, who suffered a concussion, is likely unable to play against UCLA this week, if he plays at all this season.
All separate incidents, some thousands of miles apart. All bound by the elementary lesson of give and take.
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