Aussie Rules player on Letterman last Thursday

Australian Football player, Brett Backwell, will appear on David Letterman this Thursday evening (22nd). Brett recently amputated in finger so he could continue to play footy. Letterman picked up on the story and is flying Brett, first class, to LA to appear on the show.  

We have contacted Brett and asked him to give USFooty a plug.

Here's more of the story: 

Aussie athlete to amputate finger to play better
Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia -- An Australian professional football player plans to have one of his fingers amputated in an attempt to improve his game.

Brett Backwell, who plays Australian rules football for Glenelg, a suburb of the city of Adelaide in South Australia state, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday he has suffered from pain and restricted movement since he broke his left ring finger three years ago.

Doctors had suggested fusing the bones in the finger, but Backwell rejected the proposal.

He said he believed that amputating the finger was the only way to stop the pain and allow him to keep playing.

"To chop a finger off, that's a bit drastic," Backwell told the ABC. "But I love my footy, and love playing sport, and if that's going to help me to succeed at this level then it's something you've just got to do."

- Paul O'Keeffe
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