Seriously, the photos buried at the bottom of this entry are not for the faint of heart.
I understand people not liking soccer. Everyone has their own tastes. Fair enough.
But it has been my experience that people who play the "soccer is wusses" card are people that have never played the game at any appreciably competitive level. For sure, it's not a game based on violence like American football, where He-Men collide regularly at amazing speeds, and even the armor does little to dissipate the bone-rattling force of impact. But competitive soccer is full of elbows to the head and face, head-on-head collisions, knees to the thigh, knee-on-knee entanglements, and various kicks and cleats do the shin, calf, ankle, and foot. Many of these occur at full speed with no protection whatsoever. It's certainly not a sport for the pain intolerant.
(Of course, much of the "soccer is for wusses" myth comes from ridiculous diving and injury faking, the main goal of which is either to dupe the referee into a whistle or card, or to get a much needed breather. And trust me, soccer fans hate it as much as non-soccer fans. I would go on a rant, but I would get way off topic.)
Anyway, the truth is that whether you love or hate soccer, it is not a game for wusses.
Which brings me to today's English Premier League match between Arsenal and Birmingham City. Three minutes into the match, Birmingham's Martin Taylor recklessly challenged for a ball with a vicious studs-up tackle on Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva. The result is one of the most gruesome sports injuries you will ever see. It's gruesome enough that if you watch Lawrence Taylor collapse Joe Theismann's leg, you'd give your best Black Knight impersonation by saying, "'Tis but a scratch."
In the blink of an eye, Martin Taylor practically severed Eduardo's foot. It was barely attached to his leg when he was rushed to the hospital. His season, and perhaps his career, is over. Sky Sports in England refused to show replays because it was so gruesome. YouTube seems to have employed a full time staff to yank the video as soon as it goes up.
But these photos do exist for the time being.
AGAIN, THESE ARE NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!
(Scroll down to see)
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Taylor comes flying in, studs up, right into Eduardo's shin.
Eduardo's leg snaps. His leg has folded past the point of being a right angle.
Eduardo falls to the turf, his sock and foot partially severed from the rest of his leg.