The news that ex-football player Darryl Stingley had passed away carried extra meaning for me, since I was at the game nearly 30 years ago when he was paralyzed by a vicious hit from the Raiders’ Jack Tatum. The Oakland-New England exhibition game was the first NFL game I ever attended, but it was Stingley’s devastating injury that has stuck with me over the years.
Tatum always had a reputation as a merciless hitter, crushing receivers as they dared to come across the middle. While he may not have intended to hurt Stingley to the degree he did, the fact that he celebrated his reputation and nickname “Assassin” in the book he later wrote left a bitter taste in my mouth.
In the past few months, the Broncos have suffered the tragic loss of two players, Darrent Williams and Damien Nash. As a fan, their deaths, especially Williams’s senseless murder, hit especially close to home. As a fan, football can represent an escape from reality, but reality is always there, whether on the field or off it, ready to end a career or a life. As a fan, I acknowledge that sad fact, even as I wait for the upcoming NFL draft and the new season. I just hope this kind of reality keeps its distance from the Broncos for a while.
April 30, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Amen to that.