Yesterday was a sad and shocking day in the world of the NFL. Junior Seau, former star linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots committed suicide in his San Diego home.
When I saw the news I was stunned. I remember Seau as one of the best linebackers in the game. When he played in San Diego, he was fearless and great. Aside from Ray Lewis, I have to say that he was probably the best linebacker that I have ever seen with my own eyes. I remember seeing him running all over the field making plays, scared of no one, and always willing to step in and make a tackle. I think that is how most people remember him on the field.
Off the field, I remember him as a fun-loving and cheerful guy. Whenever the cameras were on him, he was more than willing to talk and it seemed like fans never saw him in a bad mood. He never got in trouble off the field, and he was a guy that it seemed was impossible to hate. His former teammates said the same thing. He was a fun-loving guy in the locker room, always referring to everyone as "buddy buddy." So all of that makes it even harder to understand why he would commit suicide.
One thing I think this does teach us is that our idols aren't always the way them seem to their fans. It's sometimes hard to see them as real people because we put them on a pedestal due to their athletic abilities. Following his retirement, Seau had marital problems, and divorced his wife. He fell asleep at the wheel of a car and drove it down into a ditch as well. It's easy to say this now, but these were probably signs that there were some things wrong with his life that the media and the fans never knew about. He may have put on a happy face for the cameras, but he may not have been truly happy. Retiring from football may have played a part in his unhappiness as well. For his entire life, he had football as an outlet. Sometimes, not just athletes but people of all occupations, are so used to doing what they have done for so long that they become lost once they retire. Instead of being able to go to his teammates or the football field when he might have been unhappy, he had to handle the problems in different ways.
Marcellus Wiley, a former teammate of Seau's, was on ESPN and gave an emotional remembrance of his friend. He said that Seau was always happy in front of everyone, but if he had an injury or another type of problem, Seau would handle it privately, as if he didn't want to let anyone else see any signs of weakness. Team doctors and trainers said that they would be called by Seau at 4:30 in the morning so he could be treated before any of his teammates saw it happening. Now there is no way to know for sure, but maybe this wasn't the only time he hid things from the outside world. When he was at home, without football as an outlet, it may have become tougher to deal with some things because he had no outlet.
Now I am by no means a psychologist, and hindsight is always 20/20, but Wiley said he wished that he could have made a correlation between Seau hiding his problems as a player with Seau hiding his problems at home. Even when he spoke to Wiley, he was upbeat and never gave any indication that anything was truly bothering him. Wiley said he wished that Junior could have just let his friends and family know that if something was bothering him, he had people to turn to that would be more than willing to help him however they could. Sadly though, that was not the case, and it turned into this very unfortunate situation that seemed to be a shock to everyone.
What it teaches us though, is that celebrities that we admire are really just people like us. When the cameras are off, they lead their own lives. Actors and actresses only portray characters in their work, they do not portray themselves. Just because an athlete appears one way on the field doesn't mean he is that way off the field. The causes of this are still a mystery to many, and for now, we can only wonder what Seau might have been dealing with. However, one thing I have learned from all of this is that we need to remember that everyone leads their own life, and things may not always be as they seem.
I will remember Seau as a great football player, and an idol in his hometown of San Diego. It is a shame that his life had to end the way it did, but he can still be remembered for all the positive things he did and all the joy he brought to the lives of his fans, his peers, and everyone that watched him play football and become one of the best linebackers of his era.
R.I.P. Junior Seau
Daily Rangers Update: It took three overtimes, but the Rangers pulled out a win in a marathon game in Washington last night. An extra day of rest means that Game 4 will be on Saturday afternoon. A win for the Rangers means we can close the series out in 5 games at home. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The Nationals walked off with a win last night thanks to an Ian Desmond home run, so that is pretty much all that needs to be said about the disappointment of the game. Ian Kennedy takes the mound tonight against Ross Detwiler in the rubber match of the three game series.
Daily Giants Update: Eli Manning will represent the defending Super Bowl champions as the host of Saturday Night Live on Saturday night, which I am looking forward to. Aside from that, no news is good news.
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