After seeing Ladainian Tomlinson, who, in case you forgot, was the most dominant running back since Barry Sanders (yes, he was better than Emmitt Smith), break down during his farewell press conference, the thing that resonated with me the most was how much he cares about his team. People have called LT a lot of things in recent years, but the one thing you can’t say about him is that he doesn’t care about his teammates, fans, or the game of football. His teary goodbye to the city of San Diego shouldn’t have been particularly noteworthy but it really stood out because so many professional athletes in this day and age are simply out of sync with the people who make their jobs (and lifestyles) possible. As professional sports have become more and more riddled with selfish, greedy headcases and malcontents who think the rules of society don’t apply to them, I will remember LT not only for his on the field accomplishments, but also because he was a real class act. Criticize him for sulking during big games or for taking losses too hard, but the fact of the matter is that LT simply doesn’t care what people think about him. The guy has a ton of heart and I wish I still had my old powder blue LT jersey so that I could rock it one last time (by the way, that jersey is in the pantheon of the coolest jerseys of all time, along with the original Vince Carter Raptors jersey, the blue Sixers Iverson jersey, and, of course, the new Seahawks lime green alternate jerseys). I doubt his career is over–he did have 12 touchdowns last year–but its sad that he won’t get to retire with the organization that made him a hall of famer and that he single handedly turned around.
Green
Two Man Couch 