When you are a badass....

[Saniflush]

you can give everyone the finger.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/colleges/articles/2008/10/03/20081003spt-mesastate-ON.html

Lineman has pinkie amputated to save career


Trevor Wikre was willing to forgo a finger for football.

The Mesa State College senior offensive lineman fractured his right pinkie so severely in practice on Tuesday, doctors told him he needed immediate surgery. His season and career would be finished.

Instead, Wikre told them to amputate the finger. He's now missing a good portion of his pinkie.

"I'm just short one," Wikre said with a chuckle. "But this game means that much to me. This team means that much to me."

Wikre will miss the Mavericks' game Saturday at Colorado School of Mines, but will be back the following week - albeit with his finger covered in a cast.

"Football is something that's been in my blood," said Wikre, who's from Berthoud, Colo. "It's something I have a passion for. The game quits everybody eventually - you want to hang on to it as long as you can."

Wikre was going for a block in practice when he caught his finger in a teammate's jersey. At first, he didn't give the ailing pinkie a second thought, thinking the sensation he was feeling inside his glove was a piece of tape that had simply slipped off.

But when he removed his glove, the bone was jutting out, and he was immediately sent to the hospital.

Doctors informed Wikre he would need surgery to insert a pin and that he'd likely be out for up to six months as the finger healed. He couldn't bear the thought of his career ending so abruptly, so he decided to forsake the finger.

"This was the best way to get me back out there," Wikre said. "There are worse things in the world - a pinkie is not that bad in my mind."

The four-year starter is still a little sore that he can't play this weekend. Mesa State, a Division II school in Grand Junction, Colo., has won its last three games, and Wikre didn't want to mess up the mojo.

"We've got a great team," said Wikre, who was an all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player last season. "We've got to keep this rolling."

Instead, he'll mentor his backup on the sideline, shouting encouragement and advice.

"I'll be that big supporter," he said.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Wikre said he'll never glance back at his decision with remorse.

What's done is done.

"Never look back on the decisions you make," he said. "Everybody thinks I'm crazy, but anybody that loves sports and has had this camaraderie knows what it's like."

That's why he was willing to part with his pinkie.

"This will be a great story down the line," Wikre said.

[tiger88]

Thank God he didn't break the wrist. All he'd have left is a nub. To me this is hinging between badass and complete dumbass.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

It worked for Ronnie Lott.

[Tiger Six]

Get back to me when he sacrifices a toe. The big King of the Toes on his left foot.

[chinook]

Get back to me when he sacrifices a toe. The big King of the Toes on his left foot.

lawn mower?

[Tiger Six]

lawn mower?

Depends on who the audience is.

I have been known to claim a shark bit it off or it was blown off in an IED attack.

It was lost in the Great Yard War of 2005.

[CCTAU]

Yeah. The big toe is a toughie. Had a cousin lost his in a bicycle spoke. He was only 7 so regaining that balance was not too bad. I would hate to have it happen as an adult.

This guy probably saved himself a lifetime of pain by just removing the problem. Now a small portion is just missing instead of not working properly and maybe needing attention later in life. It sounds crazy, but at times, the easiest recovery is the amputation of certain parts. I'm not sure I would have the balls to make that type of decision, even if it was best. Something about throwing body parts away that disturbs me.

[Tiger Six]

Yeah. The big toe is a toughie. Had a cousin lost his in a bicycle spoke. He was only 7 so regaining that balance was not too bad. I would hate to have it happen as an adult.

Balance wasn't an issue.  I still have the big ball joint where it all connects to the foot. 

Using new muscles when I started walking again sucked.  I can't just flat out sprint anymore, it hurts my second toe because I push off too much with it.  Jumping doesn't even hurt as bad as sprints.

[tiger88]

It worked for Ronnie Lott.

I think it's worth noting that the fate of a multi million dollar franchise possibly rode on whether lott played or not whereas this guy is worried about missing a game for mesa state.

I know it's important to him, but come on.  That pinky could be important to him in the manual labor he will need to perform in the years to come.