Williams: Why Joe Burrow's bum wrist may be worst injury in Cincinnati sport history
Cincinnati sports history seemingly has its unfair share of “what if” injury headlines. They’re still hard to read decades later.
One day, inevitably, you’ll read another one: “What if the Bengals’ Joe Burrow hadn’t suffered the season-ending wrist injury in 2023?”
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It seems weird. In the moment, when Burrow crashed down and jammed his hand into the turf on Thursday night in Baltimore, you didn’t immediately think about him ending up in the same category as Kenyon Martin’s broken leg, Carson Palmer’s wrecked knee, Tim Krumrie’s gruesome broken leg and Ken Griffey Jr.’s multiple injuries.
Besides Griffey, those injuries happened in the postseason, at critical, rip-your-heart-out moments. They abruptly ended long-held hopes burying mediocrity and achieving greatness.
Step back, though, and Burrow’s injury may end up being the worst in Cincinnati sport history. Call it recency bias. Call it NFL bias. Call it Burrow bias.
Over time, it could hurt more. Because Burrow has given Cincinnati the most hope of winning the most coveted prize in American sport – the Lombardi Trophy. And not just that, but Burrow has given Cincinnati hope of winning multiple Super Bowl titles. And not just that, but Burrow has connected with us more than those other guys ever did (and that’s not a criticism of anyone).
This was supposed to be the Bengals’ year. The window was open, despite the Bengals sputtering early on and facing a daunting schedule. With Burrow, anything is possible. Maybe only Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and the Big Red Machine have truly given us that same anything-is-possible feeling.
But the Big Red Machine was a group of guys. Burrow alone has lifted the Bengals out of the doldrums of Bengaldom and delivered the glory years for the franchise -- leading them to back-to-back AFC championship games the last two seasons for the first time ever. He had the Bengals one play away from winning Cincinnati’s first Super Bowl in 2022. He set the table for winning it all this season.
That hope is all gone now.
A friend texted Friday and called Burrow’s injury “sad.”
Sad? No one died, I thought. It’s just sports. He’s young and will be back.
Then, I realized: My friend was mourning the passing of The Moment. It’s a moment that may never come back, or at least not for a long time. And there was sadness because of what Burrow means to us. He’s given us hope for greatness perhaps unlike any sports figure, politician, business executive or other community leader in the history of this proud town.
Burrow is humble. He’s all class. He’s a great teammate. He’s tough. He cares about the community. He’s a leader. He’s a winner. And he’s an Ohioan.
Burrow’s injury is a tough reminder to savor the moment and go all in on it. Never assume: We’ll be back.
Ask long-time Reds fans how many more World Series titles they thought they’d see after wire-to-wire in 1990?
Contact columnist Jason Williams by email at jwilliams@enquirer.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joe Burrow injury: Cincinnati's hope for Super Bowl title gone
