Only the Good Die Young

In the beginning of the year, not long after preseason, Ruben Narcisse died in car accident. He was a freshman football player here at the University of Wyoming and though I didn't know him well his face was familiar in the dorms, cafeteria, and athletic facilities. I ran into frequently in he morning before classes and we always exchanged a simple smile when it happened. He is gone. The football team made a line from Ruben's dorm room, down the stairs, and to a car outside and with tears in their eyes each person held his belongings before passing them along to the next person until they reached the car. It's not that I've never seen people cry but there is something about seeing 30+ grown men openly shedding tears. I never wanted to see something like that again.

In January, I watched from a distance as my friends back home celebrated the life of an incredible young man who, like Ruben, never got the chance to grow old. Though Brad suffered from a muscle condition and his life here was filled with pain, it still hurt knowing that he could have done incredible things here. (read more about Brad towards the end of this post). Life is a precious gift that could end at any time and no matter the circumstances, it hurts the people left here.

I believe everything happens for reason but I couldn't understand why these two people had to die. What reason justifies death? Though I still don't have the answer to that question, It's comforting to know that someone does have the answer. But it doesn't make it any easier especially when tragedy strikes again as it did.

Last Saturday another UW athlete died unexpectedly. If any student dies it is hard but losing another athlete is heartbreaking. It's impossible to not have had some interaction with any one of the other athletes and David was no exception. He was the president of SAAC (student athlete advisory committee) and the captain of the men's swim team. The hardest part about David's death was the timing of it. David fell from one of the higher levels of our football stadium early saturday morning and was found around 7:00am. David was scheduled to walk at graduation that same afternoon with a bachelors degree in Geology. Just hours away from graduating his life ended and instead of his family getting to see him walk they came instead to bring him back to Casper, WY where the memorial services where held on Thursday. About twenty athletes and six coaches who normally would have attended (including myself) were unable because we were traveling Wyoming for Sports Festival (David was supposed to come).

It's not fair that these young men all died before they could live out their dreams or impact more lives but everything happens for a reason...

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd

We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud

We might be laughing a bit to loud

But that never hurt no one

But only the good die young