The curious case of the frozen Demba Ba
Posted on April 13th, 2012 | 12 Comments |
I can remember a time when it was all the rage for ‘eccentrics’ to have their head removed and stored in freezing conditions. After death that is. It’s definitely not recommended before death as heads can be useful to living beings, not least as a place to keep a hat. The premise was that in some far-flung future the technology would be available to either transplant the head onto a new body or somehow ‘download’ the brain’s data into a computer and carry on a life within some technical reality.
Personally I have no truck with ‘far-flung futures’. When I was about 12 or 13 – which would be at a time when flares, fizzy cola bottles and Earth Wind & Fire were the vogue – my maths teacher told me that, by the year 2000, technology would have replaced much of the work people do and that we’d all just turn up for work two days a week and live a life of leisure the rest of the time.
Needless that turned out to be the single most inaccurate thing I learnt at school and I’m sure my professional life would have been completely different if I hadn’t been taught that by the year 2000 I could loll around on beaches all day and still collect a fat pay-cheque.
Anyway, that’s all padding for a post that is about nothing more than Demba Ba’s recent cryogenic treatment. He didn’t remove his head but instead removed his clothes and spent 3 minutes in a room cooled to -110C, which is exceedingly chilly, and tweeted thusly:
“I’ve been locked in a room -110 degrees for three min. Nearly naked. I never felt so cold. But now I feel refreshed and ready for the last five games.”
Apparently 10 minutes in such temperatures can be fatal but short bursts of these sorts of cryogenics treatments can apparently help to alleviate sporting injuries. The science behind it is that the extreme cold causes capillaries to construct and reduces inflammation, and it supposedly releases hormones into the muscles and changes the antioxident balance of the blood, although I have no idea how that helps. I might have been able to tell you more about it if I’d become a doctor instead of listening to my maths teacher and planning for a life of leisure.
I haven’t read why Demba Ba in particular has been subjected to this treatment and the worry of course is that it might be in some way related to his dodgy knee.
Much has been said about Demba Ba’s recent lack of goals but we have to bear in mind that he’s been tasked with a different role lately too. As the left side of a front three he’s going to spend a bit less time in front of goal than he might in a 4-4-2 or as the lone front-man in a 4-5-1. I think he’s doing a pretty good job in that role but I can’t help but wonder if he’s getting a bit frustrated at his lack of goals. Goals are, after all, what a striker lives for.
Either way, lets hope his treatment works and that he is part of a successful run-in for Newcastle.
Its not like he’s playing badly. Stick with him and he’ll come good with goals. He’s class and we’ve looked revitalized at just the right time with the new front three. But special praise for me goes to Jonas. What a pro, does what’s asked, gets stuck in and has clearly developed a lot more strength in the last year.