Pass me a Bruschi !!!

An era......... has ended..

Tedy Lacap Bruschi has hung up the cleats after 13 seasons with the New England Patriots - yes... after 13 seasons with a single franchise, Tedy Bruschi is going out on top... and I for one will miss seeing #54 on the gridiron this season and seasons beyond...

NOT the biggest... NOT the fastest.... NOT the most talented... NOT flashy... NOT even a linebacker out of college... "just an average guy".... but in the words of Head Coach, Bill Belichick... "a PERFECT player"!!!!!!!!!.... Simply put... "the epitome of everything you could want in a football player"....

Not "just words" spoken by Belichick... but words truly FELT... as this stoic, brash, sarcastic, tough as nails NFL head coach was visibly and audibly shaken at the press conference... he IS human, after all !!!!!!!!! and obviously knows what Tedy Bruschi brought to the table... brought to Foxboro... and brought to Belichick himself...

Tedy officially announced his retirement yesterday... certainly not the longest career (RIGHT BRETT !!) Hey, you try having 300 pound linemen and 230 pound running backs trying to "plant" YOU for 13 years... but certainly one of the most rewarding careers of anyone to don the pads at linebacker - EVER !!!!

Bruschi made the best out of whatever God-given ability he was blessed with (uh just making it to the NFL requires TREMENDOUS ability - let alone playing 13 seasons !!!)... and did it in his own special "blue collar" way... as a humble leader who "always did the right thing, knew the right play"... and certainly one of the cornerstones of the tradition and dynasty he helped create in Foxboro... and even more humble in his retirement....

As a life-long Patriots fan, I'm sure I'm a bit biased here... having (literally) weathered YEARS of disappointment, pretty much like being a Sox fan... yet continuing to believe... Tedy helped make Super Bowl Champions a regular phrase in New England... having helped bring 3 titles into our lives...

And let's put this into a little more perspective.... in February of 2005, Tedy suffered a stroke, and instead of fighting off linemen, he was fighting for his life. A stroke that subsequently uncovered a hole in Tedy's heart... a stroke that SHOULD have ended his career, THEN...

But, with the heart of a lion, Bruschi would NOT retire THAT way... and returned to the gridiron mid-way through the very next season... picking up where he left off... Tedy just wanted to play football... and he did... and he played it well.... and he left it all on the field... "FULL TILT, FULL TIME" !!!

So, yesterday Tedy retired from the game he loved on HIS terms... in his own way ... a way that I have watched for the past 13 years.... a way that I will now miss... I can only hope that (Patriots' owner) Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick don't allow Bruschi's presence, leadership and work ethic to be missing for too long... hmmmmm, Coach Bruschi ????

So, on this day after your official retirement Mr. Bruschi, I personally thank you for giving the Patriots, the fans and the community everything you had to give... and for the self-less manner in which you did it... there is no "I" in TEAM... and there certainly is no "I" in TEDY.... Nuf Ced