Today’s date marks an anniversary of an important event I know I’ll never forget. My wife and I were both in attendance. No, it’s not our wedding anniversary. I still get confused about that date. I’m neither proud nor ashamed that we were at this event. We were just there. There’s no doubt that we got caught up in the moment. There was a lot of yelling, a lot of confusion, and a lot of violence playing out in front of us. We had never seen anything like it unfolding before our eyes. I expect we will never see anything like it again. As a reminder, take a look at this video memory.
That’s right, my wife and I were at Soldier Field 20 years ago today to see the 350+ lb Keith Traylor make an interception with the grace of a prima ballerina and the athleticism of Michael Jordan at his peak. Then we watched in disbelief as he rumbled 67 yards before running out of gas. There’s that one point in his interception return when he spots #23, Jerry Azumah, one of the fastest players in the NFL at the time, coming up behind him. Traylor looks at him and offers him the ball. Azumah ignores him, pats Traylor on the behind, and goes to throw a block for him. I can only imagine Azumah saying, “This one is all yours, big man. Enjoy the moment.”
Yes, we yelled. Yes, there was chaos. Yes, there was violence. Yes, we watched in disbelief. Were there tears? Sorry, but I’m taking the 5th Amendment on that question. One thing I am sure of is that we will never see that again, because Keith Traylor has long since retired.
Go Bears!
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 