October 1, 2003
FIRST LET'S...:
Injured student sues goal post maker (Gary Mihoces, 9/30/2003, USA TODAY)
A man whose legs were paralyzed when fellow Ball State students toppled a goal post after a 2001 football upset of Toledo is suing the goal post maker.Andrew Bourne, 23, of Liberty, Ind., and his parents are suing Marty Gilman Inc. of Gilman, Conn., claiming the aluminum posts were "designed and constructed in a manner which allowed them to suddenly snap and collapse."
Why aren't they suing the kid for wrecking the goalpost? Posted by Orrin Judd at October 1, 2003 12:24 AM
Presumably, the goal post company has more money....
(But wasn't it not too far in the distant past when goalposts were totally inflexible---indestructable, actually---and goal post companies were being sued because of that? Hence the "safety goalposts")
Posted by: Barry Meislin at October 1, 2003 1:40 AMLocation used to be the problem. The old "double support" goalposts were right up against the back of the end zone -- or in the NFL's case prior to 1973, actually on the goal line in the end zone, making the chance of injury in either case more likely (though it also gave Alan Alda a great visual gag in the film version of George Plimpton's "Paper Lion").
The current style allows the crossbar and posts to straddle the backline of the end zone, while the single center support pole is receded back from there, lessing the risk of injury to receivers or defensive backs. But since the center pole has to support a considerable superstructure -- the goal posts are supposed to remain stable in a pretty decent speed winds instead of swaying back and forth like a happy cheerleader -- a balsa wood structure that wouldn't injure a fan if toppled over would be problematic for any stadium maintenance crew during bad weather situations, let alone angering thousands of bettors if the posts suddenly angled 5 degrees to the left in a strong wind when a game-deciding field goal is up in the air.
Posted by: John at October 1, 2003 2:45 AMOrrin: You passed up an excellent opportunity to beat up on the sport of football with this post. Are you feeling okay today? :)
Posted by: kevin whited at October 1, 2003 9:06 AMMy mother works in the legal department at the
power company. She told one story of some
people who ripped down a goalpost stuck it in the back of a truck and then hit some power lines
and got zapped.
They sued the power company.
Posted by: J.H. at October 1, 2003 9:54 AMWhy not sue the head coach of the team with the deepest pockets (for causing Ball State to win the game)?
Posted by: Jimmy at October 1, 2003 10:01 AMRight on, Jimmy. And let's not forget to third party the wide receiver who made the spectacular catch that won the game, which he should have reasonably forseen would drive the crowd into a mad, self-destructive frenzy. Gross negligence--open and shut.
Posted by: Peter B at October 1, 2003 7:09 PM