BullDawg
Gone but will never forgotten. R.I.P. Nate
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Players live for it, fans love it, media celebrate it -- and all bemoan its devastating consequences. The brutal collision of bodies is football's lifeblood, and the NFL's biggest concern
Tim Layden / Sports Illustrated
BIG HIT 1
Jan. 13, New Orleans
Reggie Bush had never been drilled like this in his life. In high school and college he had always been the best athlete on the field, too fast and too elusive to leave himself open to a clean shot. But here, in an NFC divisional playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, his initiation came suddenly. A swing pass floated into the right flat, a flash of green helmet and white jersey, and now Bush was on his hands and knees on the turf of the Louisiana Superdome, crawling in his black New Orleans Saints uniform like a small child, sent back to his infancy after getting blown up by Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown. The play resonated throughout the league: Watching it on TV a thousand miles away in Chicago, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher rose in appreciation. "Those are the ones you dream about," he'd say later. The New Orleans crowd, frenzied only seconds before, fell silent. Full Story - SI.com