11/05/24
November 11, 2005
Former Steelers' lineman Steve Courson: was killed while apparently trying to save his dog from being hit by a tree he had just cut down.
I can't help but wonder what the hell he was thinking?
posted by palange51 at 10:06 PM on November 11, 2005
I heard this story this morning and my first thought was "Darwin Awards". Then I hear he was trying to get his dog out of the way of the tree and I feel much more sympathy. I hope this doesn't make me a bad person.
posted by vito90 at 10:18 PM on November 11, 2005
It doesn' make you a bad person,Vito But go with your first thought "Darwin Awards".
posted by Tubby Fan at 11:28 PM on November 11, 2005
Courson had the courage to come clean, and then courage to clean up. A sad day for the Steelers franchise and the Courson family.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 11:51 PM on November 11, 2005
Well, logging is not for amateurs. I've got loggers living around me and I expect nearly all of them have at least one really bad injury over a lifetime spent felling trees. I guess I don't see it as anything humorous or like the fictitious Darwin awards -- those are stunts. This was a sad case of someone without any training or experience doing a job that's inherently very dangerous.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:06 AM on November 12, 2005
What a sad story. Man's best friend eh?
posted by squealy at 07:30 AM on November 12, 2005
Thanks The_Black_Hand. That is my feeling too. Courson was a steroid user and when he developed heart problems, he came clean and spent the next (and last) 20 years of his life trying to keep kids from making the same mistakes he did.
posted by scully at 09:10 AM on November 12, 2005
That's a fucked up way to go. But at least he made the news. That's all any of us could ever ask for. I hope when my number is called, it's something crazy so my friends can say, "I can't believe Dog went out like that. That shit was FUCKIN' CRAZY! A CLOWN SUIT? Way to go out, Dog." Your 15 minutes of fame can come at the least expected time.
posted by Desert Dog at 10:35 AM on November 12, 2005
Desert Dog-You are absolutely Freakin' right Why go just like everybody else,give the people a great memory and sumpin' to yak about for years to come.-GOOD THOUGHT!!!
posted by Tubby Fan at 11:25 AM on November 12, 2005
Sad, but then again most Darwin-worthy deaths are.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:15 PM on November 12, 2005
I recently did a chainsaw/tree felling course. The first morning consisted entirely of the trainer describing 'Great Chainsaw Accidents I Have Witnessed'. Scary stuff and worth noting that these things happen to even the best trained and equipped professionals.
posted by owlhouse at 06:38 PM on November 12, 2005
This story makes me realize that I just do not care about my dog as much as Steve cared about his.
posted by Turbo at 08:39 PM on November 12, 2005
Sad
posted by chilibeans at 10:21 AM on November 13, 2005
I guess I don't see it as anything humorous or like the fictitious Darwin awards -- those are stunts. This was a sad case of someone without any training or experience doing a job that's inherently very dangerous. The Darwin Awards aren't stunts -- they are just a recognition of the most foolish ways that people get themselves killed. No disrespect intended to the guy for the life he led up to that accident, and props for thinking of the dog, but cutting down a 44-foot tall dead tree with a 5-foot circumference on a windy day is definitely awardworthy. That's a heck of a risk.
posted by rcade at 10:45 PM on November 13, 2005
Having almost having this very same thing happen to me and my son and time back, I do not find this a wee bit funny
posted by daddisamm at 10:49 PM on November 13, 2005
Yeah, this just serves to remind me to not buy a chainsaw in the first place. That way, I won't have the option of involuntary suicide. What a terrible misadventure.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:01 AM on November 14, 2005
I hope the dog is going to be OK
posted by HATER 187 at 09:35 AM on November 14, 2005
As hard as it may be to not laugh after reading the post above, this is a sad day for this man's family and friends. I wish them strength and extend my sympathies.