When in high school a girl lost an eye to a snow/ice ball. So, not so hilarious. As far as these "Gladiators in armor" goes, Orlando Brown, OL for the Browns, was hit in the eye with a ref's flag and it literally ruined his career. The flag has a weight in it so the ref can throw it a decent distance so it can be more easily recognized, I guess. Now I have never handled a ref's flag so I have no idea how heavy or hard it is but I can say a snowball or one that has been held in the hand for a while can become quite hard. Girl loses eye, star football player loses career, yeah real hilarious.
Orlando Brown Got Hit With a Penalty Flag, and the Freak Incident Ruined His Career - FanBuzz