This one set me back...
A quick story...
In 1992, I got an internship at a Sacramento TV station covering sports and being a general errand boy in the fall. As a reward, I got to go to a Niner game to cover it. It was the second Niner game I covered, the first being one year earlier at another TV station against Atlanta (Deion Sanders and Co.).
The game I covered was the first Niner win I saw live - a 20-14 win over Philadelphia. I was in charge of getting quotes from Eagles players and got 10 min. of analysis and damn good quotes from Andre "Dirty" Watters. I was told beforehand from beat writers that he wouldn't talk, but he did for me and gave me all I needed to pass my tests for that assignment. Ever since, I've liked him and considered him on of my favorite professional players to interview - ever.
Across the ESPN crawler, I saw this: Andre Watters found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound... and I remembered the interview and the day. I haven't heard much about him over the last few years, except for this. So, I feel bad, because he was a pro and helped out a kid when he needed the help, even after a tough loss that hurt. He was a hard-nosed player who made some vicious hits that ended careers and made the Eagles a tough team to beat in the late 80s and early 90s.
RIP Andre.
(c) R. Burns
In 1992, I got an internship at a Sacramento TV station covering sports and being a general errand boy in the fall. As a reward, I got to go to a Niner game to cover it. It was the second Niner game I covered, the first being one year earlier at another TV station against Atlanta (Deion Sanders and Co.).
The game I covered was the first Niner win I saw live - a 20-14 win over Philadelphia. I was in charge of getting quotes from Eagles players and got 10 min. of analysis and damn good quotes from Andre "Dirty" Watters. I was told beforehand from beat writers that he wouldn't talk, but he did for me and gave me all I needed to pass my tests for that assignment. Ever since, I've liked him and considered him on of my favorite professional players to interview - ever.
Across the ESPN crawler, I saw this: Andre Watters found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound... and I remembered the interview and the day. I haven't heard much about him over the last few years, except for this. So, I feel bad, because he was a pro and helped out a kid when he needed the help, even after a tough loss that hurt. He was a hard-nosed player who made some vicious hits that ended careers and made the Eagles a tough team to beat in the late 80s and early 90s.
RIP Andre.
(c) R. Burns
posted by R. Burns at 11/20/2006 07:47:00 PM
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