5,000 toothpicks ruin high school football game

[hoppyfrog]

http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7236445

Michigan State Police are going business to business to help find out who pulled a toothpick prank at a high school in Tawas City.

Someone embedded an estimated 5,000 toothpicks in Tawas Area High School's football field last week.

School administrators tell The Bay City Times they don't have any solid leads about who's responsible.

Last Friday's game had to be moved to the opposing team's home field.
Maintenance crews drove a weighted roller across Tawas' football field to neutralize the wooden stubble.

(Personally, I think that's a very creative prank and the state police ought to worry about REAL crime! Hoppy)

[southcitymom]

http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7236445

Michigan State Police are going business to business to help find out who pulled a toothpick prank at a high school in Tawas City.

Someone embedded an estimated 5,000 toothpicks in Tawas Area High School's football field last week.

School administrators tell The Bay City Times they don't have any solid leads about who's responsible.

Last Friday's game had to be moved to the opposing team's home field.
Maintenance crews drove a weighted roller across Tawas' football field to neutralize the wooden stubble.

(Personally, I think that's a very creative prank and the state police ought to worry about REAL crime! Hoppy)

It really is, Hoppy! Of course, I am glad it was discovered and no one was hurt, but that's a fairly impressive idea and feat.

[Taximom]

That's crazy! I can't even imagine the time it would take to stick all those toothpicks in the ground.

[SadieMae]

Kids!! :doh:
They sure must have a lot of time their hands.

[sleuthin4fun]

I would find this to be a bit clever if I didn't know that it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for a field.

[Lisahas2cats]

I would find this to be a bit clever if I didn't know that it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for a field.

That, and that the players could get hurt from the prank.

[pedinurse]

yeha, they could have gotten really hurt. even one left toothpick can leave a player seriously hurt. not just a scrape or a pinch, either. what if a toothpick got into a knee requiring surgery?

for an athelete, that can mean college scholarships or even a career... GONE. :mad: you could have to worry about physical therapy, a lengthy inpatient stay or home health for IV antibiotics post surgery if you have to retrieve the forgien body... i mean, this is a big deal.

this is not funny at all. i'm not sure what all gear football players wear, but i hope they would be protected from a toothpick getting in a knee or whatever even if they aren't all flattened down when they decide to use the field again.

[SeriouslySearching]

I would find this to be a bit clever if I didn't know that it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for a field.I don't know of any high school that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on anything much less a football field.

However, this could cost the insurance company some money in repairing it for the safety of the players. One toothpick could pierce an eye or some other vital organ, if driven inward far enough. They will need to take off the dirt and resod to be absolutely safe, imo.

The pranksters took this one too far and should be held accountable for some or all of the costs.

[Annie]

yeha, they could have gotten really hurt. even one left toothpick can leave a player seriously hurt. not just a scrape or a pinch, either. what if a toothpick got into a knee requiring surgery?

for an athelete, that can mean college scholarships or even a career... GONE. :mad: you could have to worry about physical therapy, a lengthy inpatient stay or home health for IV antibiotics post surgery if you have to retrieve the forgien body... i mean, this is a big deal.

this is not funny at all. i'm not sure what all gear football players wear, but i hope they would be protected from a toothpick getting in a knee or whatever even if they aren't all flattened down when they decide to use the field again.

Absolutely! I can't believe people are laughing at this and thinking it was a clever prank. I stepped on a toothpick once while barefoot and it went into my foot. It was very painful. It could go into a knee, an arm, an eye. When a football player is lying at the bottom of a heap of players, it could be very painful to have toothpicks going into the skin. If the field is turf, which some high schools do have, it does run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even a grass field costs a lot for the upkeep. If someones wants to do a prank, it should be one that doesn't hurt any one.

ETA I would suspect someone from the opposing team. Maybe they wanted the game moved to their place. I remember when I was in high school, some students from a school we were getting ready to play came and spray painted our building and poured chemicals on the field. They found out who it was and made them come clean it up.

[KatK]

http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7236445

(Personally, I think that's a very creative prank and the state police ought to worry about REAL crime! Hoppy)


:twocents: Um, ok, I'll let you go out there and get tackled onto a bunch of upright toothpicks. See what you say when the splinters are driven into your flesh by your weight, and that of your opponents. It isn't funny, and I hope they catch the person. IMO, that's some serious dislike, and I wonder what other subtle nasty things they have done. :twocents:

[Details]

It's a very clever prank - so long as it remains in the imagination. Doing it for real - not funny. And spending that type of time - someone has a real problem.

[KatK]

It's a very clever prank - so long as it remains in the imagination. Doing it for real - not funny. And spending that type of time - someone has a real problem.

Exactly!

[hoppyfrog]

:twocents: Um, ok, I'll let you go out there and get tackled onto a bunch of upright toothpicks. See what you say when the splinters are driven into your flesh by your weight, and that of your opponents. It isn't funny, and I hope they catch the person. IMO, that's some serious dislike, and I wonder what other subtle nasty things they have done. :twocents:


Good grief! I didn't say they should have played the game on the field that way!

Hoppy

[KatK]

Good grief! I didn't say they should have played the game on the field that way!

Hoppy

It came out more snippy towards you than I meant. But, it isn't funny, and someone really could have been hurt. It was upset that someone meant quite a few young guys such malice that gave that tone. :truce:

[hoppyfrog]

It came out more snippy towards you than I meant. But, it isn't funny, and someone really could have been hurt. It was upset that someone meant quite a few young guys such malice that gave that tone. :truce:

It was good that they didn't play on the field in that condition. I doubt that the pranksters thought beyond the creativity/cleverness of it to how it could hurt the players. :)

Hoppy

[KatK]

It was good that they didn't play on the field in that condition. I doubt that the pranksters thought beyond the creativity/cleverness of it to how it could hurt the players. :)

Hoppy

:waitasec: I dunno, maybe. Somehow though, I think it was an act of sabotage meant to either hurt, or stop the football game. Perhaps to make the game have to be played on the other team's feild though.

[hoppyfrog]

:waitasec: I dunno, maybe. Somehow though, I think it was an act of sabotage meant to either hurt, or stop the football game. Perhaps to make the game have to be played on the other team's feild though.


Could be. That wasn't my first thought, but it could very well be.

Hoppy

[southcitymom]

It was good that they didn't play on the field in that condition. I doubt that the pranksters thought beyond the creativity/cleverness of it to how it could hurt the players. :)

Hoppy

This is the way I saw it too, hoppyfrog. I was something of a mischief-maker in high school (and beyond!) - I didn't have a malevolent intention in my heart, but some of my pranks could have turned out terribly wrong.

Perhaps I am jaded, but I tend to think people are stupid and thoughtless more than they are evil and mean-spirited!

[diamondgirl]

Yeah, toothpicks are no joke. I read an article that said that if someone gets one in their foot and doesn't know what it was that x-rays can't pick them up, and that people get serious injuries from them....

[KatK]

I've had a stray cinnamon toothpick go *way* up under my big toenail as a kid. It HURT!!!! It left slivers up under there and weeks later I got an infection. That's why I didn't laugh as soon as I read the title of this topic. I winced and curled my toes.

[KT Can]

I've had a stray cinnamon toothpick go *way* up under my big toenail as a kid. It HURT!!!! It left slivers up under there and weeks later I got an infection. That's why I didn't laugh as soon as I read the title of this topic. I winced and curled my toes.

OMG!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: OUCH!!!!! I TOTALLY just got the visual & felt the pain of your cinnamon toothpick toe so I understand KatK. OMG!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: OUCH!!!!!

Very clever prank yes, and I'll admit that I thought it was hysterically funny when I first read it, but now not so much. That is something that could have seriously injured my son or any player for that matter & cost them lot.

It's all fun & games until someone gets hurt!

[pedinurse]

I've had a stray cinnamon toothpick go *way* up under my big toenail as a kid. It HURT!!!! It left slivers up under there and weeks later I got an infection. That's why I didn't laugh as soon as I read the title of this topic. I winced and curled my toes.

I bet the cinnamon made it hurt even worse. You poor thing!!

[pedinurse]

OMG!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: OUCH!!!!! I TOTALLY just got the visual & felt the pain of your cinnamon toothpick toe so I understand KatK. OMG!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: OUCH!!!!!

Very clever prank yes, and I'll admit that I thought it was hysterically funny when I first read it, but now not so much. That is something that could have seriously injured my son or any player for that matter & cost them lot.

It's all fun & games until someone gets hurt!

very serious. what if someone didn't have medical coverage? whose going to pay for the antibiotics / tests / MRI's / ultrasounds / labwork?

followup?

home health? i'd see a lawsuit against the perp and the parents once the offender was identified.

I have seen some SERIOUSLY nasty toothpick / manufactured wooden stick injuries in my career. they are used in furniture production more than you would think.

[sleuthin4fun]

I don't know of any high school that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on anything much less a football field.

However, this could cost the insurance company some money in repairing it for the safety of the players. One toothpick could pierce an eye or some other vital organ, if driven inward far enough. They will need to take off the dirt and resod to be absolutely safe, imo.

The pranksters took this one too far and should be held accountable for some or all of the costs.

I can tell you that here in Naples Florida (need I say more) a local public high school just spent 800,000.00 on a new field.

[palmerk]

Guys,
I grew up not far from there. Not a lot for kids, especially teens, to do -- one of the reasons soooooo much drinking (and nowadays drugs too, I'm sure) goes on.

I am as sure as I can be, without having been involved or knowing anyone involved, that this was not a prank to injure anyone. Yes, it could have, but I really doubt that was the intent. It was a "Let's see what we can get away with." Toothpicks are cheap, easy to get your hands on --and you have a bunch of bored teens who want to see what they can get away with. I believe they didn't think about the fact that a toothpick can really hurt someone.

The kids up there are saying they think it was kids from a 3rd high school entirely --one whom they beat badly in football the prior weekend.

As for $ spent on a football field.....I have to laugh. There is NO money up there to speak of, plus Michigan's economy is in the dumps. This is a farming and tourism area, with some folks working in automotive.

I'm glad no one was hurt. I think the bigger story was the fact that the fans on both sides went out on their hands and knees and tried to clear the field --and to be on the safe side, the game was moved. There was a lot of good sportsmanship shown on both sides.

[palmerk]

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-47/1193062190243800.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

[Annie]

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-47/1193062190243800.xml&storylist=newsmichigan


Glad they found out who did it. Bet they couldn't keep their mouths shut and had to share with others what they had done. Probably seemed funny at the time.

[GlitchWizard]

How much patience would you need to poke 1,000 toothpicks into the ground, per person?

I want to know what kind of detergent gets out those grass stains from their knees!

[SeriouslySearching]

I can tell you that here in Naples Florida (need I say more) a local public high school just spent 800,000.00 on a new field.Their Quarterback Club must be filled with REAL quarterbacks (NFL players for fathers).

There is something wrong when you spend that kind of money for high school football teams to play a game when there are places in the rest of the country that can't afford books to teach from. :twocents:

[palmerk]

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1193152576190540.xml&coll=4

Police say five Oscoda High School students have admitted to planting the nearly 5,000 toothpicks on Tawas Area High School's football field earlier this month, which caused the game to be moved at the last minute and days of clean up.

''The schools have this rivalry going back and forth. Tawas had done some forking of their field and spray-painting ... and this was getting back at them,'' said Michigan State Police Detective Jennifer Pintar of the East Tawas post

''They did not realize they would have to move the game - they thought people would have to pick up the toothpicks and that would be the end of it. They didn't think it would be this big of a deal.''

[sleuthin4fun]

Their Quarterback Club must be filled with REAL quarterbacks (NFL players for fathers).

There is something wrong when you spend that kind of money for high school football teams to play a game when there are places in the rest of the country that can't afford books to teach from. :twocents:

I agree with you there is something really wrong when you feel it is ok to spend this kind of money on things like this. Naples is a beautiful place to live but a hard place to raise "normal" children. I am a midwestern girl myself and have not adjusted to the air of entitlement in this town!!!!

[sleuthin4fun]

I was thinking back to my high school days and this sounds like something I would have done all in fun!!!!! Clueless:crazy:

[Paladin]

I can tell you that here in Naples Florida (need I say more) a local public high school just spent 800,000.00 on a new field.

Hey hey, my parents live down there. ;)

[sleuthin4fun]

Hey hey, my parents live down there. ;)

Oh Paladin, I am sure your parents are very nice!!!!
Might I say soon your parents and everyone elses will be here for the winter.
Naples is a beautiful place. Lots to do, children are exposed to many of the finer things in life. It's just hard to explain to them why not everyone gets a Mercedes for their 16th b-day and to say no we aren't taking you and 10 of your best friends to the Atlantis.:rolleyes:

[Annie]

Their Quarterback Club must be filled with REAL quarterbacks (NFL players for fathers).

There is something wrong when you spend that kind of money for high school football teams to play a game when there are places in the rest of the country that can't afford books to teach from. :twocents:

Not necessarily rich people. Our school spent $500,000 on turf. They were spending a lot on money for upkeep on the old field keeping the grass in shape, painting stripes, etc. The turf is really nice. No more muddy fields if it rains. The Athletic Booster Club spent some and some came from school funds earmarked for sports facilities. We have very big crowds so the school takes in a lot of money from football. The stands are nearly always full and sometimes people standing. The people here are not really rich but football rules on Friday night. Our students have books, computers, and other needed things for their education. It is sad when students do not have books. Someone needs to get to work to see that they do. But even if we didn't have the turf, the money wouldn't have gone to the rest of the country. Money raised in our area, mostly from taxes, goes to the schools in our area.

[tiredblondy]

I was thinking back to my high school days and this sounds like something I would have done all in fun!!!!! Clueless:crazy:

You know I agree...until I read all these good comments and information I would have never realized on my own the damage/pain this prank could cause.

[Priscilla P]

yeha, they could have gotten really hurt. even one left toothpick can leave a player seriously hurt. not just a scrape or a pinch, either. what if a toothpick got into a knee requiring surgery?

for an athelete, that can mean college scholarships or even a career... GONE. :mad: you could have to worry about physical therapy, a lengthy inpatient stay or home health for IV antibiotics post surgery if you have to retrieve the forgien body... i mean, this is a big deal.

this is not funny at all. i'm not sure what all gear football players wear, but i hope they would be protected from a toothpick getting in a knee or whatever even if they aren't all flattened down when they decide to use the field again.

I agree pedinurse. I had someone stab me in the knee with a really sharp pencil once. I had to have surgery. I guess its a good thing I didn't play sports cause recovery took a few months. Yeah, so definitly not funny cause so many people could have been hurt.

[bnhall]

[quote=SeriouslySearching;1749146]I don't know of any high school that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on anything much less a football field. quote]

The high schools where I live have football fields with astroturf. It cost in the millions to do both schools.