As sports fans will be aware, sports injuries do not only affect the performance of individual sports professionals, and can even end their careers. They also affect their team’s performance.
Chicago sports has seen its fair share of unfortunate injuries over the years and the professionals involved can be sidelined for months or even years. They might try to distract themselves by watching TV or playing online casino games, but most of them dedicate all of their energy to recovering as fast as possible.
Derrick Rose’s Knee Injury
When Rose played for the Chicago Bulls in 2012, the team entered the playoffs as the number one seed for the second season straight. However, the season did not go as expected. That was mainly due to Rose suffering a crippling knee injury during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series on April 28 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls were up 12, and there were only 80 minutes left on the clock when Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament. The injury occurred when he attempted to come to a jump stop in the lane. His opponents, Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen, rotated over. That caused Rose to alter his direction and pass off. He landed in an awkward manner, which caused his knee injury. Although the Bulls still won the game, they lost the next three. The Chicago Bulls became only the fourth number one seed to lose in the very first round of the NBA Playoffs, and Rose did not play at all in the next season.
Carlos Quentin’s Wrist Injury
In 2008, the Chicago White Sox were back in the playoff hunt, three years after winning the World Series. The White Sox had only recently acquired Carlos Quentin. It was undoubtedly Quentin’s performance that helped the White Sox to become the giants of baseball that they were that year. Quentin quickly became one of the team’s best hitters. He ranked among the top American League Leaders in home runs, runs batted, OPS, and slugging percentage. His season was so strong that Quentin quickly became a contender for the American League Most Valuable Player award. However, just as everything was going well, Quentin smashed the bat on his wrist during a game against Cleveland. Rose had swung and missed on a pitch against Cliff Lee. He received surgery for the wrist injury, but Quentin’s season was over. That meant the White Sox’s season was over as well. They lost four games to the Tampa Bay Rays, scoring only 13 runs in those games.
Gale Sayers’ Knee Injury
Probably the most famous injury in the entire history of Chicago sports happened to the football player Gale Sayers in 1968. Sayers was one of the NFL’s very best players at the time. Indeed, on November 3, he had the most productive rushing yardage game of his career. Playing for the Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers, Sayers carried 24 times for 205 yards. However, it was only one week later when tragedy struck. In a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sayers took a pitch from Virgil Carter. Sayers landed his leg to make a cut when the 49ers’ Kermit Alexander raced ahead to tackle. Sayers’ knee buckled. He tore several ligaments in his right knee, including the medial collateral ligament, the meniscus cartilage, and the anterior cruciate ligament. His season ended prematurely. Although Sayers did return to the sport, he was never the same player again. However, he did have a brief but strong comeback in 1969. But unfortunately, he experienced more knee injuries, and his career ended in 1970.
