Yesterday’s loss hurt. The previous losses to the Giants, Packers, Patriots, Eagles and Cowboys hurt. Joe Gibbs’s ill-timed timeouts hurt. Jason Campbell’s interceptions hurt, as do the fumbles by Clinton Portis and Santana Moss.
None of the above, however, hurt as much as what happened to Sean Taylor at 1:30 this morning at his home in Miami. I’m speechless, watery-eyed and can barely concentrate.
Reports are conflicting; some say he’s “stabilized,” others say he’s in a coma. Whatever the case may be, the Washington Redskins took a blow today that is way bigger than football.
Since word came out that our beloved #21 was shot, there has not been one mention of the Tampa Bay game, which is the way it should be. As fans of professional sports, we think we know how hard it is to play the games we love. We think we know why a certain play was or wasn’t made, and we think our advice is sometimes better than the advice that comes from the sidelines. We’re a nation of Monday morning quarterbacks, but only because we’re so passionate about our teams.
So when something happens that transcends the game, we are given a reality check as to just how human these million-dollar-earning, physical specimens are. They get in trouble and suffer tragedy like you and I, yet we somehow think that they are able to overcome it because of their position in the spotlight.
For the past 3+ seasons, Sean Taylor’s life has been a series of ups and downs. He’s made stupid decisions on the field (spitting in Michael Pittman’s face) and off (getting arrested for waving a firearm at a bunch of ATV-stealing idiots), but the future never looked brighter than it did a few weeks ago.
His contributions on the field were huge. He was becoming the dominant safety that everyone knew he could become, and his status as the best defensive player on the Redskins was all but established.
Clinton Portis said earlier today that his teammate was a changed man off the field as well. He had a child not long ago and began to distance himself from the thuggery that plagued his days at The U. He moved into a nicer neighborhood with his girlfriend and vowed to focus on his life as an elite NFL player.
His life, in short, was perfect.
And then someone tried to break into his house.
We can speculate all we want about what caused this or who was responsible for that, but the fact remains that Sean Taylor was shot this morning. His future as a football player is in jeopardy, but more importantly, so is his future as a father, boyfriend and son.
We ask a lot of our athletes and have to respect what they are able to do for us and move on. If Sean Taylor is never able to play football again, so be it. It’ll be a damn shame, but we need to keep the prayers going for him as a person before anything is said about him as a football player. After all, his family needs him a lot more than his fans do.
Get well, #21 and, as always, Hail.
None of the above, however, hurt as much as what happened to Sean Taylor at 1:30 this morning at his home in Miami. I’m speechless, watery-eyed and can barely concentrate.
Reports are conflicting; some say he’s “stabilized,” others say he’s in a coma. Whatever the case may be, the Washington Redskins took a blow today that is way bigger than football.
Since word came out that our beloved #21 was shot, there has not been one mention of the Tampa Bay game, which is the way it should be. As fans of professional sports, we think we know how hard it is to play the games we love. We think we know why a certain play was or wasn’t made, and we think our advice is sometimes better than the advice that comes from the sidelines. We’re a nation of Monday morning quarterbacks, but only because we’re so passionate about our teams.
So when something happens that transcends the game, we are given a reality check as to just how human these million-dollar-earning, physical specimens are. They get in trouble and suffer tragedy like you and I, yet we somehow think that they are able to overcome it because of their position in the spotlight.
For the past 3+ seasons, Sean Taylor’s life has been a series of ups and downs. He’s made stupid decisions on the field (spitting in Michael Pittman’s face) and off (getting arrested for waving a firearm at a bunch of ATV-stealing idiots), but the future never looked brighter than it did a few weeks ago.
His contributions on the field were huge. He was becoming the dominant safety that everyone knew he could become, and his status as the best defensive player on the Redskins was all but established.
Clinton Portis said earlier today that his teammate was a changed man off the field as well. He had a child not long ago and began to distance himself from the thuggery that plagued his days at The U. He moved into a nicer neighborhood with his girlfriend and vowed to focus on his life as an elite NFL player.
His life, in short, was perfect.
And then someone tried to break into his house.
We can speculate all we want about what caused this or who was responsible for that, but the fact remains that Sean Taylor was shot this morning. His future as a football player is in jeopardy, but more importantly, so is his future as a father, boyfriend and son.
We ask a lot of our athletes and have to respect what they are able to do for us and move on. If Sean Taylor is never able to play football again, so be it. It’ll be a damn shame, but we need to keep the prayers going for him as a person before anything is said about him as a football player. After all, his family needs him a lot more than his fans do.
Get well, #21 and, as always, Hail.
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