A kicker's mind is supposed to be clear.
They live by rituals – preparing exactly the same way before each kick. They often stand at the same place on the sidelines; ask that the holder places the ball just so; take the same number of steps backwards to get into place, then – only when they're ready – will the action begin.
Then the kicker thinks about nothing except swinging his leg.
No one yet knows what was on Matt Bryant's mind today. But every parent can imagine what burden was laying upon his heart.
On Wednesday, Bryant, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' placekicker for the last four seasons, and his family awoke to discover 3-month-old Tryson Bryant dead in his crib. As of now, there has been no announcement as to a cause.
Matthew was the youngest of Matt (shown with Melissa and son Tre prior to Sunday's game) and Melissa's two sons. His funeral was Saturday.
And yet there was Matt, trying to keep a clear mind, trying to adhere to his rituals on Sunday at Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium against Green Bay.
Going into the game, Bryant was one of the game's most accurate kickers. He'd not missed a field or or PAT in five and eight tries, respectively. He remained perfect Sunday, hitting three PATs and field goals of 23, 36 and the game-winner from 24 yards during a 31-20 victory.
There may be some who criticize Matt for playing on Sunday. I am not among them. Nor do I think any parent would be.
They can only imagine his pain. And they never want to imagine his grief.
Grief requires peace. Grief requires finding a place where one can make sense of the senseless.
Grief requires finding a place in the mind that can be clear while the heart tries to mind.
Everyone has a different place. For some, it's a place of solitude. For others, it may be a place that holds 65,857 people.
Matt Bryant's place of peace and clarity was where it always is – on the football field.
A place where every parent's prayers were with him.
And, here's another gut-wrenching article about Matt Bryant. It's as special as any:
One day after burying his three-month old son, Matt Bryant kicked the game-winning field goal for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the kick sailed through, giving the Bucs a 23-21 lead over Green Bay, Bryant blew a kiss skyward with tears in his eyes. Holder Josh Bidwell embraced Bryant in a bear hug after the kick, and the rest of Bryant's Buc teammates joined in a subdued celebration too.
Bryant's son, Tryson, unexpectedly died Wednesday morning. Jon Gruden told the press that afternoon that Tryson "just didn't wake up."
Watching Bryant attempt the kick today was a truly gut-wrenching scene. I was watching the game with three friends, none of whom could care less about the outcome of the Bucs/Packers tilt, but we all celebrated when Bryant hit the kick.
That Bryant was even playing today is amazing. The NFL has no roster exemptions for bereavement, meaning that if Bryant didn't play, the Bucs would have had to have cut another play in order to sign a replacement. It's a terrible rule, especially considering that teams can make roster exemptions for suspended players. Hopefully, Bryant's tragedy will force the NFL to reconsider.
Have you ever watched "Cash Cab" on Discovery Channel? If so, then you'll love "Cash Ambulance"!
A Red Sox fan used to amuse himself by scaring every Yankee
fan he saw strutting down the street in the obnoxious New
York pinstripe shirt.
He would swerve his van as if to hit them, and then swerve
back just missing them.
One day, while driving along, he saw a priest. He thought
he would do a good deed, so he pulled over and asked the
priest, "Where are you going, Father?"
"I'm going to give Mass at St. Francis Church, about two
miles down the road," replied the priest.
"Climb in, Father. I'll give you a lift, " said the driver.
The priest climbed into the rear passenger seat, and they
continued down the road.
Suddenly, the driver saw a Yankee fan walking down the road,
and he instinctively swerved as if to hit him. But, as usual,
he swerved back into the road just in time. Even though he
was certain that he had missed the man, the driver still heard
a loud, "THUD."
Not understanding where the noise came from, he glanced in his
mirrors, but still didn't see anything. He then remembered the
priest, and he turned to the priest and said, "Sorry,
Father - I almost hit that Yankee fan."
"That's OK," the priest replied. "I got him with the door."
I rear-ended a car this morning. So there we are
alongside the road and slowly the driver gets out
of the car...and you know how you just-get-sooo-stressed
and life-stuff seems to get funny?
Yeah, well, I could NOT believe it . he was a DWARF!
He storms over to my car, looks up at me and says,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I look down at him and say, 'Well, then which
one are you...?'
. . . and that's when the fight started .
