21

Yesterday the Dallas Cowboys, my Dallas Cowboys, were soundly beaten by a Washington Redskins team playing for more than just a win against their fiercest rivals and a chance to play come January. They were playing for Sean. A fallen friend.

November 18th. Sean is not home when burglers break into his house doing damage to his desk and safe. The perps leave with nothing, unable to find what they were looking for. Sean's mother checks on his house in his absence discovering the breakin and calls the police. Meanwhile, Sean sits out his first game after sustaining a knee injury the week before. His Skins lose 28-23 to the first place Dallas Cowboys.

November 25. Sean sits out his second straight game watching his Skins fall yet again, this time to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's their third loss in a row.

November 26. 1:45 a.m. The perps come back to Sean's house, this time finding him at home. A melee insues and Sean is shot in the upper leg by one of the 4 armed teenage intruders. He is critically wounded in the femoral artery. His long-time girlfriend Jackie Garcia hides under the bedding throughout along with Sean's 18-month-old daughter. She calls 911. Sean is airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he undergoes surgery. He emerges from surgery at 12:30 p.m. but remains unconscious, in a coma. Sean never wakes up, dying a few hours later as a result of the massive blood loss.
His team mates are devastated.

November 30. 4 young men are detained in connection with the murder of Sean Taylor. The youngest of the men is 17. Confessions are given.

December 1. All four men are charged with second-degree murder, armed burglary and home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon. The charges result in life sentences for each of the perpetrators.

December 2. Shaken by the loss of their team-mate and friend the Skins suffer their 4th loss in a row losing 17-16 to the lowly Buffalo Bills.

December 3. 4,000 people attend Sean's funeral service held at the Pharmed Arena at Florida International University. The entire Redskins organization attends the funeral taking up a section of the arena. Many of them are seen weaping throughout the emotional service. Sean's daughter sits in the front with her mother - wearing a pin with her father’s jersey number “21” on the sleeve of her dress. Sean is buried near his home. He is 24 at the time of his death.

December 7th. The Skins suit up to play last year's Super Bowl Finalists, the Chicago Bears. The Skins record sits at 5-7. A berth in the playoffs is the least of their concerns. As the Skins take the field they are greeted by 21's everwhere. It seems the 85,000+ fans aren't content to see their Skins throw in the towel. They've sown 21's everywhere, their clothes, their jerseys, their flags, everywhere. It's as if they're saying "do it for Sean." The Skins oblige defeating the Bears 24-16. They do not lose again.

The following weeks they dispose of the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings 22-10, 32-21 respectively - spurned on by the Spirit of their fallen friend and faithful fans. By this time all the players have sown 21's into their Jersey's and afixed 21's to their helmets. The team now sits at 8-7 having won 3 games in a row. Talk of playoffs can now be heard.

December 30. Final game of the season. The Skins only hope is that Minnesota loses to the lowly Denver Bronco's. The other option is the Skins beating the Dallas Cowboys, but it's unlikely, considering the Boys tower above all in the NFC, sporting an impressive 13-2 record. The Skins take the field and are immediately overwhelmed by a record 90,000 fans all adorned with the number 21. Their coach, Joe Gibbs, having overcome tragedy himself, leads them on to the field. It isn't even close. The Cowboys are defeated soundly and are held to just 1 yard rushing. 1. yard. Even more remarkable, the Denver Broncos upset the Minnesota Vikings 22-19 securing the Skins a spot in the playoffs.

Joe Gibbs after the game. "To get to the playoffs was a dream of ours and four weeks ago everybody would have said it looked impossible. It was a great four weeks. It was guys just playing their hearts out. We couldn't have been prouder. The Lord has blessed us with a great group of guys. When you think about what they have gone through this year."

In the end, Washington showed us all the true meaning of having Skin in the game. They defeated my Cowboys 27-6 - winning for, and remarkably by, 21.

I didn't mind so much.

John