Former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling would be envious of this bloody sock
One of the signature moments of Curt Schilling’s tenure with the Boston Red Sox was the infamous “Bloody Sock Game” in the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees. The right-hander gutted his way through seven innings of one-run ball in Game 6 to earn the victory, forcing a seventh game where Boston would cap the most epic comeback in sports history.
The image of Schilling standing on the mound with blood seeping through his sock where a torn tendon had been sutured to hold his ankle together will forever be ingrained in our memories. Concerns over how he would respond to the unorthodox procedure quickly faded as Schilling performed a masterpiece to shut down the powerful Yankees lineup.
Fans were reminded of those heroics during Monday’s NFL contest between the Washington Football Team and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Washington quarterback Alex Smith had a bit of an injury scare in the first half when the cleat of a Steeler defender caught his leg, opening a wound that began bleeding profusely.
Images of Smith standing on the sideline with blood pouring down his leg began circulating on social media.
https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1336092344647643137
The initial reaction was that of great concern considering Smith’s injury history. The quarterback missed about two years following a gruesome leg injury in 2018 that led to a life-threatening infection. Smith made his triumphant return to the field in a brief Week 5 appearance and has started each game since taking over for Kyle Allen midway through the Week 9 game against the Giants. His bid for Comeback Player of the Year has been one of the best stories of this season.
The bloody gash wasn’t on the same leg that was surgically repaired and Smith managed to return to the game without missing a beat. Once it was clear that the injury wasn’t nearly as serious as it appeared, the jokes relating him to Schilling started rolling out across Twitter.
Now that’s what a bloody sock looks like, Curt Schilling.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) December 7, 2020
We can only imagine how envious Schilling must be of Smith’s bloody sock. If nothing else, the former Red Sox pitcher can relate.
While fans managed to draw enough comparisons between the bloody sock games to get Schilling trending on Twitter, the FOX broadcast crew couldn’t get on the same page. Moose Johnston made a clever Monty Python reference by saying Smith’s wound was “just a scratch” but Kevin Burkhardt failed to pick up on the joke, responding only by disagreeing about the severity of the injury. Thankfully, this flesh wound wasn’t actually as serious as it looked so Smith fared better than the Black Knight.
Smith won’t fare quite as well as Schilling did in 2004 with Washington highly unlikely to end the season celebrating a championship but handing the Steelers their first loss of the year is a fine consultation.
Smith led the drive that resulted in a game-winning field goal with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Pittsburgh QB Ben Rothlisberger turned the ball over on a tipped pass that was intercepted on the following drive, allowing Washington to run out most of the remaining clock to put the game away and stun the Steelers.
This isn’t the same postseason stage that Schilling was on but going on the road to beat the undefeated Steelers is a comeback nearly as improbable as the one the Red Sox pulled off against the Yankees. Smith’s “Bloody Sock” game is one that Washington fans will certainly remember for years to come.