APMany people have been described as having ants in their pants, but Cowboys fullback Lawrence Vickers knows the reality of the situation.
Vickers hurried off the field during Cowboys practice on Wednesday with what Brent Shirley of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram thought was a groin injury. It didn’t turn out to be a muscular problem that caused Vickers to leave practice, however. It turns out that his pants were infested by ants, which is problematic since Vickers is allergic to the critters.
“I was doing the play,” Vickers said. “I was running, and I was blocking someone. Then I walk off, and I’m like ‘oh snap.’ And I pulled my pants down to see, and I saw ants. As soon as I got bit, I was like ‘no,’ because I didn’t want to freak out. I wanted to pull my pants down and run inside, but I couldn’t do that.”
Vickers showered and took some Benadryl, precautions he learned from an incident earlier this year when ant bites cause him to start wheezing while his neck swelled up. Vickers, who carries an Epipen in the event of allergy emergencies, was able to return to practice after scrubbing down.
We’ll be watching this season to see if any defensive coordinators use an ant-based strategy to thwart Dallas’ attempt to convert a short yardage play by running behind Vickers.
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Ants in the pants is almost as bad as bats in the belfry or snakes in the grass.
So one year they face massive wind damage and now it’s an infestation of ants? What’s next, the plague? Locusts? The return of TO?
This doesn’t make any sense. How the hell did he get ants in there? It’s not like they just randomly appear in someone’s jock or something. Either someone had to put that ish in his gear, or more than one player should have had the same problem.
Or a fly in the ointment.
Most important unanswered question: How did they get there?
I can imagine the media already. ANTGATE. You know because no one can come up with anything other than to add gate to the end of it.
Actually, I think that’s kind of funny.
Can we please stop calling them America’s team now
Texas ants are insane. Step on or near a mound and you’ll have them all up your leg biting you. I learned the hard way my Freshman year of college when my ankle got attacked– nothing like those friendly ants up in the Midwest.
Grulks says:
Jun 7, 2012 10:45 AM
This doesn’t make any sense. How the hell did he get ants in there? It’s not like they just randomly appear in someone’s jock or something. Either someone had to put that ish in his gear, or more than one player should have had the same problem.
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It’s not that difficult, or uncommon.
A player puts part of his uniform on the ground and there happens to be ants there.
Viola.
I hate when that happens.
Grulks says: Jun 7, 2012 10:45 AM
This doesn’t make any sense. How the hell did he get ants in there? It’s not like they just randomly appear in someone’s jock or something. Either someone had to put that ish in his gear, or more than one player should have had the same problem.
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How about they got there when he was doing stretching on the field before practice started? It isn’t all that hard to imagine. Having lived in Dallas for 14 years I can tell you that fire ants are ubiquitous on sports fields in the area and they are not to be trifled with.
Okay, this is the kind of offseason non-news that I’ll accept. Less who is Tebow maybe dating, more Antgate.
We’ll be watching this season to see if any defensive coordinators use an ant-based strategy to thwart Dallas’ attempt to convert a short yardage play by running behind Vickers.
This comment is not cute. This is serious. It might seem funny to you, because they are “just ant,” but these little things are deadly to Vickers… and with the timing of the Bounty issue, your comment crossed a line.
To do something of this nature, as a coach or player… or even suggest it as a “reporter” is disgusting considering things like this have been done to people to kill them… an have worked.
They call it attempted murder, actually.
He has already suffered two separate ant attack incidents this year? Does he bathe in honey?
This is something that sounds hilarious….except if it happens to you.
I’m sure the league will find a way to fine the team for illegal contact during OTA’s
DCBlueStar says: Jun 7, 2012 11:16 AM
We’ll be watching this season to see if any defensive coordinators use an ant-based strategy to thwart Dallas’ attempt to convert a short yardage play by running behind Vickers.
This comment is not cute. This is serious. It might seem funny to you, because they are “just ant,” but these little things are deadly to Vickers… and with the timing of the Bounty issue, your comment crossed a line.
To do something of this nature, as a coach or player… or even suggest it as a “reporter” is disgusting considering things like this have been done to people to kill them… an have worked.
They call it attempted murder, actually.
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Chill out and get a sense of humor. It is cute as opposed to serious or crossing a line precisely because “They call it attempted murder, actually.”
I had some other points to make, but I’m just gonna call it quits here. What’s the point of arguing with a guy who thinks making jokes about defensive coordinators literally murdering opposing players is “crossing a line”?
@DCBlueStar says:
Jun 7, 2012 11:16 AM
Lighten up, Francis.
Before anyone crucifies me… I was being sarcastic… However in my sarcasm is honesty and truth. This does happen to people, and it is an attempted murder.
Not saying it’ll happen, but there’s some people I the nFL I wouldn’t put it past to do something like this.
Anyone see the CSI peanut butter episode? lol
These are not the ants that appeared in your apartment when you and your college buddies didn’t clean the kitchen for 3-4 days.
Fire ants have killed people, and are nothing to be messed with. I did AF Basic in San Antonio, and a couple of guys from my flight had to go to the infirmary after taking bites.
hmmm Benadryl might work on the ant bite situation BUT did he check to see if the NFL allows it? I say 4 game suspension should be in order!
Lived in Ft. Worth for 5 years. Put on my pants one morning and after a few seconds started to itch. Checked and there were ants inside. After a few seconds I started to get sick so the wife took me to the emergency room where they gave me 2 shots of adrenaline, told me I could have died had I not come in as soon as I did. I now carry an Epipen. This is real people, and it can be very deadly.
Anybody that doesn’t see the Cowboys as America’s team can feel free to leave the country.
@DCBlueStar
Please god tell me you are kidding.
Those of us who don’t have ants in our pants are laughing our a@@ off right now!
@jwreck @pooflingingmonkey @marshawnlynchlookslikepredator
Gotcha. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Try reading the rest of the comments, LOL.
When asked how he would have handled the situation, Brett Favre broke into song…
“Pants on the ground, pants on the ground!”
DCBlueStar: You’re out of order.
daysend564 says:
“Anybody that doesn’t see the Cowboys as America’s team can feel free to leave the country.”
Anybody who dogmatically holds onto the outdated notion that the Cowboys are America’s team can feel free to leave the country.
TX ants are serious. I’m from the east coast but live in H-town and found out the hard way cutting grass near an ant mound. They attacked en masse. Was scratching and using all kinds of anti-itch stuff for 2 weeks. Thankfully I’m not allergic like Vickers.
I once played rugby in Hammond, La on a partially submerged field (which smelled like sewer) & these same freakin’ ants were coagulated into floating balls of insect-ly menace just waiting for someone to fall on them to disperse. Best strategy was to keep your feet at all costs but if you went down you had to try to pick between landing on either them or the clumps of razor-sharp sawgrass (which is quite aptly named).
The ANT-ithesis of good playing conditions …
Lemme get this straight, you’re telling me he was bitten by ants and he didn’t become AntMan?
Damn you, Marvel Comics, and your deception!
leadlap says:
“Lemme get this straight, you’re telling me he was bitten by ants and he didn’t become AntMan?”
He didn’t become AntMan; he became half Man, half Ant, or…………………MANT!!!