Athletes commonly use smelling salts – you just don’t see it happening behind the scenes. It’s particularly popular with hockey and football players. There’s the belief that the salts will counteract the effects of a concussion. One whiff and the players become more alert.
In a recent NFL game, a Minnesota Wild enforcer decided that he would tap into some smelling salts. Ryan Reaves took one whiff, and it wasn’t enough. So, he decided to ask for something stronger.
That might have been a mistake.
You can see that the smelling salts nearly took him out of the game. Sportsnet shared this gem:
Ryan Reaves wasn't ready for it 😂 pic.twitter.com/UscsTwFiMe
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 25, 2023
Reaves wasn’t going to let some salts take him out of the game. The Wild ended up defeating the Blackhawks during their Saturday matinee game.
Though, Reaves also admitted that he “almost puked twice” when he was interviewed by the Athletic’s Michael Russo.
Reaves is 36, so he’s not exactly the youngest on the team. However, he has managed to stay in the game – and he scored a fifth goal for the Wild right before reaching for some of his smelling salts.
The Wild enforcer has definitely proven that he’s not going anywhere. He was recently traded by the Rangers. And with the number of points he has scored for Minnesota, it’s clear that it was a good move for him.
It has been mentioned on more than one occasion that Reaves may soon leave the game – and if he does, it’s possible that he’ll go into telecasting. That may be a safer option for him. There won’t be any need for sniffing salts when he’s in front of the camera instead of on the ice.
