The tears come and go as I try to wrap my head around what happened in Newtown, CT. I cannot fathom the pain or the grief, but I continue to pray that these families will find the strength they need to move forward. The lives of those children will never be forgotten – they will forever be imprinted in our hearts, even those of us with no relational connection, and we will honor them in the only ways we know how
In light of this tragedy, the NFL, NBA and NCAA all held moments of silence at their games over the weekend. There was even a moment of silence in Glasgow, Scotland before the start of a soccer match for the 20 students and 6 teachers.
Some players took their remembrance of the children and teachers farther than just a moment of silence. The New England Patriots added a sticker to their helmet. The New York Giants added SHES to the back of their helmets. J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans wrote Newtown, CT and SHES on his gloves. Charles Tillman, quarterback for the Chicago Bears, had a towel that had Newtown written on it that he wore during the game.
The most amazing was Victor Cruz of the New York Giants. One of the children, Jack Pinto, was a huge fan of his. He called the family and dedicated the game to him. He wrote on his Twitter page: “Today’s game is for you Jack.” with links to the cleats and gloves that he would be wearing for the game. On his cleats he wrote, “Jack Pinto ‘My Hero'” and on his gloves he wrote, “Jack Pinto This one is 4 you”
This video is of Cruz and Watt along with Robert Kraft, the Patriots’ chairman and CEO talking about honoring Sandy Hook Elementary School.