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.
↵Today, Telander writes about his friend and teammate, NBC-5 sportscaster Mike Adamle, who now suffers seizures because of football-related head injuries:
↵↵↵But there is the head issue. Was playing football worth it?
↵‘’Yes,’’ says Adamle, who began in pre-med before switching his major to broadcasting.
↵Why?
↵‘’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.’’
↵We’re finished eating, and the waiter takes the dishes away. Adamle looks down.
↵’’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.’’
↵
Adamle says it was worth it. But really, given all that, was it?