Oh, great! You made me miss Joe Theismann! — Homer, “Saturdays Of Thunder”

Speaking of football, what better way to start off the bifurcated holiday week than with a bit of the old ultra-violence? Bake it away, toys:

The collision between Joe Theismann and Lawrence “I-saw-coke-as-the-only-bright-spot-in-my-future” Taylor charts among the most gruesome in modern athletics — among such disasters as the Jason Kendall ankle dislocation and everything that happens within the confines of a football player’s helmet.

For Theismann, the above video depicts his last moments as a NFL quarterback; the broken leg he sustained ended his on-field career. He has gotten a bit of broadcasting experience since … and he also enjoyed a brief stint hosting the second greatest television show of the modern era, American Gladiators:

One last note: Homer’s above-quoted reference to the Theismann injury is actually The Simpsons’ second shout-out to the incident. The first occurred in “Principal Charming”, in which Homer and Seymour watch the following on TV (same jersey numbers):