People have been talking about the head of Zinedine Zidane for the last 48 hours or so.
If you are still wondering what the buzz was about his head (the one located above his shoulders that is), welcome back to planet Earth.
Google Zidane in Image and you’ll see that famous head of his in hardcore action. And I mean, really hard.
What I am amazed at was the motivation that had driven him to do such a thing, not so much of the impending World Cup final match at stake, but rather –
Doesn’t it hurt when he did that???
Study the clip, and do something similar to your pillow. I reckon it wouldn’t hurt that much but that amount of velocity and force as you bring your head to a speed of no less than 30mph and land it in a crash like that is enough to turn those jelly-like cerebral fluid into milkshake.
Now imagine doing the same on something harder, ask your partner or spouse to volunteer. (NOTE: NOT EVERY BODY ORGAN THAT’S HARD CAN BE USED AS PART OF THE SIMULATION). I bet your brain would have taken so serious a knock-about in the skull that it would take a few seconds for you to realise something as important as that you’re actually STILL playing in the World Cup final.
As hard as a head can be, it is undisputable that not only does the landing impact causes potential damage to the head, the landing position of the head upon the object plays a critical role in the eventual injury that might ensue. As the muscles are contracted and you bring your head into a backward movement before the forceful launch, you are essentially utilising every vertebrae that begins from the cervical spine, a structure that contains and protects the spinal cord, supports the skull and enable diverse head movements. As you enable your head forward in one clean powerful thrust, the complex system of ligaments, tendons and muscles that supports and stabilise the cervical spine takes on an excessive amount of movement that could ultimately result in serious injury.
The results that may immediately follow are dire. Nerve impulses travel to and from the brain through the spinal cord to a specific location by way of the peripheral nervous system that is a complex system of nerves that branch off from the spinal nerve roots. These nerves travel outside of the spinal canal or spinal cord into the organs, arms, legs, and fingers – essentially throughout the entire body.
Injury or mild trauma to the cervical spine would most definitely cause pain, numbness, weakness, and symptoms of tingling sensations. As the cervical nerves control many bodily functions and sensory activities involving the head, neck, upper body muscles, triceps, biceps, wrists and hands, a head butt like that of Sunday’s match would most certainly cause at least a momentary loss of physical prowess and agility.
So, even if the red card had not been shown, the Z-force may have already been diminished and would not have proved as much of a threat as it had before the deed.
Indeed it hurts.
But there are some things bigger than football and there are things that hurt beyond the tolerance of the physique. The mind, not the body is the point of vulnerability. Materazzi got that right, that bastard.
For Zidane, I reckon the hurt is not the stinging image that marked his retirement from professional football but rather the hurt he has to bear with when Materazzi made those taunting remarks.
I would have the balls cut off of whoever that hurt my loved ones and have them served to me on a plate (as Zidane's mother have said), touchwood.
And for once, I applaud the act of violence in this instance.
It is celestial.
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