Injuries remind us to value today

Gruesome.
That’s a word that never turns out well. It usually refers to knees twisting unnaturally, feet pointed in the wrong direction, bones jutting out visibly through the skin.
So when that word was used to describe Paul George’s injury last week, I immediately decided to avoid any video or photos of the incident. I’m not a big fan of the grisly, especially after seeing my brother’s leg filleted open about 20 years ago when he fell from a tree. (My sisters and brother were no strangers to the emergency room at St. John West Shore Hospital in Westlake, Ohio.)
Most sports fans have seen video of the injury Joe Theismann suffered that ended his career. Louisville guard Kevin Ware’s nasty injury during the 2013 NCAA Tournament is another that happened in front of a national TV audience.
And I’ve seen enough “gruesome” injuries in person at sporting events to last me a lifetime.
The worst on that list came in 2009 on the Jay County High School soccer field. The Patriot boys were hosting Blackford when less than four minutes into the game Bruins’ forward Jesse Case tried to stop a Jeremiah Cotherman run down the left side of the field.
As Cotherman prepared to send a pass across the middle, Case planted his foot. But he landed awkwardly, snapping his lower left leg.
Taking photos at that end of the field, I was probably the closest non-player to the action. It wasn’t pretty.
But it was the reaction of Case’s teammates that told the story. They went running off of the field, some struggling to control their stomachs, most screaming in horror.
The injury delayed the game for about a half hour as Case was taken from the field in the ambulance.
He recovered, but that moment is one I, and anyone in attendance, will never forget.
I’ve seen similar broken legs in both football and gymnastics. And I’ve witnessed more than my share of torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), most notably sitting just a few feet away when 2010 Fort Recovery High School graduate Nicole Pottkotter’s senior season came to an end in the girls basketball sectional championship game at Van Wert.
The Indians went on to lose 56-55 to Archbold in the district semifinal without Pottkotter, their captain and leader in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. I remain convinced that had Pottkotter not suffered the injury, FRHS would have made a run to the state finals. (It went to the state final four a year later.)
And that brings me to my point.
In sports, opportunities are fleeting. The “wait ’til next year” mentality just doesn’t work.
Just last summer it seemed like a good bet that the Indiana Pacers would win an NBA title in the next five years. They were loaded with young talent and had pushed the Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
But after a great start this year, Indiana struggled down the stretch and barely squeaked through the first two rounds of the playoffs before being dispatched by the Heat. And now, Lance Stephenson has departed through free agency and George faces the possibility of missing the entire 2014-15 season because of his injury.
All too often athletes don’t learn this lesson until it’s too late.
High school sophomores tend to think they have plenty of time to accomplish their goals. But graduation comes fast.
Professional athletes might believe they have plenty of time to win a title, especially if they have some early success. But there are scores of examples like Dan Marino, who went to the Super Bowl in his second season, lost, and never got there again.
Hopefully George makes a full recovery and returns to all-star form.
And hopefully he and the Pacers can achieve the kind of success they once seemed destined for.
But his injury should also serve as a reminder to take advantage of today. We never know what tomorrow will bring.