OT: How NFL players recover on Mondays

I read this great piece by Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated on the train to work this morning. Most of us football fans understand vaguely how tough the sport is on those who play it, but it's worth reminding ourselves just *how* tough it is. The article follows four players through the course of the 2016 season (one is a player Michigan/Big Ten fans will recognize, former PSU receiver Allen Robinson) and looks at how they spend their Mondays, known around the league as "Get-Right" Day.

Reading this article, a few things strike me. First, the absolute stupidity and/or greed that motivates the league to schedule Thursday night games and seek to expand the regular season to 18 games. I happen to be a Cowboys fan (sue me -- grew up in Dallas), and couldn't believe that after their traditional Thanksgiving Day game this season, the league scheduled them to play not the following Sunday (i.e., a nine-day break), but ANOTHER Thursday game the following week. That meant they played three games in a span of 12 days. That's brutal.

Second -- these guys are warriors. It's amazing what they put their bodies through. But they all seem OK with it -- the paychecks are too big and the thrill of competition to great for them to give it up voluntarily.

Some excerpts to whet your appetite:

Mondays, for any NFL player, are the equal and opposite reaction to what takes place on Sunday. For every collision there’s a chiropractor or an acupuncturist. For every sore limb there’s a yoga mat or stretching exercise. For every concussion there’s a dimmed light somewhere, to prevent the headaches. “The first thing I do on Monday morning is take stock,” says Harris. “You add up the bruises—which ones are new, which ones are worse.

[...]

Robinson awoke at his 21st-floor waterfront condominium and surveyed the physical wreckage of another Sunday afternoon. Other than some fresh bruises, he felt “fine,” which meant a sore neck and tired legs and a balky hamstring. On a pain scale of one to 10, with 10 being extreme, Robinson started his morning at a five. This late into the season, that’s basically healthy. Every NFL player, he says, is injured. It’s only a matter of degree. [...] Robinson’s Monday goal is simple: to feel human again.

[...]

Harris doesn’t reveal many details, except that the main bruise on his shin turned into a hematoma, had to be drained and then became infected, and when he arrived at Heinz Field for his game against the Chiefs yesterday, the Steelers’ doctors told him he should to go to the hospital immediately ... after the game. The team needed him to play first. Harris expected to be used sparingly, same as in Pittsburgh’s first three outings. But when right tackle Marcus Gilbert left with an injured left ankle in the second quarter, Harris played the rest of the game. [...] En route to the hospital, Harris’s wife had asked a reasonable question: Why had he played at all? Harris laughed it off as they stopped for one final cheesesteak before all the hospital grub to come. Harris is taking painkillers (he declines to provide specifics) and expects to spend somewhere between 10 days and three weeks in the hospital. He’s likely to land on injured reserve. “All worth it,” he says again. “My kids have college funds.”