by Josh Komon

One of the biggest pre-game stories of the Super Bowl is Dwight Freeney and his injured ankle. How bad is it? Will be play? If he does play, will he be effective? All valid questions, none of which will be fully answered until the game begins.

 

Speculation is nice and all, but a better predictor of future performance is past example. Dwight Freeney has never been in this position exactly, so one must examine other athletes playing through injuries in big games. We can look at the injury, how it was endured, and the resulting performance.

 

Probably the closest example would be Byron Leftwich, playing on a broken shin for Marshall University. His heart and courage cannot be questioned. His decision (or rather the coach’s decision) to play can be. He brought his team back, but they ultimately lost by 14 points to Akron.

 

Trevor Wikre, a Colorado football player, had an injury which he wished to play through. This was not a big bowl game, but it was the last game of his collegiate career. In order to play through this injury, Trevor had to have his finger amputated. Why is this relevant? Well, Dwight Freeney will not be amputating his ankle in order to play, but he could conceivably ruin his career by further injuring this ankle. There will be no bigger game in his career, but there could be others as big. Is the risk worth the reward, Mr. Freeney?

 

Curt Schilling is another great example, not because he is a football player (which he is not) but because he played in a huge game through a serious ankle injury. Bloody sock aside, (We have the capability to take a tendon out of someone’s knee, and place in their elbow, but we can’t figure out how to make blood stop. Maybe they were out of bandaids) the performance he gave on one bad ankle was legendary, basically shutting down a hot offense, and keeping his team alive. This may be what Dwight Freeney needs to do.

 

There are countless other injuries that players have played through in big games. Each had varying results. For Freeney, he is not the quarterback, but is the best defensive player on the team. He should play, because his team needs him. He should risk it all, as there will never be a BIGGER game. Lastly, he should get some fake blood, and apply it to his ankle area periodically throughout the game. This formula guarantees victory for himself and the Colts.