O.T. Former NFL QB Jim McMahon struggling with memory loss
Sad story. I enjoyed watching him play. Has to give Denard and all QB's pause...
"My memory's pretty much gone," McMahon recently told the Chicago Tribune. "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.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:35 PM ^
This stuff terrifies me. I don't think I ever had a hit that was too bad when I played, so I don't worry much about myself, but this stuff is making me think long and hard about letting my sons play. Thankfully, the two oldest are 4, so I have some time to see what develops.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:54 PM ^
REGRETS NOTHING!!!
(on a side note, I met Jim once. His kid played hockey and we're about the same age. My dad thought it was the coolest thing ever, he had moved to Chicago in like 1981, and lived through Da Bears and the Shuffle and everything. FWIW, He said that McMahon was gracious, and more normal than expected. He was just a dad rooting for his son. Sad to hear this...)
November 10th, 2010 at 3:47 PM ^
While I also have time - sons are 5 and 2 this month - this stuff scares me. And more and more of it is coming out. Maybe they'll like baseball more ...
November 10th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
I would rather my kids run around with superbowl rings than run around with small (you get the point)
November 10th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^
I have a son who's pretty big and enjoys flag football. In the past I thought he could play for the city youth (tackle) football team when he's old enough, if he wanted. He's expressed a desire to play.
Now I'm thinking we'll keep him in flag football for as long as possible.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:38 PM ^
Yes it is unfortunate. Only the tip of the iceberg though. We're going to be hearing a lot more ex-players that are going through this.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:39 PM ^
He was one of my favorites growing up. Sad to hear.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:40 PM ^
I've made this joke before, but as it turns out...banging your head against something over and over again is bad for you.
I've heard Merril Hoge tell some of his horror stories. He'd talk about not being able to sit in a room with flourescent lights. He'd tell stories of going around the block for some errand for the wife and getting completely lost and not having any idea why he was there.
I love football, but if you play beyond a certain point, you have to know that you are trading years off of your life. In fact, I remember reading somewhere that each year a person spends in the NFL is like taking 3.5 years off their life expectancy.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^
November 10th, 2010 at 4:09 PM ^
The average NFL career is very, very short. Sure, there are some outliers, but if you look at the big picture:
The average career is 3.3 years. So, the average player lives 3.5 years X 3.3 years less than 75 would be 63. I can't validate any of those numbers, just the math. But this does not seem out of line to me.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:12 PM ^
November 10th, 2010 at 3:53 PM ^
That must mean Brett Favre is gonna die, like, tomorrow.
November 10th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
Brett Favre will die tomorrow, and then out of nowhere, rise again in three days!
November 10th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
His unit and its photos will live on though!
November 10th, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
As much as I want to blame Charles Martin for this outcome ... I half wonder if this isn't the result of what McMahon put in his body than what football did to it.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:25 PM ^
I was thinking the same thing. After moving to Chicago I see random McMahon stories in the media here and all the guy does these days is golf and drink (great life in my book!). Howeva - one would think that all the boozeing can't help any brain injuries he received while playing.
Interesting side note - I read a story about him golfing in all these celebrity golf outings and fund raisers. Apparently he golfs barefoot. He's living the dream in his retirement.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:53 PM ^
Living In the DC area when Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer were out boozing around every night, it is amazing to me that Sonny in his mid 70's was still announcing. It is possible that McMahon did more drinking than did Sonny and Billy, whose antics were legion, in DC.
The other thing that comes to mind is something similar to ALS which a statistically significant number of NFL players have come down with - the NFL has very serious concerns for obvious reasons, as it would be virtually impossible to avoid head injuries without a major change in the way the game is played or some way to reduce head trauma from hits is conceived through a new helmet design.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^
As guys get bigger and faster hits are only going to be more violent.
I forget where I read/heard it, but I think Oklahoma at one point used "soft" shelled helmets in practice that were actually safer. But switched to the "hard" shell because they wanted an even playing field and have the "weapon".
Another solution....take off the facemasks.
Edit: I will state that I don't agree with Goodell going fine crazy and changing the rules/enforcement mid-season. You're basically asking guys to change the way they play in an ineffective way.
November 10th, 2010 at 3:50 PM ^
As a Browns fan I hate everything about the Steelers, but Mike Webster is truly a sad story. I'm not sure how I really feel on the subject, football is a dangerous game, and the players are compensated generously for playing it. I guess I feel that if they don't want to subject themselves to the dangers of the NFL, than while you're getting a free education you have the freedom to apply yourself in a different profession.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
I'm the funky QB they call McMahon. When I hit the field I've got no.....
uh
wait a minute
where was I again?
November 10th, 2010 at 4:20 PM ^
Everybody know's he's the PUNKY QB
Jim McMahon :
I'm the punky QB, known as McMahon.
When I hit the turf, I've got no plan.
I just throw my body all over the field.
I can't dance, but I can throw the pill.
I motivate the cats, I like to tease.
I play so cool, I aim to please.
That's why you all got here on the double
To catch me doin' the Super Bowl Shuffle.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^
Damn I never knew that.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^
... it's amazing he even played in the NFL, since he had almost no vision in his right eye.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^
Sad. I, too, enjoyed watching him play. It was too bad he was injury prone. But it did lead to an amazing comeback against the Vikings (? I think), where he didn't start, da Bears were behind, and he came in and led them to victory.
November 10th, 2010 at 5:10 PM ^
Where we (the Bears) had an amazing McMahon-led comeback. He started the game on the sidelines with an injury but asked his way back in, and was put back in, and led a remarkable comeback.
The greatest play from that game however, will be remembered by Bears fans not because of what McMahon did - but because of what Walter Payton did. The Bears had a screen pass to Payton called, but the Vikings blitzed someone up the middle. With absolutely minimal reaction time, and in putting his body in position for a violent collission, Payton ran up and stoned the blitzing linebacker. McMahon dropped back, caught his bearings - remember, the play was a RB screen - and found Willie Gault streaking up the sidelines for a TD.
It was a great McMahon-led comeback, but I think most of us remember that play by Sweeness most.
November 10th, 2010 at 4:54 PM ^
I am glad that the research into brain injuries is picking up steam and High Schools, Colleges, and the NFL are taking them more seriously. As someone who has had multiple concussions they are not fun. I am 25 and between high school and college had 3 diagnosed concussions, plus many times where I got my "bell rung." It is scary to think that my cognitive ability might diminish much faster than my peers'.
Heres to hoping that they find safer gear and rules that work. I know these guys love the game, but I would much rather remember why I went somewhere than be paid millions and play a game.
November 10th, 2010 at 5:01 PM ^
Geez, how about boxers?
November 10th, 2010 at 11:04 PM ^
Dementia Pugilistica, and it's been known about for years, prompting calls for bans on boxing at least as far back as the 1950s. I knew a neurologist who worked as a ring doctor because he loved boxing, but he also did a research paper about the syndrome (back in the early '80s, I think).
November 10th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
is one of many, I'm sure..........with the pounding these guys take, I'm sure there are a lot of guys with concussion related problems...........
November 10th, 2010 at 6:47 PM ^
I think it's just a matter of time before helmets with a soft outer shell (like the ones a few NFL players wore a decade ago) come back and become mandatory. That will help a lot. Having a hard shell that can be used as a weapon is ridiculous when you think about it.
November 10th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
I agree but I still think the helmet as a weapon produces a minority of the head impacts. Many come from the head hitting the ground or a knee etc. That can only be helped with better technology inside the helmet, which I'm sure they are working on constantly.
Tough problem for the game we love.
November 10th, 2010 at 10:34 PM ^
Yes, but the outside of the helmet still is a major factor in those. A blunt object will strike another object with more force than a soft one.
November 10th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
Too bad this is happening. He was a colorful figure in a far better way than some of the clowns in the NFL now.
November 10th, 2010 at 9:13 PM ^
I really wouldn't be surprised to see football go the way of boxing a bit in terms of kids being told about its dangers and (maybe) going to lower-contact sports like basketball and soccer. It just seems that every couple of days a former player reports debilitating problems related to repeated head trauma. What's interesting to me is that the guys who take the worst hits are probably the linemen on both sides, since there world is a series of sudden and violent collisions on almost every play. I'll be interested to see what the NFL and NCAA do in the coming years to address the problem (beyond the funded studies they already have going).
November 11th, 2010 at 7:12 AM ^
More concussions occur in soccer than in any other sport at the youth (high school and below) level. Just throwing that out there.
I think a lot has to do with the insane athleticism of every athlete on the field in the NFL. Everyone flys around the field and simply "wrapping up" is no longer an option. Whereas in youth football, there may only be one real athlete on the field and they are fast enough to catch the guy and, you know, actually tackle them, as opposed to launching their body at them.
November 11th, 2010 at 8:39 AM ^
First let me say that this is in no way to make light of what McMahon's going through today. I know a guy who knew him for a few seasons, and he said McMahon was borderline insane and was one of the most superstitious players he's ever met.
He spent a season with San Diego and when they went on the road, McMahon used to whack off into a cup and put a little bit on each of his teammates' hotel room door handles. He told my guy that he'd do it on every single road trip b/c it helped the team. He would come in from practice, take a shower, go to meetings naked, then leave the facility buck naked after hanging around naked while others were fully clothed.