RIP Sean Taylor #21

Lanky Livingston

Guest
Its been 5 years...unreal. ST would have nearing the end of the prime of his career, with still a lot of gas in the tank. I can only imagine the effect on his game RG3 would have had - finally a QB to play for! Oh man, what might have been.

I often get questions or even made fun of by fans of other teams because of how hard we took it, and how we still commemorate him to this day. I can only smile and laugh, because its just proof that there are NO fans like Washington Redskins fans!

RIP, Sean.
 
RIP, Sean. I still tear up.

Nice piece hear about it today:

Sean Taylor died five years ago today. He was unique in the world and irreplaceable on the field. His passing is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan and I sure hope that holds true forever.

I’ve posted a lot about Sean Taylor since starting Burgundy Blog in 2010. A short bit that conveys my primary feelings about him can be found here. But today, on this solemn anniversary, I have a new perspective on ST21, courtesy of RGIII.

I became a passionate Redskins fan at the age of 11 while Gibbs and Rypien were storming toward Super Bowl XXVI. I absorbed every minute of that thrilling run, but I never really felt at liberty to claim it. Taylor therefore represented something I’d never known before: a supremely talented player to call (in some ways) my own. These are among the traits that made him special:
◦His athletic prowess was unmatched at his position.
◦His epic swagger infected and improved every teammate while paralyzing every opponent.
◦His very presence meant anything was possible. Anything.

Sean Taylor wasn’t just a Redskin; he was a revelation. He gave the Redskins—my team—an identity. An identity to be proud of! He was coveted, feared, admired. He was respected. He wanted to dominate, he did it, and he refused to apologize.

He mattered.
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http://burgundyblog.com/post/36669425346/taylor-griffin
 
Lanky Livingston said:
I often get questions or even made fun of by fans of other teams because of how hard we took it, and how we still commemorate him to this day. I can only smile and laugh, because its just proof that there are NO fans like Washington Redskins fans!

RIP, Sean.
Click to expand...

We care because we're not bandwagon fans. I still get misty and suspect I will for a while. When you have the privelege of watching greatness, you get attached to it.
 
Friday, I was at my Sister's house thinking about it and said to my brother-in-law "God, I miss Sean Taylor."

It wasn't even just the on-field stuff, but that smile. Once he put the knuckleheadedness behind him, he changed. Then he had a child and changed even more. You saw that smile more, even though his on-field performance became even more amazing.

I didn't even know the guy, but I miss Sean Taylor.

Nick
 
Still brings a tear to my eye...

I will never forget the moment I got the call from my girlfriend and best friend at around 6 am that morning saying he had been shot. There were so many reports going around that he was going to be alright, that he'd just been shot in the leg. Then within an hour of hearing the news, hearing he should recover, I watched the news report he'd died...I was shocked, truly stunned. Very few things in my life have so absolutely blown me away as this. Yes, I was a fan of a team that lost their best player, but he was a part of our family and he was gone...in the blink of an eye.
 
I had just finished working a midnight shift at my old job when I learned of Sean's passing. I left work, and headed for Redskins Park, not knowing, nor caring whether fans arriving to pay their respects would be turned away or what.

I stopped and picked up some flowers and a Redskins balloon along the way, and arrived to find the beginnings of a makeshift memorial at the tall pine tree at the entrance to the park.

It was then, when I saw the homemade signs, the flowers, the mourners like me shedding tears, that the shock wore off and the real grief set in.

Strangers hugged. We shared stories. We cried. A lot. But that was where I needed to be....where WE needed to be.

I stayed for probably two hours, and left emotionally exhausted.

I was in the midst of a bitter divorce back then. So everything I felt about anything was just compounded that much more. Following the back-to-back timeout fiasco of the Bills game, I broke down and sobbed like a little girl at the post-game tailgate. Embarrassing? Sure. But I was just defeated, broken, and mourning so many things at once.

I don't think I can express how badly I wanted that game...how much I wanted to win one for Sean. I left my vocal chords AND my heart in the stands that night.

With each passing year, I still get choked up when 11/27 approaches. Sometimes it's a few days before. Sometimes that day. Sometimes it's during the game that immediately follows that date. But it always hits me. I always get misty-eyed. And I always wonder what could have been.

I think about his daughter Jackie a lot this time of year. How she'll continue to grow up, not really knowing her dad. How to her, he'll be pictures and videos. Someone to be proud of, certainly, but not someone with whom she can have a relationship. That sucks. And it pisses me off.

But it's then that I realize how superficial my "loss" is. And how much more difficult it must be for those who knew and loved our Redskin brother. I pray for them. I offer them the sincerest condolences I'm able. And I promise that I will never let them forget what WE think of Sean Taylor.

God rest you, Sean. I hope you see our small tokens of remembrance; and I hope they make you smile. Redskins Nation just isn't the same without you, brother.

#21 forever.
 
Indeed a sad day for all of us, but his family are the ones in my thoughts today.
 
Fear The Spear said:
5 years later, and still no trial ?
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What's even sadder, is it's not just because it's a high profile case. My friend Jim's wife Sue was murdered a bit over three years ago, and it keeps getting strung along. The case is about as cut and dry as the Taylor case.

Our judicial system really leaves a lot to be desired. A case where a guy walked into a daycare center where his wife worked, and shot her dead just went to trial.... 5.5 years later.

God bless Sean and his family...
 
hail2skins said:
Om wrote the linked post below when Sean passed. Obviously this was a piece Mark would've preferred not to write, but its his best ever, IMO:

http://www.theomfield.com/2008/11/seans-gone-echo-08.html
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I remember very well reading this. It echoed the sentiment a lot of us felt. Five years later I'm still angry and I still fell cheated at being deprived watching would could very well have been a HOF career, but that's NOTHING compared to what his family and his daughter have to endure.

My heart still breaks for them.
 
I'll never be able to get over it. People like to poke fun at me for still getting so worked up and pissed off about it all these years later, but it's impossible for a non fan to even comprehend. Nobody will ever dominate like he did again at the position, ever. The guy even went 110% at practice, even when the heat was picking people off left and right. He never slowed up and went full speed all the time when he was suited up, and I loved that about him. We could have been 0-16 every year, and you never would have known by his play. Every snap he played like it was the Super Bowl. His passion for the game will forever go unmatched.

When news broke that he was shot, I was in total disbelief. I took it so hard, but him dying was so far from my mind. I remember that night they started releasing information that made me believe he was ok, because he seemed to be improving. He was squeezing hand and such, and I was so grateful that he was ok. Then around 6 the next morning, my wife woke me up and simply said Sean Taylor died. Then she left me alone in bed, and I completely lost it. I never met the guy, and it felt like a family member died. I was sick to my stomach over it for the longest time.

Multiple times a year, the urge to watch clips of him hits me. Inevitably, I end up smiling and crying at the same time watching him. I'll never get over it, and there will never be a player like him again. I miss him every day, and can't even imagine the pain his family feels for their loss. It's a damn shame things had to end like this, it's a damn shame. I wish I could see him play one more down, and that chance was ripped away from all of us. Life isn't fair sometimes. RIP Sean.
 
I know exactly what you mean Extreme. I have never been so profoundly affected by the death of someone I've never met. It's hard to explain really. I don;t understand it myself.

Another thing I will say is this guy was going to be the greatest of all time no doubt in my mind. Sean hit like Steve Atwater, covered like Deion Sanders, and made plays like Ed Reed. He was truly amazing.

RIP Sean Taylor. We miss you man.
 
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