Steve Webb
MILWAUKEE, WI — Sometimes, items should just go ahead and stay on your bucket list.
For days, Dodger radio personality David Vassegh was sharing his eagerness about how he was finally going to fulfill a dream: to go down the famous Homer Slide at American Family Field in Milwaukee. It seemed safe enough After all, Milwaukee mascot “Bernie Brewer” goes down the slide every time the Brew Crew hits a home run in their home ball park. And, the Brewers even sell ticket packages where for a mere 150 bucks, kids as young as eight can go down the slide up to five times. What could go wrong?
In Vassegh’s case, a lot. With the entire painful experience being captured on film for posterity, the ride seemed to be a horror show for Vassegh from the get-go. “Holy crap! Holy crap!” Vassegh was heard screaming as he hurtled in his long-sleeved shirt, slacks, and tie toward his fate. “Holy crap! Holy crap!”
Force = Mass x Acceleration
Then at the base of the slide, disaster struck! Vassegh came off the slide and went into an awkward barrel roll, only he didn’t really roll. He just sort of slid across the landing zone and went SPLAT into the padded wall a few feet beyond. Almost immediately, Vassegh grabbed his ribcage and began wincing in pain.
A trip to the emergency room later, and Vassegh discover that he had broken his wrist in a couple of places and cracked a few of his ribs. Ever the gamer, he returned to American Family Field to still do the broadcast, looking only slightly worse for wear. In his on-field report with Dodger broadcasters Joe Davis and Nomar Garciaparra, Vassegh thanked in particular Justin Turner, David Price, and the Dodgers’ training staff for applying some first aid and getting him to a hospital for further treatment.
He fought the wall, and the wall won
So men in the vicinity of middle age, what have we learned from this episode? The next time get the idea that it might be fun to do something that looks a little dangerous, we need to sit ourselves down, and be very, very still… until that feeling goes away.
Here is the entire episode for your edification:
