The ACL Tear Heard Round the DMV

Allow me, today, to be incredibly pessimistic on the state of Robert Griffin III’s knee today, as he undergoes reparative/exploratory surgery.

This sucks big time.

Yes, the Redskins had a great season, and most (but not all) of the credit can be placed on RGIII for taking a franchise in the doldrums for twenty years to its first home playoff birth in my children’s lifetime.  But after The Hit during the Baltimore game, I think every Redskins fan, in the back of his mind, feared from that moment that we were on the road to where we are now: the possibility of a knee injury that if not career-ending, could be possibly long term and career-altering. Who among us today truly believes RGIII is going to be the same world-class runner that blew past the Vikings for a 76 yard touchdown run that would have smoked Carl Lewis in his prime?

I certainly don’t feel that way today.

Instead, here’s the scenario we’re facing today:

  • As I type this, Griffin is getting surgery to repair a torn LCL, and at the same time will be examined for a possible tear of his ACL. (I’m quite certain that in the process, they’ll discover ligaments no one knew existed before that are also torn, such as his QCL, XCL, and ZCL. How many CLs are there, anyway?)
  • Les Snead (to whom I sent a Christmas card, and am now regretting that effort) is smiling like a frakking Cheshire cat because the forty-seven first round draft picks the Rams acquired from the Redskins have suddenly become much more valuable. If the Redskins tank next season, much like the Colts did in 2011, there is no Andrew Luck waiting for us on the other side. That guy will be playing in St. Louis.
  • Everybody in the DMV sports world is making the inevitable comparisons to Stephen Strasburg. Here’s the rub with that: it still remains to be seen whether shutting Strasburg down last season just in time for the Natinals to go out in the first round of the playoffs is actually going to reap long-term benefits, or if his career is going to be just as short and injury-plagued as it would have been if he hadn’t been shut down.
  • I have to sit next to Ravens fans at work, smugly wearing purple jerseys and knowing that they’ll have a game to watch on Saturday.

So forgive me if I’m a gloomy Gus this morning.  I know sports is just sports, but the regular news ain’t got me feeling any better these days either (climate change, fiscal cliffs, and mass shootings anybody?).  Thanks to the Fates for taking the one bright spot for Redskins fans in this crazy, mixed-up world and rubbing our future hopes and dreams into the FedEx Field dirt.

Oh yeah, HTTR.

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