A&M’s Brown joins long list of injuries from celebrations
COLLEGE STATION — One second, Texas A&M defensive tackle BobbyBrown reveled in one of the highs of his college career, the next hewas on theKyle Field grass grabbing a knee in misery.
So go the unexpected perils of an on-field celebration, as Brown joined a long list of athletes felled not by hundreds of hours of intense training or repetitive bruising collisions during the course of a game but by that instant of bliss immediately following a big play.
“It’s hard to say to guys, ‘Don’t enjoymaking a play,’ ” A&Mcoach JimboFisher said. “This gameis so hard… not to enjoy a moment you have success on the field.”
Compared to some other celebration injuries, including the dislocated shoulder of Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger following a go-aheadhomerun inthe playoffs Sunday, Brown’smomentary merriment mostlywas innocuous.
Brown sacked Florida quarterback Kyle Trask on Oct. 10 in the third quarter of A&M’s 41-38 victory over the Gators and hopped up to celebrate. Fellow defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson gave Brown a slight congratulatory shove from behind — hardly uncommon among teammates in a moment of euphoria — and Brown came down awkwardly on his right knee.
He was helped off the field and missed the No. 7 Aggies’ 28-14 victory at Mississippi State on Saturday. The 3-1Aggies, who are enjoying their highest ranking in Fisher’s three seasons, are off this weekend before hosting Arkansas (2-2) on Halloween night.
“It was a freak thing,” Fisher said. “Bobby wasn’t mad (at Jackson), it was just something that happened. Guysbumpguys all the time. Bobby is fine, and he should be ready to go this week (for practice).”
A little more than a week after Brown’s bizarremishap, Bellinger leaped in the air after crossing home plate in Game 7 of the Dodgers’ National League Championship Series-clinching victory over the Atlanta Braves and giddily smashed forearms with teammate Kike Hernandez.
Considering this celebration was premeditated among millionaires who depend on their arms for a living, itwasmuch more foolishthanwhat happened to Brown.
“It was an exciting time — pure adrenaline,” a sheepish Bellinger said Monday. “Kind of a thing where you black out. Obviously I wishI didn’t do it, but itwas such a cool moment for me.”
Bellinger said he should be ready to go forGame1of theWorld Series on Tuesday night against theTampaBayRays. Bellinger and Brown glumly join quite a list of athletes injuredwhile celebrating.
Arizona Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica jumping for joy — and crashing to the ground in pain — following a 42-yard kick early in a game against the New York Giants in 2001 perhaps is the most memorable. Itwasn’t even a game-winning kick— just a routine field goal.
“My jump was excellent,” a good-humored Gramatica later said, “it was my landing I needed to work on. It was funny, and part of my career. I talk about it all the time; you have to laugh about it.”
Four years earlier then-Washington FootballTeamquarterback Gus Frerotte wasn’t laughing after headbutting a paddedwall to celebrate a touchdown. Frerotte sprained his neck and was hauled off to a hospital at halftime. Frerotte, who spent 15 seasons in the NFL but is best knownfor his reckless reaction to a score, later learned to grin about the painful result.
“If you didn’t have a sense of humor about it,” he once told sports columnist Thom Loverro, “I don’t think you would ever survive it.”
In 2014 two NFL defenders, the Detroit Lions’ Stephen Tulloch and the Chicago Bears’ Lamarr Houston, tore up their knees celebrating sacks. Tulloch was poking fun at sack victim Aaron Rodgers’ “discount double check” move fromRodgers’ insurance commercials when he hurt himself, and Houston’s ill-advised celebration occurred with the Bears trailing by more than three touchdowns.
Fisher said his main concern with between-play revelry isn’t injury but eating up too much time soaking in the moment.
“You’ve got to have joy, but I tell (the players), ‘ Make sure you’re not having so much joy we can’t get lined up with all the no-huddle that goes on today,’ ” Fisher said. “You work too hard not to show good emotion, and people say, ‘Act like you’ve been there before,’ but you’ve got to have some emotion. Showing emotion is good, being emotional is bad.
“Because anytime you’re emotional, you’re a play behind, whether on offense, defense or special teams. You’re still dwelling on the last play, whether it was good or bad.”