The college football world and greater sports world awoke Sunday to the surprising news of the death of Jasper Howard, a starting defensive back on the Connecticut football team.  It has been quite heartening to see everyone rally around the UConn team and offer their support.  We sometimes get too wrapped up in a game and it’s outcome (I know I used to), but events like this remind us of the things that really matter in the big picture.

I’m also heartened to see the overall compassion coming from Mountaineer Nation, set to host the Huskies this Saturday.  We have a fan base whose overall impression is, um, less than stellar nationally, but this week has been filled with stories, posts, and thoughts about honoring Howard and the grief stricken team.  There will be a moment of silence, pregame embraces, and helmet decals aplenty.  I’m reading stories of students selling #6 armbands and sending the proceeds to Howard’s family, the Rubber U vendors donating proceeds, individuals making their own armbands, and I’m sure there’s much I’m missing.

Here’s hoping for a good and safe game Saturday, one to help take the Huskies minds off the tragedy of this weekend and escape to a different world for a few hours.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 6:05 am and is filed under Current Events, Football, WVU Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.