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Mike Adamle On What Football Did To Him

Yesterday, The Deep Dish noted Rick Telander’s column in the Sun-Times in which Telander noted the lifetime reminders of serious injuries suffered by football players in college and NFL games.

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Today, Telander writes about his friend and teammate, NBC-5 sportscaster Mike Adamle, who now suffers seizures because of football-related head injuries:

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But there is the head issue. Was playing football worth it?

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‘’Yes,’’ says Adamle, who began in pre-med before switching his major to broadcasting.

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Why?

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‘’Because we were all together,’’ he says. ‘’Because of the camaraderie. Because of the time in our lives. Because we punched holes in our tickets we could never punch again.’’

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We’re finished eating, and the waiter takes the dishes away. Adamle looks down.

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’’I’m scared,‘’ he says. ’’I have two girls, and I don’t want them to see me with a drool cup. I combat this by doing the Ironman, by hustling up the Hancock, having people say, ‘How did you do that?’ My mom had Alzheimer’s, and she didn’t know who I was at the end. My dad had it, too. And I said, ’That’s gonna be me.’ I’m a perfect candidate.’’

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Adamle says it was worth it. But really, given all that, was it?