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Virtually every athlete who plays a sport at one of its highest levels knows there’s only so much they can do to avoid being sidelined by some sort of setback at one point or another.
In most cases, those ailments can be traced back to the wear and tear that comes with subjecting yourself to the daily grind that tends to accompany that line of work.
With that said, there are plenty of examples of players falling victim to some very bizarre flukes, whether we’re talking about the tendinitis Lionel Simmons developed thanks to his crippling Game Boy habit or the time Blue Jays outfielder Glenallen Hill crashed through a glass table because he had a nightmare about spiders.
Earlier this week, we were treated to a brand new entry in the Strange Sports Injury canon courtesy of University of Illinois forward Matthew Mayer, who revealed he’d been unable to practice thanks to the caffeine poisoning he was diagnosed with after crushing five cans of Monster Energy during a video game session following a loss to Ohio State.
Mayer was healthy enough to return to the lineup when the Fighting Illini hosted Michigan on Thursday night, and it’s safe to say he bounced back in a big way by putting up 24 points and seven rebounds in his team’s 91-87 victory over the Wolverines in double overtime.
After the game, Mayer proudly posed with a couple of cans of Monster, and it seems like he probably has plenty more coming his way based on what he had to say while speaking with the media.
MONSTER MATTHEW #Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/U2I8lia4Jl
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 3, 2023
During his postgame press conference, Mayer shamelessly plugged the energy drink before revealing the folks at Monster slid into his DMs and hinting “I think we’ve gotten something in the works.”
"It's a great product, you just have to drink responsibly you know what I'm saying?"
After drinking 6 @MonsterEnergy in one day and getting caffeine poisoning, Matthew Mayer dropped an #Illini high 24 points in a win over Michigan and brought two cans into the press conference pic.twitter.com/fYm6QQtwP9
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) March 3, 2023
When life gives you lemons, figure out a way to turn it into an NIL deal that involves you promoting Monster Energy Aussie Style Lemonade™.