Failure™ Magazine

Are You Ready For Some Football Injuries?

The most bizarre injuries in NFL history.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Sports

In an even more unlikely accident, on May 18, 2003, Derrick Mason, a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans, broke his right hand while teeing off at a charity golf event sponsored by Titans’ head coach Jeff Fischer. “It’s just one of those freak things,” said Mason after-the-fact. “I hit the ball the wrong way and kind of twisted my hand.”

Sidelined
On September 19, 1971, in his regular season debut as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Dan Devine found himself unable to get out of the way of a play and was knocked to the ground by center, Bob Hyland. Devine was carted from the field with a broken leg and the Packers lost the game to the New York Giants, 42-40.

It wasn’t the only time a head coach has been felled on the sidelines. On September 13, 2008, during a game against the Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis—former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots—tore both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee after being knocked over by one of his own players during a punt return. “I feel like an athlete. First time in my life,” deadpanned Weis after the game, a 35-17 victory for the Fighting Irish.

Field of Seams
On August 13, 2001, a preseason game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens was cancelled 35 minutes after its scheduled start because of countless ruts, bumps, dips and divots in the newly-installed NexTurf field at Philadelphia’s soon-to-be-replaced Veterans Stadium. The cancellation protects both teams’ players from injury but the assembled media aren’t so lucky. The venue’s jam-packed press elevator breaks down, trapping 18 members of the press for 40 minutes.

Seeing The Hole Field
NFL players have long been known to complain about less-than-perfect field conditions, but all involved had a right to complain on September 30, 2001, when the Green Bay Packers visited the Carolina Panthers. During the game, chunks of turf up to 18 inches long were torn up on Ericsson Stadium’s natural grass field, leaving six- to eight-inch holes in the playing surface. Numerous players were hurt during the contest, including Packers safety Antuan Edwards and Panthers rookie first-round draft choice, Dan Morgan, both of whom suffered season-ending leg injuries. The Panthers’ head groundskeeper had been fired for off-the-field transgressions earlier in the year.

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