Regardless of which sport you’re a fan of, you’ve probably heard about NFL superstar running back Adrian Peterson blowing out his knee in an apparently meaningless game in Minnesota. Peterson had been having a lack-luster season, spending many weeks on the injured list and had only recently gotten back to true form.
The coach, the owners and Peterson himself have taken a lot of heat over the decision to play him. Since the Vikings had been eliminated from playoff contention then yes, the game was meaningless from that stand point. However if you asked any of the fans in the stands that day, fans who had not seen their beloved Vikings win at home all season, if the game was meaningless than I’m sure you would have gotten a different take on the importance of the game. We present two theories as to why Adrian Peterson took the field that fateful day in December.
Adrian Peterson Injury Theory A
He is a money-grubbing mercenary who only cares about himself. Adrian Peterson knee injury was the result of nothing more insidious than plain old ordinary greed. While this certainly doesn’t make the injury Peterson’s fault, it never would have happened if he hadn’ t been so eager to pad his numbers while chasing contract bonuses. While no one deserves to be injured, it does show that getting too greedy for money can cause you to do stupid things that have big consequences.
Adrian Peterson injury Theory B
This is the warm and fuzzy theory that suggests, despite the risk of personal injury, Peterson was playing for love of the game. After all, at that point, the Minnesota Vikings were having one of their worst seasons in team history and hadn’t won a home game all year. People who subscribe to this theory see Peterson as a true professional and a class act. If his fellow team mates were going to take the field and try to win then why should Peterson, who was perfectly healthy, sit out like some kind of prima donna? Maybe he was thinking about the fans who had saved their hard earned money all year to take their child to their first NFL game and see their hero Adrian Peterson play.
Initial test say that Peterson will likely be out for at least 8 months which means the soonest we could see him back on the field is mid-season next year. Miraculous come backs from devastating injuries are nothing new to the NFL, however, there is a very could chance that even if he can play Peterson will never regain the cutting power that made him such an elusive running back.
We may never know why Adrian Peterson was on the field that day in December, whether for love of money or love of the game. For Peterson’s sake we hope it was for the latter.
