Why Is Taylor's Death So Troubling To Us?

I think when we look at it most of us probably share the same amount grief when ANYONE dies as it applies to family. I feel for any son/daughter/brother/sister/mother/father when their loved one dies. In this case we get the added grief of him being a Redskin. And on top of that he was just so damn awesome. He represented greatness. Not just as a football player but someone who had the chance to be the best ever.

To be honest, that's one of things I'm sort of struggling with today. I wonder if I would mourn more or less, lose sleep over this, had it been another player. Say, somone not as note worthy?

Is that wrong, guys? Am I being shallow? Am I a bad person for thinking this of feeling this way?

I have thought about that and I don't know whether to embarassed to say that for me another player probably would not be getting to me this much. The grief would be similiar but the feeling that we've all had something stolen from us would much less. It is undoubtedly selfish and I guess I am embarassed to say that but I think it is true. And I venture to guess a lot of us feel the same way.

He was the rock of our defense. He was the best player on our team. He was a fan favorite. He was a brother, a son, a friend, a fiance, a teammate, and a hero. He had an 18 month old baby daughter. He was cut down in his prime. He had turned his life around. He had a big heart.

Simply put, he was Sean Taylor.

No doubt, as others have already said, the loss of life of any Redskin would be devastating. You root for a team, you develop a special connection to the players, and when something like this happens, you feel awful. But there is also no question that Sean Taylor stood out for Redskin fans, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he never wore any other jersey as a pro. The bottom line is that what has stood out more about this franchise over the course of the last decade than anything else is its attempt to bring in so many players who have made their marks on other teams. This list is legion. Before Sean arrived, we saw the likes of Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Dana Stubblefield, Mark Carrier, etc., come and go. Since he arrived, we've seen ARE, Andre Carter, Santana Moss, Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs, and even Clinton Portis join the Redskin ranks. But Sean was from the start our own. He was a Redskin draft pick who became a superstar WHILE wearing the burgandy and gold. Who measures up? Lavar? Not quite. Sure, Lavar was a pro-bowler, but he was our best player during some of the franchise's most depressing years. Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen? Now there are two guys who we all probably have some special feelings for, and Cooley as well. But as much as we love them, isn't it true that Sean still stood out? I think it is true. Look, in addition to being a Redskin from the get-go, there is also the sheer football factor. What I mean by that this is the game of football, a truly violent game, and Sean walked around the field with that intense stare, with a level of confidence - and a swagger - that every football fan has to admit loving. I remember seeing on tv Lawrence Taylor saying to the crowd at the Meadowlands the day they retired his jersey that, while Lawrence Taylor could have played football for any NFL team, without the Giant fans there never would have been an L-T. Say what you will about LT, but what he was saying to Giant fans was that there was an inter-connection between the Giant fans love for LT and the degree to which he became a superstar. Giant fans loved Phil Sims and Jim Burt, but LT defined the Giants the way that Giant fans wanted the team defined, and LT thrived on that. I think that holds true for Sean and the Redskins. We were excited about him from the start, and he seemed to feed on that. Witness the many examples people have put up on this site about how he welcomed Redskin fanfare. Yeah, there was that same inter-connection. I definitely believe this has so much to do with why his death is impacting us all so sharply.

It's very good question, actually.. I do not know the answer to this question - because almost all of us on this forums either never met him (including myself) or met him for short time.. But I really think that it's because all of us watched him grew up.. When he first came into NFL, he was a "really rookie." Until this year, I am sure we all can say that he is different than before.. And he gave Redskins a brand of toughness..

Just like someone said in earlier posts, when I was in HS and played football.. In my senior year, I told my coach that I wanted to move from CB to safety.. And it's all because of Sean, he made me want to be better player and want to be like him.. Even though my coach decided to move me to safety, I did not really achieve the goal but I played pretty good and better than I did at CB.. So I thank Sean for that..

And I mentioned in another post in another thread, in some ways I understood him.. In some ways, I am like him.. That's probably the mainly reason why it hit me hard..

It's very good question, actually.. I do not know the answer to this question - because almost all of us on this forums either never met him (including myself) or met him for short time.. But I really think that it's because all of us watched him grew up.. When he first came into NFL, he was a "really rookie." Until this year, I am sure we all can say that he is different than before.. And he gave Redskins a brand of toughness..

Just like someone said in earlier posts, when I was in HS and played football.. In my senior year, I told my coach that I wanted to move from CB to safety.. And it's all because of Sean, he made me want to be better player and want to be like him.. Even though my coach decided to move me to safety, I did not really achieve the goal but I played pretty good and better than I did at CB.. So I thank Sean for that..

And I mentioned in another post in another thread, in some ways I understood him.. In some ways, I am like him.. That's probably the mainly reason why it hit me hard..

I asked my coach the same thing, to move me from RB to safety, I also changed my jersey # to 21 when the senior that had it before me left. Even before Sean was dead I played every down to the fullest like I thought he would and now that he is, I'm going to try even harder.

If someone had called me and said guess which Redskin player was just shot I would have said Sean Taylor. I just can't stop thinking about that. Who knows if his past has anything to do with this, but he did have a history being around a more violent type of world than most of us are familiar with. I mean you could see it in his eyes. He didn't grow up in a dangerous neighborhood by the way, but he found himself in dangerous neighborhoods quite a bit while he was growing up. I really want to know why someone came after him. What made them so angry. It's probably something completely insignificant and that is making me pretty mad. Mostly it's just a sad tragic thing for his family and friends and for his biggest fans. Us.

Obviously he was one of the "Core Redskins", but I think the part that bothers me so much is that he was a bright young man who had turned the corner and "figured it out" after the birth of his daughter.

He made a few immature 18-22 year old mistakes (who hasn't), learned from them and was on the road to becoming a Hall of Fame caliber player, but more importantly a great husband and father.

His work ethic was unmatched as well as his enthusiasm for the game. To see a young man, who is doing all the right things, taken in the prime of his life by a low-life piece of vermin is what I believe is troubling us the most.

I wonder too, if...there was something in Sean Taylor that was in us as well. And when he died a little part of us died, and that's what makes this so personal in a lot of ways.

I don't know.

Such a senseless act of violence, over what?

Killing a young man that was just learning how to become a father, good citizen, good teammate, peaking in his career. All the good things you expect to do as you grow up and mature.

All snuffed out for nothing.

I sure hope they get these fools that commited this murder off the street quickly.