Sky didn't launch into all the replay angles like normal, and soon word comes that the injury is so horrific that Sky is refusing to show any replays. Then I see that Eduardo is not conscious and is being given oxygen through a tank/mask thingy. After attending to him for 9 minutes, they place a white sheet over his body before stretchering him off, something that I have never seen in any sport other than horse racing when a horse breaks down and has to be euthanized on the track {they put up a giant sheet to shield the procedure from the stands}.
Forget the game, which is a whole nother story, but what got me thinking during and after the match was the Brits decision not to show any replays, and how 1) I liked that and 2) how different an approach that struck me as versus American sports coverage.
When horrific injuries happen in American sports, it's serious injury porn time. They typically show 100 replays of it, from every angle, use the telestrator to circle it, and point it out in excruciating detail time after time after time. Then, on the highlight shows, they often continue the injury porn by saying shit like "if you have a weak stomach, then you really should turn away for a few moments or leave the room", which strikes me as the exact same thing as a website telling a 15 year old boy "EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL- DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE UNDER 18". Tyrone Prothro, Bryant Young, Tim Krumrie, Joe Thiesmann, et al...
Anyhow, it just struck me as respectful and classy of the Brits to refuse to participate in the injury porn, especially considering it was Sky {owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox and several tabloid newspapers the world over}. In this day and age the injury porn seekers will find the video and pics on the internet in short order, and some injuries are so bad that it seems exploitative and gratuitous to show them several times over. I really wish that American sports media would follow the Brits lead on this, although I am beyond certain that they never will.
I didn't feel the need to rush home and find the pics on the internet, but Sunday I did break down and click through on a link to some pictures from an Arsenal blog, and I wish I hadn't, there were 9 pictures and after 2 I was done and wondering how long it would take for me to ever get that image out of my head. Now there's apparently slo-mo replay of it from other angles out there, but I'm going to pass: after seeing the scene at the match, seeing 2 pics, hearing his teammates talk about it, and hearing that the surgeons were seriously considering having to amputate his foot, I know all I need to know, and anything more seems pornographic at this point. If I live the rest of my life without ever seeing the video I'll be just fine.
As far as the injury itself/the incident/Martin Taylor/the rules which govern such things/etc, I completely agree and could not add anything to what Arseblogger said so eloquently about it yesterday {where he has a stunning picture just before impact to completely dispel the story that it was an innocent case of missing the ball} as well as today, so if you want an excellent and reasoned opinion about the situation read his stuff.
My thoughts and wishes are with Eduardo, who is well liked by his teammates and seems like a really good guy. So shitty for him that at age 24 he was really coming into his own and ready to lead Croatia at this summer's Euro2008 after leading them to qualification. He may or may not ever play again, but I just hope that he is able to recover to full heath and be able to walk and function normally. Best wishes man, forget about soccer right now and just get well.
Get better, man
Even if we never see this again,
here's hoping for a return to full health
Also, happy 25th birthday today, or as happy as it can be considering the circumstances.
6 comments:
I had to check out the pictures and replays because I couldn't believe the wide range of reactions, from Wenger's initial "lifetime ban" demands to the likes of Steve Bruce(?) suggesting that it wasn't even worthy of a foul(!) So I had to see it for myself.
Seriously, how stupid do you have to be to say that it shouldn't be a yellow/foul? The very fact this type of challenge could hurt another player in this way is the exact REASON why such a play is a foul and worthy of card/dismissal. I don't think Martin is a dirty player for this one incident, but I do find those who rush to defend him disgusting.
On that note, I wish all the best to Eduardo and look forward to the day that he comes back.
It even made it to the Thrasher's forum. That is terrible. I sure hope he recovers.
You can lump me in with the people who think that a straight red and a ban of longer than three games is in order. Taylor may not have been strictly malicious, but that was a "think twice next time" tackle that started high and ended disastrously.
I've seen some write that "it wouldn't have broken Eduardo's leg if his foot hadn't been planted" as a excuse for Taylor. I think that's a load of shite, from the same logical school of "she wouldn't have been hassled if she wasn't wearing a miniskirt." As a rule, one's foot is either planted or not; if Taylor had a one-in-two chance of hitting Eduardo's leg when his foot was planted then it was a dangerous fucking tackle, not bad luck for Taylor.
Again, not suggesting Taylor should get a life ban, but more than 3 games would be all right.
As for the absence of injury replays, I'd suggest it's down to the prevailing sense in the UK that you show something like that if there's a serious news purpose to be served - the content of their news is far more harrowing (or it used to be) that US news, for instance. It's a reversal of expectations - what that says about the audience and their cultural expectations is something for polemicists. (He wrote, throwing the molotov cocktail while pretending it's a water balloon...)
Having no clue about this situation, I read your thread with an open mind about the situation and could not agree more about any serious injury and the porn that comes with it. Knowing that I cannot stand the photos and replays of serious injuries because I feel the pain, I went to one of the links and peered through my fingers at what might await ("not going after the ball" link). That photo was enough for me to know that I did not want or need to see any more. Now, if only American TV people would share the same sentiment about injured players in American sports.
The most recent stint of this that I have seen on US TV is CBS making The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other, look like a whore. Usually the Can't Broadcast S... folks do not start until the Big Dance, but the first spot I saw was during the NFL Playoffs. Random thought, but I just wanted to get that off my chest.
TE-
Although it's slightly annoying, I have no problem with CBS pimpin The Masters early and often.
1) The promo/commercial isn't 1/2 as annoying as almost all of the commercials that air during March Madness, that I am completely sick of and hate with a passion by the 2nd day of the tournament
2) At least they are pimpin a SPORTING EVENT that they own the rights to, as compared to FOX- JUMPERVISION and endless promotion of JUMPER 2.14.08 during the BCS Bowls, to name but 1 or a million annoying and endless non sports cross promotions by Fox
3) The Masters only allows 2 commercial sponsors, and even then they limit commercial to only 4 minutes per hour throughout the broadcast, as opposed to an average of 20 minutes of commercials per hour during all other PGA tournaments on TV. AS a golf fan, I love that one of the biggest events in golf shows me 56 minutes of golf each hour, and if the price that I have to pay for that is seeing CBS's little 10 second promo 3 million times starting in January, then that's totally cool with me. Given the commercial arrangement, it's hard to call The Masters on CBS as a whore. {that being said, this arrangement if not CBS's choice but rather is forced upon them by The Masters- if it was up to CBS they would truly whore it out commercially and milk it for all the money they could}
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