As I write this, my eyes are filled with tears...

[dg28daman]

I originally posted this in another thread, but I want to single this out...

I had first heard of ST when he was in college, after a Miami game was shown on TV on ESPN or something. I remember thinking "My God, who is THAT!" I was immedeatly a fan. For the few months before the draft all I talked about was Sean Taylor. He was what would put this team over the edge. He was a once-in-a lifetime player. I went to the draft day party at FedEx the year he was picked. I vividly remember how it was...half the people wanted Taylor, half wanted Winslow. When we picked ST I through my hands in in victory, Mr. Taylor was coming to Washington. I went to training camp, and people were all abuzz about him. I remember seeing him and just being in complete awe about his size, his speed, his hitting. He was bigger than the linebackers, and faster then the corners! Clearly we had made the right choice. His first preseason game was all anyone needed to see to see that we had something special on our hands. He had two picks, one going for a touchdown almost immedeatly. That summer I began playing JV football. Even though I was 6 foot 1 and 180 lbs at the time, which is lineman size for JV, I wanted to play safety. I wanted to be Sean Taylor. Unfortunately, I didn't have close to his skill set or his God-like athletism , and was moved to DE later in the year. But that didn't stop me from trying to emulate him. I wore undershirts with baggy sleaves because thats the way Sean wore em. I tried to walk with that swagger he walked with when I had my uniform on. The year we made the playoffs, I remember his fumble recovery for a TD. I just started yelling "Playoffs!" as loud as I could, and ran around the house. And of course, the next week when he put the game away once again. I remember how hyped up I got when he leveled Mooreman at the Pro-bowl. I remember the heated arguments I got into with Ravens, Eagles, and Cowboys fans comparing ST with Reed, Dawkins, and RW. But this year was different. There were no more arguments, as he had remarkably brought his game up to a new level. He was no longer #36, the incredible kid we drafted that made big plays, but looked as though he was relaying on his natural talant more then his brain. This year, he had finally matured into #21, the man who I say is the best Athlete I have ever been privaleged enough to be able to watch for the past four years. As I entered college this year, I was paired with an Eagles fan as a roommate. He woke me up this morning to tell me the news, and I could see he was just as distraught over the whole thing as I was. That was the respect he had from other fans. Today, I feel like I have begun the decent into adulthood, as one of my teen-year heros is gone. I'll miss watchin you on Sundays ST. Rest in Peace.

With love and admiration,

Mitchell T. Friedman

[asnpcwiz]

I don't know how to respond to this post, but I guess I can tell my story just like you've told yours. I myself am a die hard Redskins fan. I've been to training camps, fan appreciation days, skins games, welcome home parties, etc. I've been to them all...the one place I want to be at today is Redskins Park. I want to be with everyone there and I wish I could be there. Instead, this is the one week I'm in Chicago for work. I'm upset, I'm mad, I'm depressed...I just want to cry. In all honestly, he's the only person I can think about today, and unfortunately, my manager won't fly me back home for ST. God bless your soul ST. We love you...you will honestly be missed...Superman.