ESPN has an exhaustive list of athletes who wear their rings on the field of play. Most of them are football players, since baseball and hockey stars have a harder time playing while ring-clad. Hockey players face special penalties for fighting with anything on their hands, including rings, but Radek Martinek says, “I fight with my right hand so I won’t get fined or suspended if someone were to get cut.”
Most ringed-up players say they wear the bling out of respect for their wives, but a few have more entertaining rationales. Says Houston Texans kicker Neil Rackers, “quite frankly, I’m a strapping young lad, so I have to ward off the chicks any way I can.” And for Rian Lindell, kicker for the Buffalo Bills, the ring is a superstition thing: “I wore it one game and maybe I forgot to take it off and had a good game, so I keep wearing it.” He’s also stayed married to his wife for as long as he’s been wearing it, so maybe it’s good luck in that department too. Sadly, though, wearing a ring doesn’t guarantee that you’re a stand-up guy. One of the most prominent ring-wearing players in the NFL is none other than Ben Roethlisberger.
On The Field, Wearing A Band Of Gold [ESPN]
