Sorry A-Ha. Jeremy Lin will not be joining you in the One-hit wonder category.
Jeremy Lin has captivated the news once again this month by having knee ending surgery. Linsanity has been replaced by "Consistentitis", which is defined as "season-ending injury to a break-out player on the verge of consistent stardom". This happens occasionally and sadly even to those players who've withstood the test of time and doubters to have a moment in the sun. Obviously, there are those break-out players who have the skills to be a legitimate fighter like Lin; then there are those one-hit wonders who after one season are cast away in a deep dark abyss. Just for clarification, Tim Tebow is backing up a mediocre QB and may never start again because of a demotion which is not injury induced.
Liniscus has caused a quieting of the Linmania but this eye of the media storm shall be short lived. Back in my high school days I had three knee surgeries, all of which were for a torn meniscus from playing soccer and lacrosse. Currently, I have 25% of my meniscus left in my right knee and about 70% of this cartilage in my left. At the time when each occurred there was swelling and minor pain but I played through it. In fact, I played a majority of my senior soccer season with a torn meniscus on top of a muscle strain. NFL players wait until a season's over to take care of that shit and, granted, turf doesn't generate anywhere near the pounding punishment dealt by the basketball court, but man this Lin situation's fucked up. I've been a huge fan of Lin’s from the beginning, even written a few articles to back this up but 6 weeks IS FUCKING LAME. I don’t have all the information, and everything I've read says they already fixed his meniscus but I’m not sure which procedure they took because 6 weeks just doesn't make sense.
The first surgery I underwent was to repair a huge flap that had folded over only to get lodged between my femur and my tibia and femur. Sure there was swelling and I couldn’t straighten out my knee, but it didn’t hurt. My doctor decided to try and fix it using 6 staples, which I later found out only has a 25% chance of healing. This process takes around 3 months to heal and from what I understand is never really done nowadays for pro athletes. For the next two tears, one of which was more the result of the unsuccessful healing from the first surgery, I just had the torn sucker removed. I was out from full participation for a whole 2.5 weeks and felt completely fine. This was with high school trainers conducting rehab, not high end pro trainers. Thus, I’m not sure what they did with his knee to get this 6 week timetable, but I can say this; Jeremy Lin will be back whether he's with the Knicks or some other team that might also need a Batman-like savior. Even though this 6 week time table sounds like a pussy move, I know he'll recover. From everything I HAVE learned from my doctors and what I'm reading now, the percent rate of full-recovery from the less invasive meniscus surgery is around the high 90’s.
Below are three reasons why he will be fine:
- He has proven his toughness each and every game as he takes the rock into the land of giants, often absorbing thunderous blows only to finish with a touch lay-up off the glass.
- Mentally and physiologically, a torn meniscus doesn't have the same effect as, say, a torn ACL or MCL. Your leg doesn't feel the instability or the atrophy created from months of coddling as in cruciate ligament tears. 2.5 weeks of light rehab and then you're back to running and, in my instance, full game mode.
- He's dealt with more adversity then a minor meniscus tear. This was a person who literally came from nowhere to be a top NBA player. Any team would benefit from him as he's proven he has the skill to score but also the humility to take a seat back if traded to a team with a plethora of all-stars. He has the mental fortitude to rise above this minor speed bump since he's been blasting through mountains his entire life.
Now that the Lintimism (Lin + optimism) has been documented, I have to bring up the fact that, yes, there are a few individuals who've had breakouts only to end up in the gutter. Many pro athletes have been struck hard by the injury bug, had a promising career ended by physical failure but then again there are also several one-hitters who disappeared into oblivion without being injured. This list includes Jonathan Cheechoo (Hockey, Sharks), Mike Bielecki (Baseball, Cubs), Troy Hudson (Timberwolves, Basketball), Jerome Jones (Basketball, Knicks), Bud Smith (Cardinals, Baseball), Trent Dilfer (Ravens, Football), Buster Douglas (Boxing) who shocked the world and defeated iron Mike, and soon-to-be Tim Te-gone( broncos, football). Now, I mention these former athletes for no other reason than to provide a bit of nostalgia, this article is about injury and thus I'm concluding it with the most famous injury-prone one-hit wonders.
Brady Anderson - Sure, he had a few decent seasons at the beginning but 1996 was exceptional, especially for a lead-off hitter. This man hit 50 home runs that season, then followed up with back-to-back 18 home run seasons. Before '96 his homerun total for a full season averaged 20 and he was better known as a base stealer then a power slugger. After his Season, he became a walking injury. Mental reminder, steroids affect the body. It’s alright though. While his balls have probably shrunk, his sideburns are still going strong. Hey, as an avid O’s fan, I appreciate the fact that he's apparently done wonders with the health of some of the players this year; in charge of getting them physically in shape, you can see him hanging out in the dugout. But is it a little odd that a man who literally had all of the symptoms of performance enhancers assisting with player training? He should change his first name to Greg at this point.
Stephen Strasberg - Ok, he was not as big of a surprise as Lin, and still has the ability to come back full-force, but I'm adding him due to the fact that the way he corks his arm could easily lead to an injury-ridden career where he doesn't finish a single season. He was as celebrated an athlete as Tebow before his pro debut. One of the most hyped first games for any pitcher in history, Strasberg delivered a proverbial fuck you to all of those who thought he was overhyped. In his first game, more then 1/3 of his pitches were 98 mph or higher including two that broke the 100 mark. He followed up this dominating game by breaking an MLB record of strikeouts in his first three games. He played in 12 games his first year, compiling 92 strike-outs and a 2.91 ERA. Eventually, this season was lost to the deadly torn Ulna collateral ligament, better known as Tommy John Surgery, which haunts all pro pitchers. Last year was basically a wash as well, so let’s hope he comes back strong. There are rumors about the whole kinesiology thing, not sure if that’s a really a thing but I’m going with it, that due to the stress he puts his arm through he'll never have a healthy season again.
Bob May- Tiger Woods' only competitor during the 2000 PGA Championship was journeyman Bob May, who had an epic battle with the future hall-of-famer reminiscent of the Battle of Stirling in Bravehear . His Back Injuries have put a ceiling on any consistent competition, though.
Ickey Woods - In 1988, the Ickey Shuffle became a household name. As a rookie with the Bengals, he rushed for over 1000 yards and 15 TD’s in the regular season, followed by a playoff streak where he ran for 228 yards and 3 TD’s, taking them to the Super bowl (where, alas, they lost). The following year he tore his ACL, leading to a 13 month hiatus. Still in the stone age of physical therapy, he returned but never had the same success again although he will forever be known as the man who has a damn good celebration dance.
Here's to Lin beatin' the haters and stoppin' being a pussy to continue dominating the game.
- Kyle
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