That’s going to hurt in the morning… and likely for the next several months.
The University of Arizona had Military Appreciation Night over the weekend, and though it was great to spotlight our armed forces, the pre-game celebration wasn’t very leg-friendly. Performers are often told to “break a leg” before they go out and do their job, but you know who doesn’t want to hear that before they jump into action?
Paratroopers.
If you’ve ever been to a sporting event, seeing a team of paratroopers coming down into the stadium can be an incredible experience. I once even saw someone in a mascot costume soar through the sky and land right at the 50 yard line. It was truly one of the most impressive feats of coordination I’ve ever seen.
That’s because it takes a ton of skill by paratroopers – and a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature – to successfully float down accurately and safely touch down back on Earth. Fans attending the Arizona-Oklahoma State University baseball game were waiting in great anticipation to see the paratrooper team softly land on the baseball field ahead of the game.
But the wind had other ideas:
Yikes… I feel so bad for those servicemen.
The announcer probably could have laid out and recognized what was happening out on the field, but he instead stuck to the script as some of the paratroopers were writhing in pain on the ground. And thought the extent of the injuries haven’t been confirmed, the Arizona baseball team did put out a statement saying that some of the parachute team members were hurt:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the paratroopers injured during tonight’s pregame ceremony. Thank you for your service to our nation, and thank you to the first responders on site who provided their assistance.”
So sad…
Social media users that came across the now viral video (it has 1.5 million views total now) extended some sympathy, while others pointed out that they maybe should have postponed the paratrooper portion of Military Appreciation Night considering the extreme elements:
So the weights were a bad idea after all… pic.twitter.com/e7uERJhmxB
— VonWeeden🛑 (@Von_Weeden) April 13, 2025
Couldn’t imagine getting ready for a game and watching dudes just falling out of the sky blowing out there knees
— Kevin Koski (@koski305) April 13, 2025
Broken legs to start the ball game
— Morris Chesthair 🥇 (@M0rrisChesthair) April 13, 2025
The PLF landing looked painful been there!! Land like a sack of potatoes
— Carlos Brillante (@solrac907) April 13, 2025
Yikes!!! Legs and hips are cooked!!
— Shanoy (@SupermanA2K) April 13, 2025
I’m hurting that’s unreal 😂
— BKCTTU (@bkcttu) April 13, 2025
Oh man that looked really bad
— Tristan (@TristanP1704) April 13, 2025
Certainly hope that the paratroopers are able to heal up quickly and get back to their parachuting ways sooner rather than later.
And I don’t mean to make light of the situation, but the whole thing reminded me of one of the funniest scenes that’s graced the silver screen in the past decade:
