The Risks of Being a Sports Fan
Posted on March 21, 2006
MSNBC.com has an article about some of the risks people take when they go to baseball, basketball and football games to cheer for their favorite team. Screaming is just on of the activities that can hurt fans.
"I screamed and something went off in my head," says Duffy, 37, a pension analyst. "Immediately it was this huge headache, like my head was on fire."Other risks mentioned in the article include choking on food, sunburns, dehydration, frostbite and stress-related illnesses. The article also people do really stupid things like get their fingers stuck in beer cans.Being the diehard fan that he is, Duffy stayed through overtime to watch the end of the game. By the next morning, though, he knew something was really wrong.
"I was very discombobulated," Duffy says, and he had a lingering headache.
A call to his doctor led to a prompt trip to the emergency room, where he was put through a battery of tests, including a spinal tap, MRI and angiogram.
Blood in the spinal fluid was a tell-tale sign that Duffy had burst a blood vessel in his brain during his outburst at the game. He spent four days in the hospital for observation and additional tests. Then he was discharged with strict doctor's orders. "Going forward, they told me not to scream," he says.