- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
Lance Louis cried.
Not on the field in front of his teammates. Not on the sideline while the medical staff tugged at his left leg.
Instead, the Bears right guard reserved his weeping for the ride home from Soldier Field the night of Nov. 25. Tears trickled down his cheek as his slumped inside teammate Patrick Trahan's Ford pickup, and Trahan remained mum as his roommate struggled through the moment.
"I don't think there was anything to be said at that point,'' Louis recalled.
What happened hours before spoke volumes about Louis' emotional state. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen delivered a brutal blindside block to Louis after a Jay Cutler interception. The impact sent the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Louis tumbling to the ground.
"When the doctors came up, they thought I had a concussion,'' Louis said. "But I heard a pop. By the time I got over to the sideline, I knew I tore it.''
Louis ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — the same injury he endured in his right knee during college. Allen's hit not only kept Louis from finishing a contract season, it caused an already much-maligned offensive line to regress.
Regardless, Louis says he holds no grudge against Allen.
"I never faulted him,'' Louis said Friday in his first public comments since the injury. "I'm pretty sure he didn't have any bad intentions toward me.
"I'm hard on myself. I should have looked. I felt like I should have taken a peek or something. But … I know what I signed up for. There's always that possibility of getting hurt in this game.''
Allen apologized through the media for what Bears teammates termed an "unnecessary'' play. In their minds, the $21,000 fine assessed against Allen wasn't severe enough.
"If he did get fined or didn't, it wouldn't have mattered to me,'' Louis said. "It happened. It's football. It's unfortunate, but I'm cool. I have no doubt I'll be back playing at a high level.''
Besides, Louis has overcome much worse.
While growing up in a desolate area of New Orleans, Louis never imagined escaping the depressing environment and having a successful pro football career.
"There were no good sides of town in New Orleans,'' he said. "None.''
One incident struck fear in Louis more than any other. It was during his senior year of high school, when he attended a dance with some friends off the East Bank. Afterward, Louis and a couple of friends were robbed at gunpoint. The gunman aimed at Louis and demanded the throwback jersey he was wearing.
"There wasn't too much to say,'' Louis remembered. "I just pulled it off my back. What else was I going to do but give it to him?''
Surviving a life-threatening situation makes the recovery from a devastating knee injury seem trivial. Saturday marked the fourth week since surgeon Mark Bowen repaired Louis' ACL. Louis started light rehab exercises a few days after surgery.
"I really never experienced any pain after surgery," Louis said. "It's strong. It's getting better every day. Everything is going cool.''
Not on the field in front of his teammates. Not on the sideline while the medical staff tugged at his left leg.
"I don't think there was anything to be said at that point,'' Louis recalled.
What happened hours before spoke volumes about Louis' emotional state. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen delivered a brutal blindside block to Louis after a Jay Cutler interception. The impact sent the 6-foot-3, 320-pound Louis tumbling to the ground.
"When the doctors came up, they thought I had a concussion,'' Louis said. "But I heard a pop. By the time I got over to the sideline, I knew I tore it.''
Louis ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — the same injury he endured in his right knee during college. Allen's hit not only kept Louis from finishing a contract season, it caused an already much-maligned offensive line to regress.
Regardless, Louis says he holds no grudge against Allen.
"I never faulted him,'' Louis said Friday in his first public comments since the injury. "I'm pretty sure he didn't have any bad intentions toward me.
"I'm hard on myself. I should have looked. I felt like I should have taken a peek or something. But … I know what I signed up for. There's always that possibility of getting hurt in this game.''
Allen apologized through the media for what Bears teammates termed an "unnecessary'' play. In their minds, the $21,000 fine assessed against Allen wasn't severe enough.
"If he did get fined or didn't, it wouldn't have mattered to me,'' Louis said. "It happened. It's football. It's unfortunate, but I'm cool. I have no doubt I'll be back playing at a high level.''
Besides, Louis has overcome much worse.
While growing up in a desolate area of New Orleans, Louis never imagined escaping the depressing environment and having a successful pro football career.
"There were no good sides of town in New Orleans,'' he said. "None.''
One incident struck fear in Louis more than any other. It was during his senior year of high school, when he attended a dance with some friends off the East Bank. Afterward, Louis and a couple of friends were robbed at gunpoint. The gunman aimed at Louis and demanded the throwback jersey he was wearing.
"There wasn't too much to say,'' Louis remembered. "I just pulled it off my back. What else was I going to do but give it to him?''
Surviving a life-threatening situation makes the recovery from a devastating knee injury seem trivial. Saturday marked the fourth week since surgeon Mark Bowen repaired Louis' ACL. Louis started light rehab exercises a few days after surgery.
"I really never experienced any pain after surgery," Louis said. "It's strong. It's getting better every day. Everything is going cool.''
