One of my all time favorite football players was Dick Butkus, all pro linebacker who played on the Chicago Bears. He was big, he was mean, he was nasty! He was everything one might want as a linebacker. In an interview he was asked an interesting question. The guy conducting the interview related to him that there is a common saying among fans when rooting for their defensive heroes, “Knock his head off”. The announcer asked Butkus how he would feel if he actually hit another player so hard that he actually did knock his opponent’s head completely off and it went rolling down the field. Butkus thought about it for quite a long time and then told the announcer, “Well if it was a good clean hit I don’t think I would mind that much” . . . https://www.wordsfortheday.com/2024/11/knock-his-head-off-3/