Jim McMahon: ‘My memory's pretty much gone' (Super Bowl QB - concussions)

[underpants]

Sad news from one of the most interesting and entertaining players of this last generation -- According to the Chicago Tribune, former Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles (among other teams) quarterback Jim McMahon is suffering from memory loss that he ties to head injuries he suffered during his NFL career. The 51-year-old McMahon was the controversial "punky QB," and the winning signal-caller in the Chicago Bears' 46-10 Super Bowl XX victory in January of 1986.

"Back then, it was just tape an aspirin to your helmet and you go back in," McMahon said Friday at the Bears' recent Super Bowl XX reunion. "I've worked with some neurosurgeons and it's a very serious thing, man.

"My memory's pretty much gone. There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there. I'm going through some studies right now and I am going to do a brain scan. It's unfortunate what the game does to you."

"The honest truth is we're going to lie , whether it's your head or a knee or any kind of injury," Chrebet said in a 2007 New York Times story. " to take it out of the players' hands. We want to be out there. We want to be out there for our teammates, out there for the fans, out there for the organization, and that's how we're going to do things. If the guidelines say that you definitely have to miss a certain amount of time, that would probably help the cause."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Jim-McMahon-My-memory-s-pretty-much-gone-?urn=nfl-284214

[Hassin Bin Sober]

1. "We want to be out there for our teammates, out there for the fans, out there for the organization"

Yeah, fame and fortune had nothing to do with it, eh?

[JackintheGreen]

2. Yeah, some guys do.

You've never felt loyalty to your co-workers or employers, regardless of pay? Besides, he was on contract. He would've been paid whether he played or not.

[Johnny Noshoes]

4. Loyalty to an employer...seriously.

The employer will lay you off or outsource your job after YEARS of service and if you're lucky you'll get a few weeks severance pay,a thank you very much, and a don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. You do your best because you're an adult and you have a job to do but don't expect ANY loyalty or appreciation from management because to them you're just a piece of meat that costs them money.

[underpants]

6. Rodney Harrison on NBC's Sunday night coverage

let's not forget that Harrison was one of the chief cheapshot artists in the NFL. He was suspended for both cheapshots and performance enhancing drugs...so naturally he is given a spot on a national network TV broadcast.

He stated the same thing about suspensions- that it was letting down his teammates that was most upsetting. Bullshit, it is about the money. Everything is about the money that is why we study economics (oh and finance which is another thing than economics). Harrison is on TV clearly to support the image of the NFL in the Goddell era which is basically rightwing use of distraction to ignore the reality in front of us. There is a collective bargaining battle that should be the top NFL story right now but the NFL doesn't want that (the NFLPA does) as it will try to prep the battlefield on talkradio and the sports media to make the whole thing the players fault.

[islandmkl]

3. some of the comments on the webpage fall into the common mantra:

"you got paid a lot of money to play a game...so quit bitching"

funny...anyone who thinks football is merely a game (especially at the NFL level) should just take their ass down to the field, wrangle a sideline pass, and watch the speed, size, violence and mayhem that the 'game' really is...

many fans (and nearly all non-fans) never understand the level of accomplishment that professional sports figures have achieved...

hey, desk jockey...tough shit about your carpal-tunnel syndrome and weakening eyesight...you got paid for it...oh wait, YOUR insurance covers YOUR problems...

[trumad]

8. I call it the crowd that always got picked last in a pick up game.

[SidDithers]

5. K&R...nt

Sid

[Zax2me]

7. The NFL is taking proactive steps....

now to prevent head injuries. Many reasons include money. A recent lawsuit by Mike Webster's survivors cost the league millions.
Unfortunately, football 'fans' are actually griping! Noting the loss of the 'integrity' of the game.
The fact is the NFL now sees helmet to helmet hits as a non-issue - it is no longer going to be allowed.
Those remaining that argue it is making the league a 'sissy' game are dinosaurs. They are fighting a lost cause and are going to lose.