I remember returning a little sore to San Jose on Sunday after a long awaited victory over the Cardinals. As I woke up on Monday, to what is known as a "Win" Monday, it soon became clear that the win was short lived. The news hit the locker room that Sean Taylor had been shot. I immediately said a prayer and thought about his family, teammates, and coaches. As I came into work on Tuesday the news spread through the weight room. Sean Taylor had passed and a feeling of disbelief came across my face.
I didn't know him, but when your in the NFL you feel like you know everyone. His death made me remember the hot preseason game in August 2005 against the Broncos. In 2005, the 49er family lost a player in the locker room right after the game. It is customary that all teams, win or lose, say the Lord's prayer after the game. As we sat on our knees, clinching one another's hands, one of our teammates never got up. It is a vision I can see still to this day. As I watched the medical staff attend to Thomas I knew he'd get up, but he didn't. The very site of doctors giving CPR to him and trying to revive him seemed, at the time, unreal. There was a moment when the doctors paused, looked at each other, and decided to move him to the hospital. At that point I knew he was dead.
That night, the plane ride was emotional, to say the least. I remember trying to hide my face as the coaches came around to check on us because the tears were just falling. I barely knew Thomas. I had only small conversations with him but still I felt like I lost a brother. I also recalled sitting in my townhome in Maryland, and learing of the death of Pat Tillman. I surfed the TV stations to find out more. The more I learned about his untimely death the more the hurt and the emotion took over. I sat on the floor of my basement and once again had to hide my face. Thomas Herion, Sean Taylor, Pat Tillman, Marquis Hill, Darrent Williams, Derrick Thomas, Reggie White and others are gone too early. Someone has to tell their stories.
What made these men great were not their skills on Sunday, but how they lived there life Monday through Saturday. These men were fathers, one was a solider, minister, hall of famers, brothers, colleagues, graduates, trail blazers, christians, friends to some, and husbands to their wives. Their position on their former teams have been filled, fans no longer cheer them on, but what can never be forgotten is what made them great off the field to the people that knew them as family.
Rest In Peace
I didn't know him, but when your in the NFL you feel like you know everyone. His death made me remember the hot preseason game in August 2005 against the Broncos. In 2005, the 49er family lost a player in the locker room right after the game. It is customary that all teams, win or lose, say the Lord's prayer after the game. As we sat on our knees, clinching one another's hands, one of our teammates never got up. It is a vision I can see still to this day. As I watched the medical staff attend to Thomas I knew he'd get up, but he didn't. The very site of doctors giving CPR to him and trying to revive him seemed, at the time, unreal. There was a moment when the doctors paused, looked at each other, and decided to move him to the hospital. At that point I knew he was dead.
That night, the plane ride was emotional, to say the least. I remember trying to hide my face as the coaches came around to check on us because the tears were just falling. I barely knew Thomas. I had only small conversations with him but still I felt like I lost a brother. I also recalled sitting in my townhome in Maryland, and learing of the death of Pat Tillman. I surfed the TV stations to find out more. The more I learned about his untimely death the more the hurt and the emotion took over. I sat on the floor of my basement and once again had to hide my face. Thomas Herion, Sean Taylor, Pat Tillman, Marquis Hill, Darrent Williams, Derrick Thomas, Reggie White and others are gone too early. Someone has to tell their stories.
What made these men great were not their skills on Sunday, but how they lived there life Monday through Saturday. These men were fathers, one was a solider, minister, hall of famers, brothers, colleagues, graduates, trail blazers, christians, friends to some, and husbands to their wives. Their position on their former teams have been filled, fans no longer cheer them on, but what can never be forgotten is what made them great off the field to the people that knew them as family.
Rest In Peace
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