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Princeton University Athletics
Continuing An Impact On Tiger Football
September 30, 2002 | Football
Sept. 30, 2002
It was a crisp, sunny November day in Hanover, N.H. and the Princeton Tigers, fresh off a 34-14 drilling of Yale, were looking to close out the year with back-to-back wins for the first time since the 1994 season. Junior Rob Currey and the linebacker corps had their sights set on eventual unanimous first-team All-Ivy honoree Casey Cramer of Dartmouth. The tight end was a major weapon in the Big Green arsenal and stopping him would be a key to the game.
The Tigers won the toss and deferred to the second half. The defense was on cue early, forcing a quick three-and-out. Chris-Roser Jones, Princeton's first-team All-Ivy linebacker, was playing well and doing his part in suppressing Cramer. Now it was Currey's turn to line up against the Big Green tight end.
"All week long, I looked at him and he was an annoying presence on film," says Currey. "He was a good player, and the defense was excited to play and contain him." Currey's responsibility was to block Cramer down field. The punt was off and Currey released Cramer to circle back inside to the middle of the field. His sights were set on the Dartmouth star running down the sidelines; he had him lined up perfectly. Cramer was about to feel with full force the power of Rob Currey's 220-pound frame. And then ...
"He saw me coming at the last second and stepped to the side," says Currey. "I reached out with my left arm to make contact. I was running at full speed when his helmet made contact with the soft part under my bicep, directly on my humerus."
That impact generated four fractures all the way through Currey's bone. He laid on the turf at Memorial Field with the most intense pain he had ever felt.
"I thought I had dislocated my elbow," says Currey. "I laid there with my eyes closed. My head and my shoulder told my arm to fold into my chest so that I could cradle it. I had thought my body went through the motion, but I looked over and saw that my arm was still lying there on the field."
Once on the sidelines, the physicians were forced to cut off the jersey and shoulder pads. Currey was taken to the hospital for x-rays and was able to return to the field, although wearing he wore a hospital gown, for the fourth quarter of play.
Princeton went on to win that final game 35-14, ending its season on a two-game winning streak. It was the ideal ending - a pair of Ivy blowouts.
Princeton ended on a high note, but at what cost? A joyous time for the coaches and players turned to concern as one its members struggled through the on-field celebration with intense pain running up and down his left arm.
"The first time I knew something was wrong was when I first saw Coach [Don] Dobes' eyes," says Currey. "We had just won a great game to end the season on a high note and when he looked at me I could see fear in his eyes. He had been around football long enough to see everything and knowing this wasn't common to him made the situation seem more grave than I had initially thought."
Still, a broken arm was a broken arm and many people had come back from that. Currey was confident that he would be able to work through the rehab and fully recover for his senior year. He wasn't quite prepared for the for the emotional roller coaster he was about to embark on. The physical pain tormented Currey for weeks after the injury. Three weeks after the Dartmouth game, he still felt pain in his arm from the bounce of walking. He was told he couldn't play again, then he was told there was a possibility. Debate on his status as an active football player went back and forth, and Currey feared the worst.
"I think the doctors knew initially that my injury could be career ending," says Currey. "I think the doctors didn't tell me about the severity of the injury at first because they just wanted me to deal with the pain and then later deal with the implications on my career."
In February, while hiking along a soft path, Currey's worst fears were realized. He slipped down, and when he put his hands down to catch himself, the left arm broke again. It was just one fracture this time, but the arm was so weak it could not withstand a little slip that could have happened anywhere. Football seemed out of the question. A visit to Charlie Thompson, the head athletic trainer at Princeton, confirmed what Currey already knew himself.
"My arm has an angle in it now that shouldn't be there," recalls Currey. "Hearing the words out of Charlie Thompson's mouth made me realize for the first time that I wouldn't be able to play football again. I was crushed."
There were a lot of people in the training room that day and Thompson could tell that Currey was scared and upset. He took Currey into his office, pulled the shades and let him sit there in solitude for about 45 minutes. Currey's dream was over, unless of course he signed a waiver and risked continuing football.
"I would be lying if I said there was anything I would rather be doing right now than be getting ready to play this season," says Currey. "But the long-term risk is that I could lose the function of my left hand if the nerve that is around this break becomes severed."
It was one of the most difficult decisions he has had to make in his life. Was the risk worth what he knew would be his senior season? Not only for the team, but with Roser-Jones graduated, this was Currey's linebacking corps. His mother gave him advice and spoke of his future, 20 to 30 years down the road. This valedictorian and national merit finalist had more going for him than just football. An active member in the Christian Fellowship group Athletes In Action, Currey has interests away from the gridiron.
In the end, Currey decided against the risk and is now a student assistant coach on Roger Hughes' staff. He helps Coach Dobes with the linebackers and is happy to be involved with the team in the capacity he is.
"I don't think that there will be a time this season when I look at the field and won't feel disappointed it the fact that I cannot play," says Currey. "But this injury has helped me gain a perspective on life."
It was almost as if his life was on cruise control. He was a student; he was involved in his extracurricular activities, most of all football. It was easy to take for granted that things would continue the way they had.
"I feel blessed to have the opportunity I had as a player and still have as a coach," says Currey. "I realize now that the things we take for granted like the presence of a loved one or the ability to play a sport that you thoroughly enjoy are not certain. At the end of the day, if those things are gone and the status and reputation that you have as a player are taken away from you, what you really have left is who you are as a person."
by Tom Milajecki