Taylor Made Service

It's coming up on 1pm and I'm sitting on the set. I'm doing what so many people are doing in the Washington DC area. My job is to co-anchor our coverage of the funeral service of Sean Taylor. His father has filed in, his girlfriend, and his little girl. They are all seated now. They followed the A list of ballplayers who entered the arena earlier. Jeremy Shockey and Bubba Franks. They are some of the finest tight ends to ever play the game. You know if this was a Sunday and they were suiting up to take on the Washington Redskins they would be worried about Sean Taylor. They would be thinking about the hits they were likely to feel once they hit the field. But today they aren't in their uniforms. They are in dark suits. They are dressed in black, their moods just as dark. They are here to honor one of the best defensive backs to ever play the game.

Jesse Jackson talks about violence. There is a place for this speech, but I'm not sure it's here. Joe Gibbs talks about his free safety, the people he loved, and faith. But for me the words that resonate the most, that meant the most came from his friends. Players like Clinton Portis.

He talks about the three characteristics that matter in measuring a man. They are Peace, Heart, and Faith. He makes everyone laugh when he talks about Sean saddling up to him in the locker room and asking, "Man did you see the Flintstones last night?"

Lavar Arrington comes to the podium, and he chokes back tears. It's not his words, but his actions that tell you who Sean Taylor is. He's in so much pain. He uses a word you don't hear much from burly ballplayers, the word is love.

"Sean I love you as a brother!"

He talked about how he thought he was the guardian angel for Taylor when he first joined the team. Now he realizes God has made Sean Taylor his guardian angel. To me it's these ballplayers, the guys who shared a locker room that gave us a real insight into this man. Men who know what it's like to stand together in soiled uniforms, tired beyond belief, with a game on the line who gave the greatest tributes. It was these ballplayers who gave us a glimpse of who this man was. A tough guy, who could be a gentle father. A tough guy who could move other tough guys to tears. A tough guy who has left a hole in their hearts. He had no problem watching the Flintstones. A private man in a public arena. A man who didn't need to do interviews with members of the media. He did his talking on the field, and in the locker room with his friends and teammates. It's Arrington, and Portis who introduce us to this man who's life was stolen at such a young age. And as you finish watching this service and prepare to give your final words, all you can think about is that little. That little girl in the front of the Pharmed Arena who will never remember the joy of watching the Flintstones with her father. A man who obviously loved watching the Flintstone even more than she did. Because you know deep down inside that Sean Taylor wasn't really watching the Flintstones at all. He was watching the Flintstones through the eyes of his daughter.