The Blue Tent

Normally, a piece like this would begin with a recent example of the subject at hand, which in this case is the Blue Tent that haunts the sideline of every NFL game like a pop-up mausoleum. I’m not trying to be cute or meta here; there are simply too many recent examples of players being injured in some potentially gruesome but not immediately visible way to choose one to illustrate the influence that this little plastic tent has had on the football-fan experience. In this year’s AFC Championship game two players, New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane and Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant, went into the tent to be examined with a bum ankle and a hamstring injury, respectively. Announcers tell audiences that a player “is in the Blue Tent” as naturally as informing them a player just rushed for three yards or dropped a wobbly pass. The Blue Tent is inevitable.