Image via Wikipedia
Greg Nosal, a redshirt junior guard at Virginia Tech, thought he cut his finger really badly after throwing a block. It hurt, but nothing the 6-foot-6, 293-pound beast couldn't handle. It was only until his finger started bleeding profusely that he first considered getting help, and it was only when a trainer whisked him off to the locker room and told him to lie down that he realized part of his pinky finger had been ripped off.

And it was only after Nosal agreed to have the finger put on ice, took a painkiller, had his hand bandaged, and re-entered the game that fans realized how tough—or crazy—the Hokies’ offensive lineman truly is. Yep, that's right: his finger was ripped off, but he kept playing and waited until after the game to have it reattached. Nosal was fairly nonchalant about the whole incident, shruggingly stating, "I guess it's a big deal if your pinkie got ripped off."


A big deal? You guess? Losing a body part during sport and continuing to play displays toughness, without question, but also makes one question an athlete's sanity. To be successful at a sport, an athlete must treat their body with equal levels of disregard and worship. Athletes must fine-tune their bodies through brutal, scientific conditioning to maximize their athletic potential, and with each advance in sports medicine, athletes are only becoming bigger, stronger, faster, and more agile.

But at the same time, athletes must not be concerned for their bodies' own well being to play as hard as possible. And by "hard" I mean equal parts daring and reckless. What a football player does to their body during games each week is cringe-worthy to say the least, and some athletes take it to whole new extremes, like Nosal and tough-guy predecessor Ronnie Lott.

One of the best defensive backs in NFL history, Lott had the tip of his left pinky crushed during a 1985 game. Rather than risk further injury and discomfort, Lott simply had it amputated. He willingly had part of his body surgically removed so as to keep playing.

Athletes are a different breed, particularly football players. Coaches hammer home "team first" from the Pee Wee leagues, and to be successful and advance to a professional level, one has to take this sentiment to heart. Some do more than others, putting their body's well being below that of a team's success. And some are willing to lose body parts before they lose a game.

Edward Stern is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and writes on accredited online degrees for Guide to Online Schools.