Incredibly depressing Wayne Chrebet piece

Wow, this is sad.

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2007/09/chrebet_suffering_consequences.html

An outstanding piece. I hope someone remembers it come time for the BASW 2008.

 

Thanks for stopping by Kevin.

Seriously, though, that was a very well-written article. And I think haunting is a good word to describe it. It made me feel very strange reading it. I feel badly for him.

 

I still remember his last hit - it was near a sideline and somehow a camera captured his face - he looked gone.

Another reason I hate that YOU GOT JACKED shit by the four letter POS network. The pain and feeling of desperation that your brain is scrambled at 34 has got to be unbearable for these ex-players.

 

I'll never forget that. Against the Chargers in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Made a great third down catch and as soon as he didn't spring right up you knew you'd just seen the last catch of Wayne Chrebet's career.

you're right...that shot of his vacant face was chilling.

Thirty-four and completely lost.

 

Excellent article, I wish we could see more interviews about former NFL players. I always respects Chrebet and often thought he was one of the toughest players in the game. I am also sure if we checked in on most former NFL players their story wouldn't be much different.

 

Dr. Z's mentioned that from time to time, too. Completely agree with that, and that it was a well-written, somber piece to read.

 

Man, big hits are going to happen, and always have happened, before, during and after You Got Jacked. Big hits are part of the fucking game.

I feel for Chrebet, I do. No one deserves that fate, at 34 or 84. But he took a calculated risk choosing the profession he did... and that's a point that he understands, given the tone and nature of the story. It's why I have no problem with NFL players grabbing what they can, when they can. No other professional athlete pays a bigger toll in life after football.

 

You want sad go down to Walter Reed and write about some of the soldiers far worse off than Chrebet .

He chose to play football and also chose to continue to play after all those concussions.

I am surprised that Karen Crouse did not write this one. Lifetime Channel stories are usually her specialty.

 

No one's saying Chrebet is braver than a soldier, Boom.

And just because he chose to play in the NFL doesn't make scrambled eggs for brains at 34 any less sad.

That he chose this life--and would do it again, even knowing now what he didn't know then--makes it even more poignant.

 

Good point. Cases like this make you question this whole culture of celebrating and highlighting bone-jarring hits.

 

Chrebet's last catch was career-defining. Third-and-long, the 5-10 everyman leaping high to make an improbable catch, only to land on his head. 70,000 cheered the catch, the new set of downs and Mr. New York Jets. Then, the Meadowlands became quiet. Wayne Chrebet sat up without a look of life in his eyes.

 

I felt like I was there, talking to Wayne.

Great piece.