Candid reaction to Damar Hamlin going down in the scariest moment in NFL history

All we can hope is Damar Hamlin is okay.

This is far from what you will normally find here. I haven’t written this way probably ever. This is just raw emotion and a collection of thoughts while sitting through what we all were. All that is important is that Damar Hamlin is somehow okay through all of this.

I was in the midst of writing the recap for the game on Monday Night Football. I was as anxious as any fan would be of the team. I felt all the emotions I have ever felt while watching football. I was excited, I was nervous, and I even got upset at times. All of that changed with just over five minutes left in the first quarter.

This was probably the most emotional moment I’ve experienced in any NFL football game. On what seemed like a routine Tee Higgins catch for a first down, he was tackled by Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Hamlin stood up after making the tackle, but soon after he fell backward as if he fainted. He was down for over 20 minutes. During that time he was administered CPR and taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in an ambulance.

Originally, it seemed like teams would be given a few minutes to warm up and continue the game, but soon after that, head coaches Zac Taylor and Sean McDermott got together to help ensure the game was at least temporarily suspended.

There are just few things as chilling as this. We are given a huge reason to be thankful for all the loved ones in our lives. This obviously goes well beyond the game of football and whatever stakes that seem so silly now were on the line for the outcome of this game.

I legitimately have no idea how much of this will make it into the final post — if this even gets posted — but always remember each player on that field is a human well before being a player. They have loved ones just like you do who know the players in this league put their bodies on the line each time they step on the field,

However, none of them would even expect that this would be in the realm of possibilities. We watched these people on the field in uniforms have real emotions to one of their close friends — who many may view as a brother — go down like that in such an ugly fashion that frankly is not natural to this game.

Just love your loved ones, love these players, love your fellow fans, love the opposing fans… just love while you have the chance.

I am not a religious man, but I said one of the few prayers of my life for this 24-year-old man to pull through all of this and is able to just be with his loved ones again.