Tragedy Overshadows Big Game in Washington

It is so unfortunate that such a senseless tragedy involving one of the NFL’s dynamic playmakers will be the talk of the town in Landover, Maryland and throughout the circles of the NFL worldwide.

You would have to be living under a rock as an NFL fan to not hear of the shooting and the subsequent passing of safety Sean Taylor, who may have in his fourth season been playing his best ball. Painfully, he now posthumously is tied for second in the NFL in interceptions. No longer will he catch footballs intended for receivers.

This saddening act reminds us in vivid clarity of how real these well-paid athletes are, and how everyday things that happen in our world do in fact happen in their world of glitz, glamour and game. The truth is that Sean Taylor was no different than any of us, in spite of his incredible football talent… and unfortunately, what happened to him could happen to any of us at any time in our lives.

We all must find a way to remember this on Sunday in spite of the fact that the Washington Redskins must still find a way to go out and play at home against the Buffalo Bills through all of this. If you were to ask any of the Redskins players if they would have liked the game to have been cancelled, they would yell No!... and play their hearts out for their fallen comrade.

Both teams, at 5-6, need to win this game to stay in the Wild Card hunt for their respective divisions. The Buffalo Bills are going through adversity that does not come close to the Redskins tragedy, as they have a quarterback carousel and have once again named rookie Trent Edwards as the starter in replacement of J.P. Losman, who failed last week in a game he called “the most important game of his life”. Losman would finish the game of his life going 27-40 for 211 yards with one TD and two interceptions and a fumble in a 36-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Florida.

The Redskins are tied with the underachieving Philadelphia Eagles for last spot in the NFC East, and must find a way to get Taylor out of their minds at least temporarily for three hours on Sunday afternoon to focus on winning a game they desperately need. Yes, they are professionals, but they are also human beings who not only lost a teammate, but a close friend who had recently become a family man with a new daughter. I, along with the Redskins family, send my condolences to the Taylor family.

The world will be hoping for a good story with a Redskin win. Do not be surprised if they do not, with such a heavy burden now in every player’s mind. For there is no good story here.