Since football has been a big topic on this board, I thought it would be acceptable to voice my sadness over the death of Vikings Pro-Bowl tackle Korey Stringer.

It is almost amazing what his death has done to this state! Everyone is talking about it, even those people who wouldn't be considered fans.

Korey was a fine man, and a very good football player. He will be missed by his teamates and the people of Minnesota.

Doug

Given all the medical people that pro teams kep on the staff, you would think that someone would have figured out that you just do not put men of that size (any size but especially the big guys) through a practice with the temps and humidity getting that high. We have this death, two in Flordia at the college level and we had one here in Indiana at the high school level. Hope that this tragedy wakes up some people in the NFL land elsewhere. Sports are great but not worth dying for especially when it could have been avoided.

I get email updates from several of the football and fantasty football news services so yesterday I pull up my mail and right there between a note from a friend, the Daily Bible reading, and my chance to earn 12,000 dollars a month without leaving home and get bonus frequent flyer miles is "Corey Stringer Dies"...he's 27, a husband and a father....
This is so sad, and also it was so inevitable. And sadly it was going to take a tragedy to motivate coaches, medical and training staff, and the NFL to do something about it. Yes the NFL has always had rugged camps in August..but the guys are bigger now, and some of them are coming into camp underconditioned.The phenom of the 300+ lb. player brings a lot of considerations into play that I don't even think the trainers have become accustomed to because its something that has happened within the last few years. There used to be one or two loads on a team, now teams have 20-30 300 lb guys.
Combine the weight, the heat and humidity, the preseason lack of conditioning, the effects of the "performance enhancing" drugs and supplements these guys take and the "Go all out" mentality in the league and especially in camp. This is even more in effect now because with so many lineup changes on all the teams the guys don't know each other yet so not only is there a lot of pressure to prove yourself, but the team staff and other players don't know each other as well as they did back when lineups were more stable so they are less likely to notice a teammate that has crossed that thin line between going all out and putting your health/life in danger.
I don't know how it is in other NFL cities but here the coach has even berated the fans for not "going all out". We had a game in heavy rain during a hurricane watch and Coughlin got mad about lack of fan support. And among fans there is a certain amount of bravado. Who can stay through the hottest September midafternoon or the nastiest rainstorm. I ended up sitting in the concourse with my head between my knees (along with about 40 other fans) because that and getting hydrated are what you do when you start to feel faint from heat (if your friends drag you out of your seat because you look really sick), and I have friends who have had to have IVs at the first aid stations..because in the North End Zone ya don't wuss out...and on theother side look at the guys who go to Buffalo games in December in nothing but shorts.
So thats the mentality from the top down, can it be changed or fixed or is it too ingrained in the culture of the game.

[This message has been edited by Shannon West (edited August 02, 2001).]

A truly sad story. I am very surprised it doesn't happen more often. One could argue that pro football practice is the sport most demanding on your body (wrestling is right up there as well). It's a mostly anaerobic activity which means you are burning much more glucose for energy than fat. The combination of an empty stomach (low blood sugar) and throw in some dehydration and it's an accident waiting to happen. Blood sugar is less an issue with running and other aerobic activities because you are mainly using fat for energy. That's why you never hear of runners keeling over, even in hot, humid weather.
Bears coach Dick Jauron is viewed as a wuss by many other coaches around the league because of his soft practices in this type of weather. With Paul Tagliabue's annoucement for all teams to review their hot weather practice policies, hopefully we won't hear about this anymore.

Steve

Shannon, I here what you are saying, but I think that the NFL better get its collective act together and do something or they will face many more of these type of deaths. Players are not going to admit that they need to sit down and take in fluids, that would be seen as a sign of weekness...whaich of course it its not. Coachs, trainers and ownership must learn to see the signs of heat stroke and react to them. Make these players take some time out and do what is necessary. The twin cities lost not just a good football player, but a young who had been doing a lot for the community off the field. You know the thought just occoured to me that many of these teams have indoor facilities for the cold weather, why not a hot weather air conditioned practice area. I know that camps are not held in the home cities, so you build the building at the college where you train.....opps I forgot NFL teams do not make any money, bad idea.

I don't follow football as much as you guys do but the death of a great athlete, it's always a great loss for sports.


Eril.

I thought this was a really good take on the issue. From Sam Kouvaris who does sports for WJXT-TV and commentaries for our Sports station, The Ball. His website is a good one to hit for general sports news articles and links and lots of Jaguars info.. www.samsportsline.com
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A professional Pro Bowl player at 27 years old, Stringer had enough experience to listen to his body and it’s signals telling him that he was in trouble. Yet, the pressure, self imposed, and compounded by his peers and coaches, along with the macho culture in the game that doesn’t allow complaining and doesn’t make room for so-called “wimps,” forced Stringer to push himself past the limits, to ignore the signs, and eventually die.

In 1976, there was one player in the NFL over 300 lbs. Now, each team has about 20 guys that big on their roster, the Jaguars have 21 players over 300 in this year’s camp. The pressure to be big for a lineman is enormous. Potential draftee’s don’t even get a look if they’re not over 300 lbs anymore. In most cases it’s a false weight as a player is encouraged to “bulk up” in order to compete. The extra pounds, along with the heat in training camp, the rapid weight loss or weight gain many players experiment with and the unknown effects of the performance enhancing supplements every team makes available, makes you wonder why guys aren’t dropping all the time.

NFL training staffs are the best in the world. Very skilled and educated in their craft, like the players they’re charged with taking care of. But with the recent spike of heat related deaths, 18 high school and college players have died since 1976, it’s time to step back and figure it out. If it can happen to a professional, who’s monitored and checked, weighed and measured constantly, what’s in store for the kids around the country about to take the practice field in full pads in August?

If bigger is indeed better, we need to know more about it. >>
I went out to watch practice today, it was scrimmage with the Saints mostly 7/9 and 11/11 drills with no tackling at 2:30pm. It was really hot but not as bad as it usually gets here, and you better believe there were trainers with gatorade and water all over the field.



[This message has been edited by Shannon West (edited August 03, 2001).]

That pretty well sums it up Shannon. I heard a sports talk show out of Chicago talking about it and they were talking about the fact that Cory had a history of vomiting during camp every year which may have numbed some to his real problem this year. They also mentioned that Cory was rather upset about a photo that made many nathional papers showing himn bending over vomiting. He told several teams members that it made him look like a wimp and that he would prove them wrong. BTW I heard this morning that a Northwestern player died yesterday during paractice, cause of death is unknown, but they doubt that this one is heat realeated. Been a real tough for football and the season has yet to begin.

Remember last year when Marshall Faulk threw up on national TV and went right back into the huddle.
The NW player had asthma and there are questions as far as the effect that had..they are going to do an autopsy this weekend. I don't even think these guys who have been pushing themselves like this for so many years have any idea what symptoms would mean "stop" instead of "push through it"..they are just not in tune to their own bodies in that context because theyve been in the "push harder" mode since they were Pop Warner league kids.
Another thing that doesn't get publicity is the marching band kids in High School and College that practice for hours in this heat in August. a few years ago a girl on the FAMU marching 100 died and last year someone in the Marching Chiefs had to be taken to the hospital. They sit in the stands in heavy uniforms for the whole game besides marching during halftime, and in early fall in Florida it is lethally hot. (Campbell Stadium is a frying pan, no trees no breeze just sun bangin down..haven't been to The Swamp in Gainesville but its even further south) You always see a few of them sitting under the stands recovering from heat problems..to make it worse some of them, being college kids, drink beer the night before which really dehydrates you.


[This message has been edited by Shannon West (edited August 04, 2001).]

Yea, I forgot about the poor marching band kids. Aren't those uniforms made out of wool on top of it? Damn I couldn't imagine 95 degrees and humid walking around head to toe in heavy wool with a tuba around you neck. Shannon, what instrument does your nephew play?

Steve

The bands at least on the high school level around here fiured out the heat problem years ago and have had both summer and fall uniforms. Many of the bands take part in summer festivals and as a result have gone to cooler shorts and t-shirts with colorful school logos.

I do agree with the mental state of todays players as far as pushing as far as they can. I not sure we can really blame any one group but I do feel that players, coaches and owners need to now seriously address the problem. In the past they have made changes to equiptment design following serious injuries. Let us hope the same will follow in this case as well.