The Packers And Seahawks Need Bigger Bikes Before Someone Gets Hurt
It's a fun tradition... until someone pulls a groin on a tiny bicycle
One of the coolest NFL preseason traditions is when the Green Bay Packers ride bicycles from Lambeau Field down to their practice facility.
According to The Seattle Times, this tradition dates back to the late 1950s, and this year the Seattle Seahawks got to take part as well, seeing as they were in town for joint practices ahead of Saturday afternoon's preseason game.
It's a cool tradition that involves kids heading down to the field with players, but I think at some point, They're going to need to upgrade the size of these bicycles because right now, most of the ones they use are for kids.
For instance, Seahawks backup QB Drew Lock looked like he was riding one of those little finger bicycles. Remember those things? They were the bike version of finger skateboards?
Anyone?…
C'mon, '90s kids… bail me out!
Well, look those up because it looked like he was riding one.
For what it's worth, starter Sam Darnold got what was described as a "mid-sized bike," so perhaps there is some sort of pecking order when it comes to bike selection.
I mean, maybe it's because I just crossed the threshold into my thirties, but if someone was like, "Hey, Matt, you handsome devil, go ride this tiny bicycle down to the practice field," I'd have a vision, Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone style of me shredding a groin on that diminutive Huffy.
Imagine the press conference after something like that happened to a player:
"Yeah, he's not going to be ready Week 1… It's a groin injury… How did it happen? Uh… remember when we made the guys ride those tiny bicycles? Yeah… we believe it happened around then…"
Some of the bigger fellas noped out of this tradition, perhaps for this reason. Seattle defensive end Leonard Williams opted not to tempt fate and took a golf cart to practice, while left tackle Charles Cross tried to ride a tiny bike, then just wound up picking it up and carrying it.
So, as much as I love this tradition, football players are bigger these days, so they need bikes to fit them.
Otherwise, they're going to look like Homer Simpson attempting Krusty's "Mini Bike Spin Cycle Fantastic Trick."