I'm really gonna regret this
Someone got to my website using the search "Joe Theismann's injury in pictures." The text is bad enough, bringing back painful memories:
1985: A gruesome broken leg resulting from a sack in a Monday night game against the New York Giants ended Theismann's career.
ESPN covered it as the most shocking moment in NFL history - even more shocking than number two:
1. LT breaks Joe Theismann's leg (88 letters)
Joe Theismann's leg injury is burned into the minds of millions of fans.
The first moment that came to my mind was Lawrence Taylor breaking Joe Theismann's leg. It was on "Monday Night Football" and they kept replaying it and replaying it. The sight was ungodly, and while there are other moments that might shock a person, this one shocked the nation in prime time.
Kevin Winter
Everett, Wash.
Undoubtedly, the night Joe Theismann had his lower leg snapped like a stale chopstick by LT in 1985. Not necessarily because it was as grotesque a sight as anyone has seen on live TV, but because it happened in front of about 70 bah-jillion people during "Monday Night Football." Moreover, if you didn't see it, you could damn well bet at least five people told you about it the next day. I saw it, and still can't shake that image of LT rolling down on Joe's leg, the sudden snap, LT jumping up holding his helmet with both hands looking horrified at poor Joe on the ground and frantically waving in the trainers to come fix what he'd broken.
Derrick Ingram
Lexington, Ky.
Joe T's leg snap ... Can we see it seven more times please, ABC?
Colvin
Annapolis, Md.
2. O.J. charged with double murder (80 letters)
The O.J. fiasco is the most shocking moment in all of sports. For a world-renowned star to be implicated in such a hidious crime was a shock, not only to the sporting world but to the entire society. The months that followed, through the arrest and trial, proved to be a sideshow. It is a real black mark upon sports, and absolutely the most shocking.
Arty Gullotti
Ft. Wayne, Ind.
O.J. Simpson's jury ruled to acquit after the glove didn't fit.
I'll never forget that photo of him standing handcuffed, looking like a little kid in a heap of trouble, just a couple of days before "the chase." Nobody wanted to believe it.
Brian Morrissey
Chicago
Forget O.J. being accused -- the most shocking event was his being acquitted.
Kory Oberpriller
Austin, Texas
Before 9/11, I had never seen any event get so much news coverage. There was a nationwide consensus of shock as we watched the white Bronco go down the 405. There were even people cheering him on from the freeway overpasses. It shows how sports (and the glamour of professional athletes) can blind a person, and make him cheer a man who had been suspected of killing two people in cold blood while he is being chased by the authorities. Since this incident, it seems athletes' private lives have become as much a tabloid issue as sports page content. Shocking.
David Guerreva
Torrance, Calif.
Nothing in the NFL was ever so poetic as to watch O.J. glide across the field ... what a shock, to uncover the core of the man who hid for so long behind the mask of celebrity. When he was first arrested, I remember seeing people holding signs that read, "Innocent or guilty, we still love you." The trial was run under the same principle, making his athletic prowess larger than life -- or death. This is so wrong, and so shocking.
Barry Parker
Riverside, Calif.
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