COLLEGE PARK - It's one of those YouTube videos that take you at least four stages of reaction before you can achieve any semblance of understanding and acceptance.
Upon the first viewing, you don't know what's going to happen, so when Maryland defensive back Kevin Barnes torpedoes into the midsection of a helpless running back, you can't help but be impressed by the sheer athleticism and raw power.
By the second time, your attention turns fully to the poor California back, lying dazed on his side. And when Jahvid Best first opens his mouth, there's no shortage of shock involved.
Refresh your browser yet again and you can finally reflect on what is happening - a football player hit so hard that he loses his lunch there on the field - and you can't help but feel repulsed.
It's not until the fourth viewing that you can put it all together and realize just how big a hit you've really witnessed.
For starters, entering Saturday's game, Best was sprinting right into the Heisman Trophy race. With three minutes to go in the second quarter, those hopes were limping off to the sideline, his spirits pummeled and his stomach emptied.
But for Maryland, could the hit prove to be just as big? We'll get to that in a second.
By now, hopefully you've had enough time to finish your morning breakfast, so I can better explain what happened Saturday and what has been buzzing around the Internet in the days since.
Maryland's surprising win over Cal was televised nationally on ESPN, so it's not surprising word traveled so fast. "Right after the game I watched it," Terps wide receiver Danny Oquendo said of Barnes' hit on Best. "Then maybe twice a day since. It's great."
And does it get better every time?
"Not really," he said. "It gets a little more sickening every time."
Fellow receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey first caught the replay - sans vomit - on the video scoreboard. "I saw the hit," he said, "I was just like, 'Wow, that was nasty.' "
He had no idea how nasty until he later saw the TV replay in all its Pepto-tinted glory . That's when he predicted the highlight would stand as one of the year's best.
"My mom called me," he said. "She liked that a little bit."
If your stomach is queasy, here's how it went:
Lined up in the slot, Best took a couple of steps backward at the snap, readying himself for a screen pass. The ball approached slowly; Barnes approached ferociously. Unfortunately for Best, the ball arrived just as Barnes drove his left shoulder through the stunned tailback.
