Seau was a 12 time Pro Bowler and 10 time first or second team All-Pro. He played in two Super Bowls - Super Bowl XXIX with the Chargers following the 1994 season and Super Bowl XLII with the Patriots following the 2007 season. He is also a member of the NFL 1990s All Decade Team. Few players were more decorated in their careers than Seau.
I feel a profound sense of sadness on a number of levels whenever I read a story like this. First of all, I knew who Junior Seau was. He wasn't an anonymous NFL player whom I had never heard of until his death. Like most of you reading this blog, I am a sports fan and the stars are our human connection to the sports that entertain us. Second, from all accounts, he was a pretty good guy. Third, he was exceptional among stars - a true all time great. He played the game at a high and/or productive level in the NFL for 20 years.
Seau is a person that even the causal NFL fan knew. He was a person who made football a better sport. He made his teams better. He was the kind of player who joined an often hapless Chargers team in 1990, and helped vault them into contention regularly, including reaching the franchise's only Super Bowl appearance.
Reports are trickling in that Seau was having a number of complications after his retirement, possibly related to brain injuries suffered during his career. More information is certain to be made available in the coming days. There has been speculation, with which I agree, that Seau shot himself in the chest so that his brain can be preserved and studied for the effects of a prolonged football career on the human brain. Ultimately, his death is tragic because he was so young. He will be missed.
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| 1969-2012 |
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