Seventeen years ago, Damien Richardson was on a sideline in Houston, usually close to John Fox, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
“I have a lot of time on the air,” said Richardson.
Richardson did not have time to play because he was on crutches. His knee was bruised and his neck was already questionable because of his days as a supercollider for special teams.
But he got to see everything but Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at halftime. He watched the Panthers and Patriots retreat and move forward, and saw Tom Brady pull himself together and win 32-29.
Richardson is now a surgeon at the Newport Orthopedic Institute in Newport Beach. It takes a while to get there. He earned a master’s degree in public health at Harvard, went to UC San Francisco medical school and resided at the University of Arizona hospital. This on top of a biochemistry degree in the state of Arizona, where Richardson played with Pat Tillman and was summoned by Carolina in the seventh round.
Then, Richardson and his family will meet on Sunday afternoon to watch the 55th Super Bowl, the Chiefs versus the Buccaneers.
Everything about it will be different from the 38th Super Bowl.
Except for Tom Brady.
“When you play that long, it’s not luck,” said Richardson. “It is the complete package. It is the diet, the launching mechanics, the post-game coverage, the warm-up, the attunement with the body. Doctors, coaches, coaches and the player, all have to be a perfect storm, to play that long. There is a science in this, the recovery process, the way he takes care of himself, before and after.
“All those years, the Patriots invested in it. They had good pass protection. We put pressure on him, but he hasn’t been hit directly and he still doesn’t. He had that sixth sense to check when needed. It’s like the whole team. They made the adjustments, created game plans quickly. That’s when you saw the training coming. ”
Brady is 43 and says he will know when it is time to stop playing. When you go to the Super Bowls, it’s not that time.
This year, Brady proved that he will be a great general manager, having discovered championship things on a team from Tampa Bay that was 7 to 9 years old last year. At that point, Brady was in 41 playoff games. The Bucs were 15 and had not won any since 2002.
This is Brady’s 45th appearance in the postseason. The Raiders made 44, the Dolphins 42, the Broncos 41. Their first came three months after the 9/11 attacks. Those who were not yet born when Brady first trotted to the field in relief to Drew Bledsoe will graduate from high school this spring.
Richardson’s life certainly changed in the Brady years. He has his wife Courtney, daughters Grace and Eva and son Malcolm by his side. He survived the match they will watch on Sunday.
“They made some good changes,” said Richardson. “There is a risk in everything. Some of the worst concussions come from those pamphlets that cheerleaders perform. They are discarded all the time. ”
Richardson was a wedge destroyer for most of his six NFL seasons. One of those wedges broke and fractured a vertebra in the neck. This basically interrupted the game.
“It was my second,” he said. “I had already left knee surgery. I said, ‘Well, maybe I’m ready to go to medicine.’ ”
He was plagued by “stingers”. You and I don’t understand them. Players do. Richardson says this is what happens when a traumatic episode stretches the nerve. It can cause stenosis. Richardson’s final stinger completely blunted his arm.
“It was hanging there, flabby,” he said. “The doctors jumped very fast. They said, ‘Take off your helmet, ready.’
“Usually the stinger goes away. It is a burning sensation. Certain nerves affect certain fingers. Documents can tell you exactly what happened from which finger is not working. Maybe I could have done a merger, squeezed another year or more. I didn’t want to waste it. It took about a year before I really got used to academics, but it was good to get back on that bike. ”
Some will punish the NFL for making an effort this season, for ministering to its giant artists while sick seniors cannot receive vaccines or treatments. It is difficult to refute them.
But because the NFL conducted a million tests and found that the virus did not follow the myths of two meters away for 15 minutes, the CDC could also adjust its recommendations.
If Malcolm, 4, wants to play football, his father is fine. “It’s a great sport,” Damien said.
The other benefit is that Malcolm can start playing with Tom Brady.