Our Darkest Hour; Junior Seau’s Death

I’m saddended as many others are to hear about the loss of Junior Seau. The tragic loss of the beloved football player comes at a time where it was unexpected. Seau was retired and in fairly decent condition. From his looks you would never thing anything other than foul play. Junior had cash flows, fame, family; so what more could you need. The current story professes the loss to be suicide.

Our Darkest Hour: The movie

“How can you be like that?”

“Like What?”

“Like ahh Delusional-ly Optimistic all the time”

“I’m just more use to screwing up than you are”

These are lines from a movie called “Our Darkest hour”. In it, the lead character and his friend are in Europe (Russia to be Exact).  The two friends are website developer whom have come across the world to present their idea to a group whom would make them overnight cash flows millionaires. The two had worked hard on their plan to get this cash.  The fact in one was the technology geek while the other was more of the smooth talking creative thinker.  They arrive at their meeting only to find out that their “partner” has stollen their idea.  This partner had stollen their cash flowing million dollar idea and is the middle of presenting it to the Russian company as his own idea.

To have an idea and or a client stolen is a challenging pill to swallow; I personal pain that I know.  Soon after watching that movie, I had the same thing happen to me in real life.  In my darkest hour I had what I considered to be a friend offer to help.  They instead backed out of helping me and helped themselves to my client at my cost.  In Our Darkest Hour the fiend stated “Next time, send a non disclosure agreement first”.   The then had the boys escorted out of the building.   The two young men lament their loss over drinks at a local Russian watering hole as they take in the international scene. In this moment they were in their darkest hour. What is presumed to be the alpha male in the scene “how can you be like that.”  In the darkest hour, the friend was chipper.  He was upbeat.  He was unconcerned about the loose of a potential $10,000,000 promised by this international partner.  In “Our Darkest Our” he just took one for the team and felt hey lets enjoy what we can and take care of it tomorrow.

Our Darkest Hour;  Junior Seau’s Death

Junior Seau was a 20 year NFL professional.  This man was an NFL draft pick with the look and confidence of a champion.  Junior  was a warrior of unparalleled tallent. Junior was a linebacker in the 90s. Juniors stats include:

•  12 time Pro-Bowl
• 10 time All-Pro
• 2 time AFC Champion
• UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year (1992)
• NEA NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1992)
• AFC Player of the Year (1994)
• NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year (2003)
• NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
• San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame
• San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team

Ok, so for all his accoladed what is the one thing you see missing?  Better question, what is the first thing any person that is a novice about football will ask about any football player?  And the answer is: did he win a Super Bowl.  No, I do remember the game though.  It was New England in the perfect season.  They had the perfect season and the perfect player in Tom Brady, and the Perfect Captain in Junior Seau and the perfect opportunity to be an young upstart in the Manning lead New York Giants.

Well the Giant won, and Junior never did get that ring. I rooted for the Giant even though I was then and am now a Junior Seau fan.  I’m not a fanatic; I couldn’t tell you his number as a Charger or Dolphin.  I was a Junior Seau fan in that he seemed like a nice guy.  I never heard anything truly negative about Junior Seau in all 20 years as a professional.  That is just it he was a constant professional that had an exceptional public image.

Our Darkest Hour;  Junior Seau’s Death Reported

Washington Post’s Cindy Brown wrote

“Seau, who retired in 2009 after a 20-year career, would be the second former NFL player to commit suicide in the past two weeks. Ray Easterling, a safety for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the NFL over concussion-related injuries, died April 19 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson shot himself in the chest in 2011, leaving a note in which he said he wanted his brain to be donated for study. It was determined that Duerson had degenerative damage because of repeated trauma over his career.”

In the middle of drowning my sorrows in thoughts, I thought about the movie “Our Darkest Hour”.  I felt angry, enraged, and betrayed by the likes of someone I helped in a time of need.  In turn they did me wrong in my darkest hour.  But at that moment, I thought of the adaptable friend.  The it will all work out attitude is usually me.  In fact, more often than not that is me.  It is my view on the world.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he athinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

My take is that if dwell too much in the negative you are giving an energy to it.  Its a downward cycle.  I was  a jumper in high school and college.  I would often jump up high but then tuck my head in my chest to brace myself for the fall.  My coach would say “Keep your head up”.  People say that all the time now.  But the thought at the time was, if you keep your head up while jumping you will keep your body up in the air that much longer.  It will be the difference between jumping 19 feet or 23 feet.  Keeping your head up is the difference between coming in 1st place or not placing at all.

Matthew 18:18 ”I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

My take on this is that if you are holding a grudge, that grudge will be held against you.   I’ve often heard “Live by the sword, you will die by the sword”.  The fact is harboring anger hostility or resentment leads to more anger hostility or resentment.  But holding steadfast to peace and joy, leads to more peace and joy.  My take is optimism with a smidgen of reality least to amazing things with a smidgen of “How do you do that”.

Junior Seau did some amazing things in his career.  Many will say he had too many concussions.  Some will say whatever they want to work it to their advantage.  I will simply say, I’m sad to see Junior Seau go.  I will also say, it taught me to focus on the positive in spite of how challenging things become.

Tags: Junior Seau, Our Darkest Hour