Funeral for Sean Taylor

I work in a school in Washington DC, and one of my coworkers set up a program for some of the students to watch the media coverage of Sean Taylor's funeral. I'm not a big fan of funerals, and have only attended a few in my lifetime. I prefer those types of situations to be small and family focused, rather than elaborate events. However, as I watched the the funeral coverage with the students, I felt it was appropriate.

It made me proud to be a Redskins fan to see how the team represented itself on Monday. It is obvious that this is a tragic situation, but I think the team handled things in a great way. Everybody probably wanted a win on Sunday to honor Taylor, and its too bad the 'Skins couldn't pull it off. However, having the entire organization visit Miami for Taylor's funeral shows what a team and a family should be about. The Redskins went out of their way to show support to their teammate and his grieving family.

I give a lot of credit to Dan Snyder, a thing that Redskins fans rarely do. He is a great businessman, and has obviously been blessed with immense wealth. His generosity in terms of what he pledged for Taylor's daughter, and in shutting down Redskins operations for a day to fly the team to Miami were a sign of how much he cares for one of his players. The example that he and Joe Gibbs sent to the team an to the public was that their season and their game was not more important than Sean Taylor or any other individual that is part of the Redskins.

It certainly is a sobering time to be a Redskins fan right now, and I know it can't compare to what those who were truly close to Sean Taylor have to go through. However, I am proud of the organization that I have grown up cheering for dealing with this loss in such a classy way. The team appears to be handling things as best they can, and I look forward to the game on Thursday night. Although they had maybe the shortest week of preparation and practice in NFL history, I have a feeling that they will come out ready to play against the Bears this week.

RIP Sean Taylor

Its been 2 full days for me since I heard Sean Taylor was shot, and a full day since it was announced that he had passed away. This is truly a tragc incident to see a person near my own age, with a child about the same age as my own, shot and killed in his own home. Life changed for me when my wife and I had our son, and I understand the fear of an intruder coming into your home. While listening to some of the radio coverage in the area, it seems to me that a lot of emphasis is being put on Taylor's past and what he did or did not do leading up to his murder. This annoys me. People want to break down the situation, and find reasons for why this happened already. I'd rather wait and see what comes out after a real investigation is completed then people guessing what might have happened or what Sean Taylor should have done differently. I understand that he is a public figure and the public wants to have answers about what happened to him. However, there is too much gossip going on, and none of it is helping honor this man's life. I am eager to hear from official sources about what happened leading up to Taylor's death, but I am tired of fans and media personalities voicing their under-informed opinions on what he should have done and what might have happened.

Any thoughts about the Redskins game for me this week are gone. I know the players will have to head out on Sunday and take care of their business, because thats what the NFL is. It won't be easy for a lot of them, but they need to carry out their jobs just like everybody else. Thats how I feel after this tragedy. It seems the fun of playing a game is temporarily lost when you lose a teammate, and there won't be a lot of joy for the Redskins leading up to their game this week. They will get over this setback...maybe in a few weeks or maybe next season. But for now the Redskins' season takes a back seat. Dealing with the tragedy of losing a teammate to murder is a lot more pressing of an issue.

My prayers go out to Taylor's family, friends, and teammates. I pray that they find strength in themselves to deal with this horrible situation, and to make the best future for themselves and those they love.

Sean Taylor Shot

http://www3.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI68880/

The Redskins loss yesterday looks like it is becoming less of a story right now, as Sean Taylor appears to be in critical condition after being shot at his Miami home. This is certainly an injury that appears to be threatening his life, and not just his football career right now. My prayers go out to his family, friends, and teammates that this situation will be resolved as best as it possibly can be.