I think I watched a young man die today . . .

Milo

Fabrice Muamba is a mid-field player for Bolton Wanderers and is in his early 20's. Today, during the 1/4 final match against Tottenham Hotspur, he collapsed on the pitch with 4 minutes to go before the half. I was watching the game on-line . . . medics and physios got to him quickly. He was apparently clutching his chest as he dropped, and convulsing. CPR was started right away, as well as the use of a defibrillator, before he was stretchered off the pitch to an ambulance. Apparently he was not breathing as he passed the tunnel reporter on the way to the ambulance.

I have watched several tragic sporting deaths in my life, from Senna and Villeneuve, to Hank Gathers (eerily similar) and a French soccer player who's name escapes me at the moment. I do not know why, but for some reason I feel very upset by this event today. I am a fan of neither team, I just enjoy watching the games. I would not know Fabrice Muamba if you showed me his picture in a line-up. But, for some reason, this incident has really upset me, and I wish I knew why . . .

Milo

Hospital spokesperson has released a statement saying thast Fabrice Muamba is resting in "stable" condition after his collapse on the pitch. I am sitting here, almost crying, because I guy I don't even know didn't die. Life is very odd sometimes, very odd indeed.

compuease

You ok bud? It's us old poker players ya gotta look out for..

Milo

Yeah, just puzzled at how much this seems to have affected me . . . for the record, the player is now listed in critical condition in the cardiac ward. Still not out of the woods like it was earlier thought.

Just an odd reaction . . .

SuitedPair

not odd at all. it means you have empathy and are not a psychopath.

I only saw it on twitter from the soccer guys I follow and it upset me. To actually witness a person go down like that gets to you. I remember when Greg Moore crashed. It messed me up.

You're not alone in your reaction by a large margin

kwsteve

When I was in Grade 8 I was waiting to cross a busy street and some guy walked right out beside me into traffic. He wasn't 10 ft from me when a car smacked him full speed, propelled him about 40 ft down the road. I almost puked I was in such shock.

The guy lived but he was fucked for a while with multiple broken bones.

So, I think I know how you feel.

GTA Poker

I saw an old guy riding his bike slower than I was walking slowwwwwwwly slide sideways and fall on the sidewalk which was obv covered with ice for 20ft+ today as he saw me walking around it and as I thought, "here we go"...was pretty funny...no one died

Cerberus

I didn't have quite the reaction you did Milo. However, being a complete non soccer fan, I still stopped dead in my tracks while I was getting ready for work this morning in order to watch this. It was a very strange situation and I hope he recovers very soon.

23 is way too young for a heart attack. I don't know what the physicals are like for soccer but perhaps they need a more stringent one? Obviously a freak situation.

Milo

This has happened a few times in the past, and has also effected rule changes in the NFL for their training camps. The NFL issue was heat stroke for the behemoths they employ, but their have been a few soccer deaths on the field of play in the last decade or so. Usually it has been related to an undetected cardiac issue that just happens to pick that moment to manifest itself. Probably what happened here, too. Luckily, they were working on this guy very very quickly . . . probably why he is alive right now, regardless of any other issues.

SuitedPair

TFC took a very high draft pick two years ago. I should look up his name but he was a college standout all american type player. Looked like he had a massive future.

Our physical saved his life but ended his career. He had a condition where his heart was actually getting too big for his chest cavity because of the heavy training. It's a rare condition but the only thing you can do is essentially stop high level cardio work. So the team released him after a walk out at BMO in front of a packed house.

Some times the physicals work. Sometimes, things are tough to spot. hard to say in this particular case till we know more.

Cheers everyone, hug your family.

SuitedPair

Man, this guy said it best,

"When confronted with death, or even the spectre of death, I believe people are overwhelmingly sincere and well-intentioned. And it all comes back to the unexplainability of the experience, especially when it takes place before our eyes and overlaps with something we care deeply about in the first place.


They say football has the power to unite people. Tragedy, I believe, has that power exponentially. And each of us is stronger for it."


Jarred Peters - Heartening support as Muamba battles the unexplainable | The Footy Blog | Blogs | theScore.com

Milo

Fortunately, Muamba no longer needs meds to keep his heart beating, and he has shown limited movement today in his extremities. For a young man who was, quite literally, dead on Saturday afternoon, it is very heartening news. There are still many hurdles ahead, but at least he still has the chance to clear them.