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Sean Taylor Six Years Later: We Still Remember

NewCliche21

By NewCliche21
in The Stadium

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NewCliche21

NewCliche21

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I'm not going to make this long and sentimental.  And no, I couldn't care less if you don't care, but you wouldn't be dumb enough to open a thread that you know you won't like only to piss off emotional people posting within, would you?

 

Anyway.  Here it is, two days after the latest loss in the worst season that I've had as a fan, and right now, it doesn't matter.  Six years ago today I called out of my internship because my idol, my absolute favorite player of any and all-time, and most importantly a misjudged man who had turned his life around with the birth of his daughter, was gone.  Just like that.  Gone.

 

I'm a social worker.  I was in school for social work.  I was learning first-hand, working with real families, with what it was like to have a very tough time growing up, where athletic or rhyming ability was really the only option in some kids' minds.  I heard about the shooting and gave a primitive, "SMH" the night before hoping he'd be okay for 2008 since it was only in the leg.  I woke up to learn that literally of all of the spots that it could hit below the waist, it hit that one.  The femoral artery.  I ain't no doctor, but I will never forget the importance of that artery.

 

Regardless, he was gone, and it was a kid, a seventeen-year-old kid, driven by a socialized and romanticized view of money, fame, and guns, who had taken him from us.  I was enraged.  I didn't know what to feel or how to feel; all that I knew was that it hurt.

 

Six years later it still hurts.

 

Six years later I'm still indescribably grateful for being able to be in the stands for some of his most amazing plays, including his last.  Sean was a talent that the league wasn't ready for, but those three-and-a-half seasons were, record aside, the most exhilarating of my decades of watching football.

 

Thank you, Sean.  We miss you.

 

Diss's (not credited in the YouTube posting but can't find one that he posted himself) amazing video tribute:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKuUH5TjJzk

 

And his career highlights from day one:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko1iFkz11xg

 

 

As long as we remember, Sean Taylor forever.

 

 

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wpns3/5

wpns3/5

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Will always be my favorite player and will continue to wear my Taylor Jersey every Sunday. Was at the game in Tampa and heard about his shooting next morning. I was lucky enough to meet him at Training camp and get a #36 jersey signed which is framed on my wall. He will never be forgotten.

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garyclarkforhall

garyclarkforhall

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Not to take away from the human part of his death, but if you want to look at where the roster problems began for this team, here you go.  His death meant you lost a Pro Bowl caliber safety and a high first round pick... it meant Landry got bumped to play out of position from what they had intended... which along with injuries meant you spent two high first round picks on guys not on the roster.

 

ST was one of those guys who could cover anyone (think about all the TEs who have killed us), could play one deep and cover it all... a complete game changer for the defense and what it could do when he was killed.  I don't think the team ever has recovered from this.

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NewCliche21

NewCliche21

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Not to take away from the human part of his death, but if you want to look at where the roster problems began for this team, here you go.  His death meant you lost a Pro Bowl caliber safety and a high first round pick... it meant Landry got bumped to play out of position from what they had intended... which along with injuries meant you spent two high first round picks on guys not on the roster.

 

ST was one of those guys who could cover anyone (think about all the TEs who have killed us), could play one deep and cover it all... a complete game changer for the defense and what it could do when he was killed.  I don't think the team ever has recovered from this.

 

It's your first year for this, and I know what you're saying is innocuous, but this isn't the right thread.

 

We're remembering the person and the player, not the crap that happened from November 28, 2007 onward.  Your second paragraph is fine, the first one can fit into a million threads.

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CrypticVillain

CrypticVillain

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I will never forget that day. Ironically I was off work and school that day. So for that whole day, all I could do was cry and mope around. I never thought I would hurt that much for somebody that I didn't know personally, but Sean Taylor was that person.

 

But I wasn't hurting just for me. I was hurting for the young Redskin fans in my family who loved Sean Taylor and used to argue amongst each other before games of Madden to see who got to play with the Redskins so they can have Sean Taylor. I knew they were never going to see another player like him again.

Then it was his family. Like NC said, he was turning his life around, I even I could see that. I am guessing him having a daughter made him realize that he needed to become a change man, and he was well on his way. It sucks that his family never got to see the complete transformation. And it sucks that another young girl lost her father due to petty violence.

 

RIP #21

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jpoer

jpoer

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It was December 26, 2004

I was in dallas for the game, and I was able to stay at the Redskins Team Hotel, the Renaissance Hotel by Marriott.  Redskins Travel allowed you to have breakfast with some former players, some of the coaching staff, and fellow fans staying at the hotel.  After the breakfast I went to the lobby to see the rest of the team and try to get autographs, the players were leaving the hotel to catch the team bus to the stadium.  I saw Laveranues Coles, who I had followed since his days in college, being that I’m an FSU fan.  There I was, the only Redskin fan in my area, asking Coles for an autograph… He looked at me with an upset look on his face, shook his head and kept walking to the bus.  Being a Redskin fan who also likes the Seminoles, it was weird to have love for these guys from The U that were now playing for the Redskins, but that’s the way it was in the mid 2000’s.  Sean Taylor was signing for EVERYBODY and did not miss one person, he came to me and said, “Hey my man, I heard you’re a ‘Noles fan, so I guess you don’t my autograph right?”  I told Sean, “I was so damn happy that we drafted you and NOW you’re a Redskin and in fact you’re one of my favorite players!!!”  He signed my helmet and was walking away and then I said one more thing to him, “Hey Sean!!! Do me a favor… knock Keyshawn out of the game today!!!”  He laughed and said, “I’ll do my best my man…”  From that day forward he became my favorite player on the team…

 

When I heard that he was shot, I couldn’t believe it.  I was at work and I kept telling my self that he will pull through, he has to… 

And then the next day to hear that he had passed was so surreal, I was numb… I actually cried…  Just 3 years ago I had actually spoke with him and took a picture and now he’s gone…  I was on extremeskins.com later on that week and I saw someone had posted something that I always say to this day about Sean’s passing… GOD NEEDED A SAFTEY FOR HIS TEAM

 

To this day, I’ll get on YouTube and watch highlights of his or I’ll pop in a DVD and watch one of his games, and tears come to my eyes…

 

My wife and I are possibly planning on having a baby in the next year and a half.  We want to have a boy and name him Sean Taylor Poer.

 

WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU SEAN AND YOU WILL FOREVER BE MISSED…

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BurgundyMalaise

BurgundyMalaise

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I really miss Sean T. I have many memories of his last season that remain vivid starting with the scrimmage against the Ravens where I first really noticed how much he altered his body type for the year. Seemed like a whole different 21. Being at the Packers game that season brought me immense pride having him on the team, as he single-handedly dominated that game defensively, moving laterally across the field with more purpose than I had ever seen at the position apart from maybe Ed Reed. Even the Packers fans consoled me after the loss because I was kinda pissed saying, "If you had a field full of 21's, nobody would beat you guys." That was cool to have another fan base notice the special talent I watched every Sunday, making sure to keep my eyes on him during every pre game warmup at FedEx. He stood out in every way, even with the most minute movements and preparations. 

 

It was crushing for me when he got shot and when I awoke to see he had passed away, it was an eerie numbness that I won't forget. I tried to go to school and go about my business but I remember leaving from Business class early, my emotions were just overwhelming and I couldn't focus on anything than the loss the Redskins had just endured. I went to my mom's office as it was close to my school and I felt like I needed a hug or something. I broke down and began weeping as soon as I saw her. I don't cry very often but this just really hit me to the core. Sean Taylor had a different energy to him, regardless of how much he spoke or interviewed with the media. I knew that far before he was shot, as did many Redskins fans. He was special and that observation has nothing to do with human beings having a tendency to elevated those who have passed. We knew it all along and unfortunately, never got the chance to see his maturation through.

 

I don't take the Redskins as seriously or personal since our fan base had to go through that. Put things in perspective for sure. I enjoy the great (however few) wins and still get irritated at the bad losses but it's no longer as detrimental as it used to be when we lose. The 2007 Bills game taught me that. It was terrible to lose that game when  it was the first one after the tragedy. Seeing all the deflated people leave the stadium was rough and I felt the same. However, I came to the realization pretty abruptly that... we all still have tomorrow. 

 

Being a sports fan changed for me after that game. 

 

I don't get emotional about his loss anymore. I still have my '21' flag hanging in room, in near proximity to three photos of a special breed of free safety who suited up for the Skins for only a couple seasons.That pain I felt as a young man from what I call the second greatest tragedy of my personal life has subsided and I can appreciate the pays I got to see #21 roam about, drawing comparisons to various animals and creatures- tarantula, cheetah or just something so irregular and dominating we couldn't place a general qualitative term to the presence so simply dubbed him, "MEAST." 

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NewCliche21

NewCliche21

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#21's time here was cut too short.

RIP Deion Sanders.

 

You're such a ****ing dick for posting that.  You know exactly why.

 

Why would you do something so selfish as to troll a memorial thread?  You've been here for ten years and still can't figure out how to be a human being.

 

Pathetic.

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TK

TK

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#21's time here was cut too short.

RIP Deion Sanders.

Hi there. :)

Since it's Thanksgiving, be thankful that I'm not cutting your time here short.

That said, I'm getting ready to sit on the sidewalk, eat a can of Dinty Moore, & strike up conversations with random passerbys.

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KuNiT21

KuNiT21

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Would have been the best FS to ever play the game.  Yeah...I said it.....to ever play the game.  Dude was a straight stud and WR's had 100% straight FEAR when running routes.  That's a gamechanger, it's to bad we will never see what could have been.

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