ATLANTA — This weekend marks the annual unofficial holiday known as “Super Sunday” as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots in Houston to decide this year’s NFL championship.
Across the country, millions of fans will gather in sports bars and living rooms, chow down on chicken wings, and witness the spectacle that is the Super Bowl.
Football fans in Pendleton likely will do the same, and many no doubt will be rooting for the Falcons. While cheering for Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and company, local residents will also be pulling for one of their own.
Dr. Spero Karas, a 1985 graduate of Pendleton Heights High School, is the team physician for the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons and has made the trek with the team to Reliant Stadium for Sunday’s big game.
The son of Greek immigrants, Karas moved to Pendleton at age 12. He participated in athletics, WEEM Radio, and student government at Pendleton Heights.
He went on to wrestle at Notre Dame, where he completed his undergraduate studies before moving on to Indiana University for his doctor of medicine degree.
He has been with the Emory Orthopaedic & Spine Center in Georgia since 2005 as director of its Sports Medicine Center and has been the Falcons’ team doctor for the past seven years.
With his busy work schedule and three children, it is tough for Karas to return home as often as he wishes. But he does take advantage of the proximity of Pendleton to the NFL’s draft combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“My folks are still in Pendleton in the house they moved to in 1979,” Karas said. “We don’t get back as much as we’d like with three teenage children ourselves. I come back every year for the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, so I try to come back once a year at least to see the folks. Even that is a really busy time; trying to get through 335 college stars in a four-day period is a hectic schedule.”
As glamorous and exciting as life in the NFL might seem to the fans, Karas has a job to do on Sundays. While he may pause to applaud a touchdown for the Falcons, his game day requires focus as he concentrates on player safety.
“It’s a clinical role,” he said. “A typical game day, you’re on the sideline, examining players when they come off the field when there is an injury. The responsibility on me is whether it is safe for the player to return to the game. That’s a series of physical exam tests, functional tests and talking to the kid.”
While fans are watching replays to see if a player stepped out of bounds or if a pass was incomplete, Karas is also watching replays during the game. He is watching for injuries.
“We’ve got a video camera that can show us replays so we can actually see the mechanism of an injury,” he said. “It’s almost instantaneous. We can pull it up and look at it on the video screen. That came in handy in the divisional round when a kid got hit. It really helped with the diagnosis.”
Because of the importance of his job, Karas can’t get swept up in all the hype of Sunday’s game. That’s not to say he isn’t excited about being a part of a Super Bowl team, but he also knows his role.
“I’m certainly pleased for the guys I’ve been working with for the last six years,” he said. “A lot of these players, Jonathon Babineaux, Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and I have been together for six years. I’m just very excited for them. This isn’t about the doctors — this is about the players. To see these young guys reach their dream of playing for a Super Bowl championship — it’s certainly exciting. But, as a clinician, I have to keep that under wraps and maintain a professional decorum.
“But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t clap when the Falcons score a touchdown,” he added.
Sunday’s game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. from Reliant Stadium in Houston, broadcast on FOX.