Timeout!

Former Los Angeles Rams defensive powerhouse Merlin Olsen died last Thursday succumbing in his battle with cancer; Mesothelioma. Olsen was a monster in the National Football League (from 1962-1976) as a member of the legendary ‘Fearsome Foursome’ defensive line which included fellow tough guys Deacon Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier.

I was just two years old when Olsen called it quits from football, I hadn’t begun learning about the game until the days when Danny White quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys.

That was back in the early 1980’s and Olsen had long retired from the NFL and become a game broadcaster while also going into acting.

It wasn’t until I started watching ‘Little House on the Prairie’ that I learned who Merlin Olsen was. On that show, Olsen was known as ‘Jonathan Garvey’, a good friend of central character ‘Charles Ingalls’ who was portrayed by Michael Landon. Olsen also pitched beautiful bouquets of flowers in FTD commercials. ‘Guys shouldn’t be in flower commercials’ I thought to myself during my elementary school p.e. football years, ‘This guy should be playing football like me’.

But that is one of the many good things you can say about Mr. Olsen, he was not a societal grunt when it came to how he conducted himself. Even in the N.F.L., Olsen would consistently reach his hand out and help an opposing player get to his feet after first tackling him out of his shoes. This is something you hardly see nowadays in a society where we teach our kids to decapitate one another on the field and then celebrate.

Olsen’s character on ‘Little House’ was a constant reminder of a good old fashioned philosophy which has consistently dwindled over time; put in a good days work. I really miss that show, especially with a lot of the stuff that gets aired these days, and wish I could have seen a live game with Olsen playing in it.

But alas, Olsen’s passing exemplifies a few things. One, time and mortality catch up with us all – a member of any ‘Fearsome Foursome’ eventually comes to the end of his line. Two, Olsen’s moving on symbolizes the changing of times as decency and ethics barely respire on life support with their remaining days possibly numbered. The world continues spinning…but with one less good guy in it. ‘Descanse en paz Mr. Olsen’.

(Rey Sifuentes Jr. can be reached at rataman2@ yahoo.com)