Darkness Descends Upon Football

The 2005 NFL regular season hasn’t even begun yet, and already the league is decimated by tragedy. The San Francisco 49ers’ offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed and died in the locker room after a preseason game, Hurricane Katrina has left the New Orleans Saints homeless and hopeless, and a beloved legend is finally calling it quits.

What is normally an exciting time of year for the players and fans has become a time of mourning and prayer. The 49ers had enough problems before the season; they were already the worst team in the NFL and they had a conspiracy arise concerning racist training videos.

Then, after a 26-21 exhibition loss to the Denver Broncos, the team went into the clubhouse to have a post-game meeting and prayer, and according to witnesses, Herrion collapsed in the middle of the prayer. The medical staff rushed to him and treated him immediately, and he was sent to a hospital. About one hour after the game, he was pronounced dead at a Denver hospital. Autopsy results were inconclusive, but it has recently been released that he died from a heart disease, of which effects included a slightly enlarged heart and a blocked right coronary artery.

The San Francisco player development director, Guy McIntyre, said that Herrion received oxygen after the final drive of the game in which he played the entire 2 minutes and 26 seconds. McIntyre said that players getting oxygen after such a long drive was not unusual, pointing out, “Fourteen plays, that’s a long time. I don’t think that was the problem.”

The horrible news shocked coaches and teammates, family members, and the fans alike. Herrion had dreamed for a long time of making it to the NFL and buying a house for his mother. He had so much determination to make it, and people that knew him say they had no doubt that he would have made it. Friends and former teammates remember him for his outgoing personality and musical talent. He had a great voice and a big heart, and often serenaded teammates on road trips with Al Green and Marvin Gaye songs. “I tell you what, that kid was a beautiful human being,” said Ron McBride, who coached Herrion at the University of Utah in 2002.

Coach Mike Nolan remembered him for being a warm, loving person, individually citing an incident earlier in the season when the team was waiting for former quarterback Steve Young to address them. The 49ers’ rookie quarterback, Alex Smith, was ordered to sing his college fight song (Smith was a teammate of Herrion at Utah). Herrion stood up and joined Smith as he sang and really got the team into it. Another example that truly portrays Herrion’s loving personality came after the Denver game, when he was strong enough to socialize with a group of young children and even give one of them his gloves from the game. Moments like this are what Herrion is characterized by and what he will be remembered for. “We lost a teammate and a very good friend as well,” Nolan said.

Just nine days after Herrion’s tragic death, Hurricane Katrina struck the mainland, devastating the city of New Orleans. The Superdome, which was housing tons of hurricane refugees from New Orleans, had two large holes ripped in the roof from the force of Katrina’s winds. The Superdome is where the Saints play, and now they most likely have to deal with not having their regular home field for the remainder of the 2005 season. On top of all that, their utmost concern this season is making sure their relatives and friends are safe and have places to live.

The Saints’ management has asked if there is any possible way for them to at least play their home games somewhere in Louisiana, but for now it looks like the Alamodome in San Antonio will be their home for most of the 2005 season. “At this point you have to proceed on the assumption … that they may be unable to play in New Orleans at all for the entire season,” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

They are exploring all their options for this season, including playing all 16 games on the road. That is a last resort, as managers, coaches, and many players have expressed. They would prefer to play at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, about 75 miles from New Orleans, in Baton Rouge. The only problem is nobody knows if the turf on that field will be able to withstand LSU games on Saturdays and Saints games on Sundays. For now, their best option is to play at the Alamodome, considering they already basically have nine games on the road because of a schedule change to their opener.

The Saints’ first game of the season is taking place in at Giants stadium against the New York Giants on Monday, September 19. It was originally scheduled to take place in New Orleans on September 18, but they had to make a last-minute change so the game could still take place as scheduled. Monday night is usually reserved for the featured Monday Night Football game, but in this instance they were able to make arrangements so that the original Monday night game and the Saints/Giants game can be televised then.

In addition to the Saints having no home, they will have to worry about the status of New Orleans, the people in it, their family and friends. Wide receiver Joe Horn has already made a return trip to New Orleans to help refugees and survivors get food and water and transportation to other areas. He also just simply brought joy to the people he met. He signed autographs for three hours and met as many people as he could. “Anybody can throw money around at these people, but they need love,” said Horn.

The most recent tragedy is on a happier and much less destructive note. Jerry Rice, arguably the best player in the history of the National Football League announced his retirement after 20 seasons in the league. He spent the bulk of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, playing in 3 super bowls, and being named the MVP of one of them. He owns 38 receiving records, and will always be remembered for his ridiculous work ethic and love for the game. “Not many people that own all the records spend that type of commitment and give that type of commitment in the offseason. That’s why, in my opinion, he’s the greatest player to ever play the game, “stated Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

When Rice was told he would be the number 4 receiver at best for the Broncos, he decided to hang up his cleats. He announced sadly, “This is a happy day. I think the tears that you see basically is that I have really enjoyed this ride.” The NFL will never see a better player or a better person than Jerry Rice.

This football season will be played with a dark cloud over it, and it will be characterized by how players and fans react to the unnatural and natural disasters that have caused such agony early in the season.