Sunday, March 31st, I witnessed one of the most horrific sports related injury EVER! Unless you have been living in a cave or completely oblivious to the sports world, you should know about March Madness. If not, its the NCAA men's basketball bracket style tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Champions. Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils played the Louisville Cardinals in the elite 8, quarterfinals. Towards the end of the first half Louisville guard Kevin Ware went to close out on a three point shot. He jumped up in the air with one hand raised to contest the shot, as normal, and then IT happened.
(if you have a weak stomach you may not want to watch this... honestly)
The immediate reaction from everyone in the building makes you realize the severity of the injury. The stands went silent, benches collapsed, and poor Kevin laid there in agony. In case you chose not to watch the video, the Louisville guard landed awkwardly on his right leg after contesting the shot and broke his leg in the most gruesome fashion. Emotions of the Louisville players and coaching staff were uncontrollable. The training staff immediately went to Kevin and covered the injury as much as possible. Fans in the stands who didn't even know Kevin were doused with tears of sympathy. In the of all the chaos and emotion Kevin Ware had one simple message for his team before he left in the ambulance to go the hospital, "Just win the game". That's right, they still had the second half to play. And while the bone is sticking out of his leg, possibly a career ending injury, Ware has the state of mind to use this as motivation for his team. And motivation is was. Louisville came out with vengeance in the second half putting away Duke by 20 points and advancing to the Final Four.
After the game, social media was flooded with post, comments, pictures, and status update about the injury. In one day, Kevin Ware received over 1.2 million twitter mentions. IN ONE DAY! I wrote one of those, telling him "You are in my family's thoughts and prayers. We hope a full and speedy recovery for you and a National Championship for your team/family. YOU DESERVE IT! #GoCards"
This injury effects me in a lot of ways, as an athlete, a fan, and an inspiring basketball coach. I know I will never forget the moment in sports history and I hope some of you will keep Kevin in you thoughts and prayers.
