Football is widely considered to be one of the most physically taxing sports in the world. The game involves armour clad jocks hurtling towards each other at high speeds and wrestling over control of the ball. Looking at it completely objectively, it is easy to see why the sport would boast such a high injury rate. PubMed approximates that roughly 1.5 000 000 young men play football in the USA and that the country sees over 1.2 000 000 football-related injuries sustained annually.
But this is a big part of what American football is all about; it is a game of power, critical thinking, and peak athleticism. Injuries, much like most other sports, are part and parcel. They do not detract from what we love about the sport. But it does beg the question; what football game takes the cake for most injuries sustained? If you are interested in this bit of football history trivia, you have come to the right place because we are going to be talking about the notorious Body Bag Game.
The Background
Contrary to its hyperbolically morbid nickname, the Body Bag Game did not involve the death of any players nor did result in any life-altering injuries. The title is merely a moniker befitting the extravagant and hearty culture that surrounds American Football.
Hosted in 1990 on a cool Monday night in the middle of winter, the Washington Redskins faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium. Despite the Redskins being the more mature team with a deeper bag of professional footballing experience than the Eagles, their vitality was waning.
The Eagles, however, were stocked with an ensemble of young bucks looking to stake their claim within the annals of football history. And boy did they have bone to pick with their opponents. Three weeks prior, the Eagles had suffered a defeat at the hands of the Redskins. And now was the time for payback in what was to go on to become one of the more famous matches ever played.
How The Game Got Its Name
After scoring the first point of the game, the Eagles proceeded to consistently dominate throughout the playoff until they eventually secured their victory with the final score being 28 – 14 in their favour. For the team, the win was like hitting the jackpot playing the online slots Australia has to offer.
But during the course of this annihilation, no fewer than nine players on the Redskins side sustained an injury. Among the injured were the starting quarterback, Jeff Rutledge, as well as his backup, Stan Humphries. Much of the team’s demise can be attributed to the fact that it was starved of quarterbacks for most of the game.
The match got given its name from a quote that the Eagles’ coach made to the press as he surveyed all the injured Redskin players on the side of the pitch. Stoked by victory, he jokingly suggested that the Redskins would have to leave the stadium in body bags.
Conclusion
Football can get a bit crazy sometimes, but that is simply the nature of this sport we love so much. Hopefully you enjoyed learning this piece of football trivia. Even though people were injured, it is nevertheless an entertaining anecdote
