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I'm not a huge fan of hockey but the sport seems to have so many interesting things like this that really sets it apart from other major sports. Could you ever

I'm not a huge fan of hockey but the sport seems to have so many interesting things like this that really sets it apart from other major sports. Could you ever see the NFL letting an amateur walk on the same day and play in a real game?

noer 9y ago
I'm pretty sure it's the _only_ time in major professional sports an amateur is able to get into a game.
- onychomys 9y ago
  Well, there's a famous time that baseball let an amateur have an at-bat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel
  - lostlogin 9y ago
    Can you imagine a team putting a dwarf on the field as a publicity stunt now? Moral outrage would explode. I’m not sure how much change has occurred though as other body shapes are used for publicity purposes and don’t cause outrage, so it’s all a bit complicated.
gringoDan 9y ago
I don't know a ton about hockey either, but apparently goalie is more analogous to kicker or punter than "regular" positions in football. Even so, in the case of a kicker/punter injury a NFL team wouldn't call someone out of the stands to fill in - they'd sign someone out of free agency to play the next week and would adjust their strategy accordingly during the current game. It's really cool that pro hockey has a unique system in place for edge case situations like this.
- mikemac 9y ago
  That's a good point though - a lot of times the backup kicker or punter on an NFL roster is someone from a totally different skill position. Ndamukong Suh is a 300 pound defensive tackle but he was the emergency placekicker for the Dolphins for 2017. There are a bunch of QBs who can punt as well.
  - m_myers 9y ago
    It's not common for those backups to actually kick, but it does happen. Wes Welker was placekicker for the Dolphins for one game as a rookie in 2004, besides being the team's kick and punt returner. He successfully converted both kicks he attempted. He did not catch a pass in that game, despite being nominally a wide receiver (and a future Pro Bowler at that position). Six years later, at New England, he served as the backup placekicker again and made a single extra point, finishing his career perfect as a kicker. The legendary quarterback Doug Flutie kicked the last successful "drop kick" in the NFL for an extra point in 2006. However, that was more of a novelty than out of necessity; New England's kicker was healthy, they were well ahead in the game, and the team knew Flutie would retire after the season.
- s2g 9y ago
  Not really, you lose if you don't have a goalie. Even if the rules would let the game take place.
- estomagordo 9y ago
  A goalie plays for 60 minutes per game. A kicker plays, what, 6 seconds per game?
atomic77 9y ago
The hockey goalie is an interesting role because it is a very specialized skill relative to the other players, and typically done by the same person for most of a season, with a backup that plays maybe 10-25% of games. I think the closest thing would be a pitcher in baseball, but even there, it's hard to imagine an injury scenario that would result in an amateur being put in, because there are so many relief pitchers, and others not in rotation that could sub in.
- amalcon 9y ago
  The baseball thing is actually an interesting point. One of the most interesting things that occasionally happens in baseball is when a position player has to pitch, because the game has drawn on so long. It's interesting because these position players often have good stats for their brief appearance, but (almost) never move into pitching even part-time as a result. This is because none of the opposing hitters have studied that player's pitching, making the hitter's job that much harder. That is, the results don't completely reflect how well the pitcher actually pitched. It's possible that a similar effect is in play here.
pg_bot 9y ago
While not 100% the same, Kurt Warner's story is pretty remarkable. He went from stocking shelves at a grocery store, to winning a super bowl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Warner#Professional_career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Warner#Professional_caree...
- ztoben 9y ago
  He was stocking shelves, but he was also an absolute stud in the arena football league and went on to lead the league in touchdowns in NFL Europe. Might be one of the only NFL Europe success stories that I know of. I'm a Rams fan and share the same alma mater as Kurt, so I'm extremely biased, but he definitely has one of the best stories in football in my opinion.
  - neonhomer 9y ago
    He and the "Greatest Show on Turf" were really fun to watch! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Show_on_Turf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Show_on_Turf
DrScump 9y ago
A 53-man roster is more flexible than a 22-man roster. Plus most NFL players grew up playing both sides of the ball and/or kicking, too.

noer 9y ago

I'm pretty sure it's the _only_ time in major professional sports an amateur is able to get into a game.

onychomys 9y ago
Well, there's a famous time that baseball let an amateur have an at-bat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel
- lostlogin 9y ago
  Can you imagine a team putting a dwarf on the field as a publicity stunt now? Moral outrage would explode. I’m not sure how much change has occurred though as other body shapes are used for publicity purposes and don’t cause outrage, so it’s all a bit complicated.

gringoDan 9y ago

I don't know a ton about hockey either, but apparently goalie is more analogous to kicker or punter than "regular" positions in football. Even so, in the case of a kicker/punter injury a NFL team wouldn't call someone out of the stands to fill in - they'd sign someone out of free agency to play the next week and would adjust their strategy accordingly during the current game. It's really cool that pro hockey has a unique system in place for edge case situations like this.

mikemac 9y ago
That's a good point though - a lot of times the backup kicker or punter on an NFL roster is someone from a totally different skill position. Ndamukong Suh is a 300 pound defensive tackle but he was the emergency placekicker for the Dolphins for 2017. There are a bunch of QBs who can punt as well.
- m_myers 9y ago
  It's not common for those backups to actually kick, but it does happen. Wes Welker was placekicker for the Dolphins for one game as a rookie in 2004, besides being the team's kick and punt returner. He successfully converted both kicks he attempted. He did not catch a pass in that game, despite being nominally a wide receiver (and a future Pro Bowler at that position). Six years later, at New England, he served as the backup placekicker again and made a single extra point, finishing his career perfect as a kicker. The legendary quarterback Doug Flutie kicked the last successful "drop kick" in the NFL for an extra point in 2006. However, that was more of a novelty than out of necessity; New England's kicker was healthy, they were well ahead in the game, and the team knew Flutie would retire after the season.
s2g 9y ago
Not really, you lose if you don't have a goalie. Even if the rules would let the game take place.
estomagordo 9y ago
A goalie plays for 60 minutes per game. A kicker plays, what, 6 seconds per game?

atomic77 9y ago

The hockey goalie is an interesting role because it is a very specialized skill relative to the other players, and typically done by the same person for most of a season, with a backup that plays maybe 10-25% of games. I think the closest thing would be a pitcher in baseball, but even there, it's hard to imagine an injury scenario that would result in an amateur being put in, because there are so many relief pitchers, and others not in rotation that could sub in.

amalcon 9y ago
The baseball thing is actually an interesting point. One of the most interesting things that occasionally happens in baseball is when a position player has to pitch, because the game has drawn on so long. It's interesting because these position players often have good stats for their brief appearance, but (almost) never move into pitching even part-time as a result. This is because none of the opposing hitters have studied that player's pitching, making the hitter's job that much harder. That is, the results don't completely reflect how well the pitcher actually pitched. It's possible that a similar effect is in play here.

pg_bot 9y ago

While not 100% the same, Kurt Warner's story is pretty remarkable. He went from stocking shelves at a grocery store, to winning a super bowl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Warner#Professional_career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Warner#Professional_caree...

ztoben 9y ago
He was stocking shelves, but he was also an absolute stud in the arena football league and went on to lead the league in touchdowns in NFL Europe. Might be one of the only NFL Europe success stories that I know of. I'm a Rams fan and share the same alma mater as Kurt, so I'm extremely biased, but he definitely has one of the best stories in football in my opinion.
- neonhomer 9y ago
  He and the "Greatest Show on Turf" were really fun to watch! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Show_on_Turf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Show_on_Turf

DrScump 9y ago

A 53-man roster is more flexible than a 22-man roster. Plus most NFL players grew up playing both sides of the ball and/or kicking, too.