Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury certainly changed the complexion of the NFL season, but it isn't the first time a player has made headlines from the sidelines:
1977: Dennis Eckersley is forced to miss the entire 1977 season when he tears three ligaments in his mustache
1985: Joe Theismann suffers a compound fracture of his lower right leg, forcing the bone through his skin in such a horrifyingly gruesome fashion that people still make you look at it even today
1989: On his first play from scrimmage as an NFL player, rookie Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders tears every single tendon and ligament in both knees, giving him the incredible flexibility and quick change-of-direction that became his trademark
1995: Ken Griffey Jr. extends the recovery time of his broken wrist by at least three weeks when he ignores doctor's orders to not continually poke the wrist to see if it still hurts
1997: Michael Jordan is deeply, deeply hurt when Karl Malone is chosen Most Valuable Player over him
2000: Believing that he may have injured his hip, Randy Moss forces his Viking teammates to carry him on his routes, catch the ball, hand the ball to him, pick him back up, and lug him towards the end zone
2001: Following Drew Bledsoe's chest injury, the struggling Patriots were forced to go with a no-name sixth-round draft pick at quarterback and went on to win only two Super Bowls in the next three years
2003: Long since accustomed to their oft-injured teammate, the Orlando Magic play an entire three quarters of basketball while Grant Hill lays at center court holding his ankle and shrieking in agony