Yes, I am a diehard Indy Colts fan! So, when I heard the very sad news today, I was stunned, and my heart dropped into my feet for a man who's a wonderful example of srength, honor, and integrity. Tony Dungy's oldest son, James, 18 years old, living in Tampa while he attended college, was found dead early this morning. They are now saying it was an apparent suicide, but I just don't understand why this bright, talented, fortunate young man would do such a thing. The Dungy's are a strong family, with strong faith, and good values. They're not show-boaters who do stupid things. They're humble people. The Dungy's were so close to seeing a dream fulfilled -- something they waited years for -- the potential for their first Superbowl. Why, with so much in the cards, and with the holidays close at hand, would James do this? Why now? Why at Christmas? ...when his family was about to come back together for the holidays? He had a girlfriend, and was out with friends just this past Monday night, cracking jokes and "just being himself." No one knows why he would kill himself. There was no note left behind, apparently, and no one seems to know what would have motivated him to do this.
I don't know if I'm buying the suicide story at this point. Some people exhibit the signs of suicide, so when it happens, people say, "he was so sad about this or that" or "Such-and-such just really devastated him, he was never the same after that..." or some other such comment. But with James, his suicide just came out of the blue...almost like he was lying in bed last night and thought, "Hmmm, suicide sounds like an interesting thing to do right now." In other words, this whole thing is shockingly bizarre and makes no sense.
Our whole city is extremely devastated by this tragic news, and I just can't seem to get it out of my mind. We all feel like an extended part of Dungy's family, and it's like one of us has died today. I can usually brush off celebrity deaths without too much trouble, but this one is a tough one to take for some reason. I've been close to tears over it several times today.
If anyone's interested in reading the latest story in our local newspaper, here's the link:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/SPORTS03/512220474
I don't know if I'm buying the suicide story at this point. Some people exhibit the signs of suicide, so when it happens, people say, "he was so sad about this or that" or "Such-and-such just really devastated him, he was never the same after that..." or some other such comment. But with James, his suicide just came out of the blue...almost like he was lying in bed last night and thought, "Hmmm, suicide sounds like an interesting thing to do right now." In other words, this whole thing is shockingly bizarre and makes no sense.
Our whole city is extremely devastated by this tragic news, and I just can't seem to get it out of my mind. We all feel like an extended part of Dungy's family, and it's like one of us has died today. I can usually brush off celebrity deaths without too much trouble, but this one is a tough one to take for some reason. I've been close to tears over it several times today.
If anyone's interested in reading the latest story in our local newspaper, here's the link:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/SPORTS03/512220474