It's a shame we aren't Florida State fans because there'd be 20 YouTube videos of the incident in question, but as it is, my thoughts echo Brett Friedlander's:
Two questions immediately sprung to mind the moment it was announced that N.C. State wide receiver Tobias Palmer had suffered a concussion during pregame warmups at Virginia on Saturday.
The first was: How does anybody suffer a concussion before the game ever starts?
Sadly we may never know. Tom O'Brien insists Palmer was "running around and ran into another guy, got dinged and had a headache," which admittedly sounds like something a wide receiver would be inclined to do.
The other was: How do things like this always seem to happen to the Wolfpack?
Really, though, this is the bigger question. This pregame warmups stuff is like a graduate assistant being whistled for a technical foul for wiping up some moisture on the floor during an ACC basketball tournament game. I never heard of this crap. How is that a thing that can happen? And they wonder why we're paranoid! Wouldn't you be a wee bit on the jumpy side with this sort of stuff happening on the field of play? Is it so strange that we might translate these ingrained sentiments to other areas? I mean, sure, it's not likely that a vast conspiracy exists within the regional sportswriting community, but then again, it's not likely that Richard Howell cuts his leg while running out onto the floor before a game at home, either. And yet here we are. And therefore, here they are.
Here's where Tom O'Brien is wrong, and he of all people should know better by now: you absolutely can make this stuff up. There's a certain routineness to it. I'm always conjuring up new and absurd bad things that could become reality. As soon as word about Palmer hit the internet, ten thousand people in the Raleigh area did the same knowing nod/rueful smile combo. A pervasive sense of defiance is only a matter of time; I think we're already seeing it in some quarters. What's that? So-and-so's homework literally got eaten by a stray dog which resulted in a year-long suspension? Well fuck you, no one died, we'll win anyway.