A day after his players looked meek in a 3-0 loss to the Islanders, Barry Trotz went viral Friday for the toughness he showed in a game the week before.
Last Saturday, Trotz was struck in the forehead by a deflected puck in the opening minute of the Caps game against the Leafs. Despite being cut open, Trotz — a former hockey player himself — continued coaching, while the bump on his head swelled to the size of a walnut.
When asked about being hit by the puck later, Trotz joked, “What puck?”
Meanwhile, in the sport of soccer, that kind of toughness is not as prevalent.
In a recent Ligue 1 game, Toulouse HC coach Pascal Dupraz dove to the ground after being brushed in the head by a paper airplane. The French First Division coach went to one knee and needed medical treatment before somehow continuing on.
Simulation de Pascal Dupraz après avoir reçu un avion en papier 😂😂pic.twitter.com/QURKj8L6QO
— Homeofthefootball FR (@actufoot720) November 25, 2016
A fan tossed a light ballistic missile made from paper down from the stands, and when it hit Dupraz, he reacted like he’d been tackled from behind by a Mack truck. He went down to his knee and needed treatment before bravely soldiering on and finishing out the rest of the match.
The best part? It took him a couple seconds after the paper plane hit him to react and fall to the ground in shock, awe and pain.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t inspire his team to victory after his brave return, but this episode will live on long after everyone forgets the result against Rennes.
Social media is now having fun with this. Friday, a video comparing and contrasting Trotz’s incident with Dupraz’s got over two million views on Reddit.
While Trotz’s toughness even got the Ozzy Man Reviews treatment. (Warning: there’s a lot of naughty words here.)
The Facebook page, which has nearly four million likes, features an Australian sports fan giving hilarious commentary about subjects ranging from video games, pets, and sports highlights.
So congratulations, Barry. Your act of bravery just became an iconic symbol of your sport’s toughness.
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