"Final Four set as Louisville overcomes Ware injury to beat Duke 85-63"

From FoxNew.com

Review by Jordan Underwood in SRM 334 (section 2)

Six and a half minutes before half time, of one of the biggest games left in March Madness, the game took a break, literally. Louisville’s sophomore guard, Kevin Ware, jumped up to defend a 3-point-shot and snapped his leg clean in 2 places, it was unlike any injury I have ever seen. The reactions of the other players on the field, on the bench, and all the fans were the same, shocked and worried. Within minutes, the video image of the injury from the game was on youtube, twitter, and other social medias across the web. 

Why was this such big news so fast? Understood, that an injury like this is unlike most we see, but why was this worthy of being instant headlines? In the end, Louisville won the game, and in post game interviews, Louisville head coach, Rick Pitino said, “We won this for him.” If Louisville had lost though, would the loss have been blamed on the injury? Chances are that media would have made that assumption and chances are that over the next few days media will say that the injury was the reason Louisville won. “The Cardinals simply refused to lose, breaking open a game that was tied at 42. They dove on the floor for loose balls. They pounded the boards ferociously. They contested every shot and swarmed around the Blue Devils like they had an extra player on the court. In a sense, they did. During every timeout, Pitino reminded the players of their hospitalized teammate” (Fox Sports).

Injuries like this are also huge, motivational stories because they always demonstrate team support. If an athlete gets hurt, you always hear about their teammates supporting their recovery and playing in honor of them, and readers and sports followers love up lifting, feel good stories. “Russ Smith collapsed onto the floor, along with several players, and was crying as doctors attended to Ware. While Ware was loaded onto a stretcher, the Cardinals gathered at midcourt until Pitino called them over, saying the injured player wanted to talk to them before he left. The sophomore, who played his high school ball in suburban Atlanta, urged his teammates to complete the trip to the Georgia Dome. Pitino wiped his eyes as Ware was wheeled out, as did several Louisville players.” (Fox Sports). Though injuries are tragedies for athletes, teams, and fans, they also bring out amazing teamwork and perseverance which makes for great uplifting stories.