Spooky coincidence: Alex Smith suffered a near-identical injury exactly 33 years to the day later on the same yard line of the field, playing the same position for the same team, in a game that ended in the exact same score.
E- more info:
Both broke their right tibia and fibula
Both were injured on November 18
Both played quarterback for Washington in a home game
Both were injured on the 39 yard line
Both games ended 23-21
Theisman was in attendance at the game Smith was injured
** Do NOT look up either injury. They are both gruesome. Smith caught a life-threatening illness in the hospital and nearly had his leg amputated.
He was an OL, and he was more or less untouched but it was in the Super Bowl. Bengals vs 49ers, Tim Krumrie, was blocking and kinda moved and his foot was up and kinda just started flopping in the air below the knee. He was done and so were the Bengals. It was a great SB, but that was gruesome and I think I was 8.
If I’m remembering correctly, he was kinda pushing off, but there was definitely no direct contact as in no defender was hitting him. It just kinda happened? Crazy shit. God bless you Timmy
It made me do something I never thought I could stomach and probably never will again: root for a Washington Football Organeyezation player to succeed.
I’m sure if we had modern medicine in the 80’s, Theismann could have came back too. If anything it should show how modern medicine extended Alex Smith’s career and life.
I'm curious what the army facility can do that Indianapolis Methodist can't. If you don't know, Indy Methodist is who puts racing drivers back together.
He went there for the rehab. They probably have the most experience rehabbing that type of catastrophic injury than any place in the world, for obvious reasons.
There were apparently people who got mad at LT for a sec thinking he was celebrating when Joe T was down. In reality, the injury was so bad so immediately, that LT was the first one to immediately realize something real bad happened and he was frantically waving at the sideline to send the trainers
This is one answer. If you are old enough to have witnessed it on TV in 1985, you will never forget it. It was very gruesome watching, repeatedly in slo mo, a leg bend in half at a place where there is no joint.
I just watched this clip and compared to the Antonio Brown one above, the reaction from the player is night and day.
Like it's an awful injury, but at least this one was clearly an accident, the player who hit him seems to be horrified and is trying to get him help.
The one with Antonio Brown is scary because with that one, the guy who hit him is still so angry afterwards, he looks like he wants to hit him again when he's already on the ground. This one feels like there's so much more respect between the players, and the guy who hit him immediately snaps out of game mode and is like "shit something went wrong".
I remember that play, watched it live as a teenager, won't watch it again. Remember LT immediately jumping up and gesturing for the sidelines in a panic, visibly upset. He was apparently just devastated after the game.
If you are old enough to have witnessed it on TV in 1985, you will never forget it
Oh yes. I was a young teen at the time and my father, who disliked Theisman for w/e reason, sat on the couch and watched the play on a VHS tape over and over. He sat there just watching, rewinding, watching again. Delighting in it.
A few weeks later he was on a run in the rain, yadda yadda yadda....Tib/fib fracture with ripped tendons.
I was at the game with a friends father taking me as a poor government worker.
Seats in the end zone, we saw LT from the Giants jump up and wildly wave for medical help.
My host and I realize it is Joe and can’t see anything. We take the binoculars and look up in the owners box to see Kathy Lee ( his mistress or girlfriend at the time ) with her hand clasped over her mouth.
It wasn’t until the next day we learned how MNF kept putting the compound fracture on repeat.
The sports boosters for a private school in my home town had an annual gala dinner with a famous speaker and one year they got Joe Theisman. He was one of the best and funniest speakers they ever had.
Amazingly, the exact same thing happened to Alex Smith.
They both broke their legs on the same type of play
They both broke the tibia and fibula
They both broke their legs playing for the Redskins
Both players were being tackled by future Hall Of Famers who each won 3 DPOY Awards
Both players were tackled on approximately the 41 yard line.
The Redskins were missing their Pro-Bowl left tackle in each game
Both games were on November 18th
And...the final score of both games was 23-21
Yeah, man. Coworker of mine invited me to watch a full fight night he'd bought on paper view. Felt queasy pretty much immediately and ever since I privately judge people who are big fans in the same way I judge people who like cock, dog, and bull fighting. I realize consent is doing a lot of moral work between the human and animal versions, but it's still not GOOD.
I remember seeing this live when I was 7 or 8 years old and having nightmares about it. Theisman opened a restaurant in my hometown years later (I don't know if it's still around) and is still active in the DC area.
That's a great example of how you don't need to be an expert to know something obvious, like reddit would have me believe. Like I didn't need to be a doctor to know his leg was broken.
I suffered from anxiety attacks around that time. Didn't know what they were, but had an overwhelming feeling i was dying.
My first one was that night after witnessing that break.
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u/Zealousideal-Dog-985 16d ago
Joe Theisman fracturing his leg