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| Cost
of greatness, paid in full |
| BY
DONNIE COLLINS / STAFF WRITER
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August
04, 2001 |
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CANTON,
Ohio -- He made it look so easy. And so hard.
He made driving bigger men, stronger men,
faster men to the ground seem as easy as a
Sunday drive through the countryside. He made
getting out of bed the next morning seem more
challenging than a physics equation. |
It's
what nearly a dozen knee surgeries will
do. It's the cost of greatness, paid in
full.
It's what teammates, friends and fans
will remember most about Mike Munchak.
The pain. Those knees.
Blood
Those knees will make you cringe.
The left one was cut open eight times,
the right one three more.
No big deal.
Most of the surgeries were arthroscopic.
Nothing too serious, Munchak will tell
you.
But, he will admit, the injuries
eventually took their toll.
He calls it "almost arthritic-type
pain" that he felt in the knees as
his 13-year pro career wound toward a
close. Aching. Throbbing.
Still, he played. He played in 159 games
throughout his career at one of the most
physically demanding positions on the
field. He missed just 18.
"In this league, or any league,
you're always going to be hurt,"
Munchak says. "Once they're in the
league two or three years, guys are
going to have problems."
Sweat
Those knees will make you work.
Munchak learned it quickly. Feeling like
he could play and actually being able to
play were different things.
So he went to the gym to work out. And
he wrapped the knees in ice.
In 1993 -- his last season -- Munchak
never practiced. He suited up just for
games. The knees wouldn't allow him to
do any more.
Former Oilers offensive line coach Bob
Young once said so much damaged
cartilage was removed from Munchak's
knees, it was like bone constantly
scraping against bone in the beaten,
battered joints.
And then, there was "the Sunday
night ritual."
Munchak used to ice his knees at least
twice a night Injuries,C4 INJURIES:
Munchak played through the pain back
then. He'd get a couple hours sleep, if
he could, before the pain woke him up
again.
He'd watch TV, he'd ice the knee. He'd
fall asleep. And wake up again, in pain.
What many would call torture, Munchak
called "general maintenance."
Merely a deterrent, Munchak responds.
Having to take yourself off the field --
because you aren't helping the team,
because those knees are throbbing,
failing you -- now, that's pain.
"It's miserable," Munchak
says, trying to describe the pain's
effects. "At the end of my career,
I probably played a year or two more
than I should have. As I was going
through games, my knee was just wearing
out. Obviously, I was dragging my leg.
"And it was so hard to come
out."
That's why -- despite the problems --
Munchak tried to come back for the 1994
season after missing three games in '93
with seriously injured knees.
But while he was in training, his left
knee gave out -- twice. It was over.
"That's when I realized this was
crazy," Munchak says. "My body
was trying to tell me something. I
couldn't play like this."
Tears
They forced Munchak to retire. At 34,
one of the greatest linemen ever to suit
up would do so no longer.
Those knees will make you cry. But
Munchak's recovery is a pleasant one.
Seven years later, he is getting by
despite the rickety knees.
Thanks mostly to cardiovascular
exercise, he cut about 35 pounds from
what was a 280-pound frame. And without
that strain, his knees don't hurt now.
At least, not as much.
"I can do a lot of things I like to
do," Munchak said. "I just
can't go out in the street and go for a
jog. And if I go a little crazy and play
some half-court basketball, I'll pay for
it. I'll be icing my knee for a week.
"Right now, I can live a normal
life."
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| İScranton
Times Tribune 2001 |
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