If you get smoked in the face by a swiftly incoming object at a sporting event, usually it's not great news.
The netting above the glass at hockey games provides more protection than there used to be. Getting drilled by a golf ball is always a risk, because even the pros hit it way off line sometimes. In basketball you're right there next to the action, but you have to worry more about sprinting players colliding with you than anything else. Then of course, those who bring a glove to a ballpark may take some heat, yet it's never a bad thing to be overly prepared for a fouled screaming line drive.
Wanted to establish all the other sports up top to underscore how rather common it is for those incidents to happen. As opposed to what happened Saturday during Iowa's game against Washington. The Hawkeyes drilled a kickoff well into the stands for a touchback. Chance for a souvenir, right? Welp. For one unfortunate dude, he misjudged his fair catch attempt and got absolutely walloped in the face.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1845181452738232530
Right in the kisser! There are one of two broad ways to respond to this situation. The first is to feel complete and utter humiliation and spiral into a Southwest Airlines, "Wanna get away?" mode. The second is to take the embarrassment on the chin, make the most of it, and get interviewed on live TV with a sense of humor. Thankfully our guy fell into the latter category and wasn't seriously hurt by the ball. Was liquid courage involved? I can't speculate. That's merely the sentiment accompanying the video of the man named Joe's interview with Iowa's broadcast team. Well worth a full listen.
"I seen the kickoff, and the ball was comin’ real fast. I knew it was going over the end zone, and I knew it was coming right at me, so I put my hands up. But that ball's going a lot faster than you really think it is. It went right through my hands, and it hit me in the face."
https://twitter.com/Hassel_Chris/status/1845165407314821262
Upon being complimented for popping right back up and handling it with exemplary grace, Joe said, "That's what Hawkeyes do! We don't give up — we swarm!"
Luckily for Joe and the Hawkeyes faithful in Iowa City, the home team was kicking the ball off a lot on Saturday. The typically scoring-challenged Iowa offense went off in a 40-16 rout of the Huskies. All's well that ends well, right?
