Alvin Kamara Pretended to Tear His Hamstring at a Savannah Bananas Game and Saints Fans Lost It
Alvin Kamara has a sick sense of humor. Saints fans are not laughing.
The New Orleans running back made a guest appearance with the Savannah Bananas this weekend and decided to fake a hamstring injury for the bit. He grabbed his leg, hit the dirt, and laid there for several seconds while the crowd held its breath. Then he popped up and went on with the show.
Saints fans on social media nearly had a collective heart attack. Some of them remember exactly what happened the last time a player faked an injury at a Bananas game.
The Sean Casey Cautionary Tale
Former MLB All-Star Sean Casey actually tore his hamstring while pretending to be hurt at a Savannah Bananas exhibition a couple years back. The bit became the moment. Casey ended up needing surgery and a lengthy recovery. The Bananas had to release a statement explaining what happened.
Kamara obviously knew the history and did it anyway. That tells you everything about his personality. He is going to play the game his way, on and off the field, and he does not really care if the city of New Orleans is having a stroke about it.
The Bigger Concern for the Saints
Kamara is 31 years old and entering his ninth NFL season. The Saints have a new coaching staff and a quarterback situation that is still very much unsettled. Their offensive identity runs through Kamara, both as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Losing him to anything, fake or real, would tank the season.
New Orleans has not made the playoffs in years. The roster has aged. The salary cap has been a disaster. Kamara is one of the few true difference-makers left on the team. A hamstring tear for the camera would be the kind of dark comedy only Saints fans would have to endure.
The Bananas Are a Phenomenon
Banana Ball has become one of the most popular live events in American sports. They sell out NFL and MLB stadiums. They have a waiting list that runs into the millions. NFL stars are lining up to make cameos because the brand is white hot. Kamara is far from the first big name to show up. He probably will not be the last.
The smart move next time might be to skip the fake injury bit. Saints fans have suffered enough.
Kamara is fine. The bit was a bit. Now everyone can exhale.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
