Sean Taylor – 5 Years Later

I still remember the morning that I heard of Sean Taylor’s death. I was sitting in my dorm room when a couple of my friends had passed on the word that he had been murdered the previous night in his Miami home during a robbery. For some reason, the news hit me as if I knew him. Maybe it was because I grew up watching his dominant Miami Hurricanes squads. Maybe it was because he was one of the most promising young players in the league. Maybe it was because he left everything on the field as if it was his last play and played with an aggression unlike most other athletes that I have ever seen. Whatever the reason, the fast life of Sean Taylor had really touched me. 5 years later, I still feel the same way. What had really happened the night of his murder? Why, 5 years later, has the trial still not started? Why aren’t the suspects who were involved behind bars? What could Sean Taylor the NFLer have been? What legacy could he have left? Would he have been as good as his fellow Hurricanes Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, or better? Was he the next Ronnie Lott? Or as a hard hitting safety that gave up his body on every play, would he be yet another victim of the new NFL player safety rules? For the 5th overall pick in the 2004 draft, there are a lot of unanswered questions about his career and what happened the night of his murder, but even more unanswered questions about Sean Taylor the person. What kind of guy was he? A father of a then 18 month old daughter, what kind of father could he have been? The son of a police chief, yet a man who had his own run ins with the law. A man who had just found spirituality through the birth of his daughter. A man who did not easily allow people into his personal life, yet somehow affected so many. ”Sean was a great player, but more importantly a special person,” Said his former teammate Willis McGahee. “When a senseless tragedy like this happens close to home, it really makes you think about the people in your life. This is much bigger than football; life is precious and you are reminded of that every day. I know he is in a better place, and my prayers are with his family.” Who Sean Taylor REALLY was, we will never know. We only know him from the highlights of his brutal collisions, the pictures of his untamed afro, and the stories from the few people that he did let inside of his personal life. Since his passing, the public has become more infatuated with Sean Taylor than when he was alive. He has developed a cult like following within more than just the Miami Gulliver Prep (High School),  Miami Hurricanes, and Washington Redskins communities, his legend has spread much further than that. It’s as if he was a rockstar that had passed on too early, even passing away on the same day as legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix’ birthday. Taylor played every down as if it was his last, as if he knew that one day it could be. He was a James Dean, Jimi Hendrix, or Jim Morrison of the sports world. Taylor was a free spirit that played the game the way it was supposed to be played, and his spirit lives on through every other athlete that leaves it on all the field. R.I.P. Sean Taylor – April 1, 1983 – November 27, 2007 - Rich Peters The post Sean Taylor – 5 Years Later appeared first on Bay Area Sports Nut.