| | KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Derrick Thomas' open casket sat in the
Arrowhead Stadium end zone, near the spot where he once sacked John
Elway and recovered a fumble for a touchdown that clinched a
playoff spot for the Chiefs.
Bundled against a cold February wind, 22,750 fans filed past the
coffin Monday in an outpouring of grief for the star Kansas City
linebacker, a nine-time Pro Bowl player.
|  | | Chiefs fans file onto the field Monday to pay their respects to Derrick Thomas. |
Several hundred people were waiting outside the stadium gate when the public viewing began at 9:30 a.m. CST. The fans walked single file and two-by-two down the stadium
steps. The casket was sheltered by a white tent in which there was
a spray of red roses. Thomas' body was dressed in a light gray
business suit.
In honor of this son of an Air Force pilot who never returned from Vietnam, a B-2 Stealth bomber came in so low its belly seemed to scrape the scoreboard.
Almost everyone who works for the Chiefs -- owner Lamar Hunt,
general manager Carl Peterson, coaches, secretaries and maintenance
men -- stood silently on the field.
"This is the saddest day in Kansas City sports history," said
Steve Warczakoski, a fan from Kansas City, Kan. "My favorite
football player of all time."
One woman carried her 9-month-old daughter down the steps.
"Someday she'll be able to say she was here," the woman said.
The Chiefs have led the NFL in home attendance for five straight
years. It is a town that loves its football players.
"I've been a season-ticker holder since Arrowhead opened,"
said Connie McQuain of Independence, Mo. "I saw Derrick his entire
career and like everybody else in town, I feel like I knew him."
Thomas was just a few weeks past his 33rd birthday when his
Chevrolet Suburban skidded on an icy highway and flipped several
times. The Jan. 23 crash killed his best friend and left one of the
NFL's most feared pass rushers paralyzed from the chest down.
The nine-time All-Pro was transferred to a hospital in his
hometown of Miami and was said to be improving. But on Feb. 8 a
blood clot in his legs created a pulmonary embolism that killed him
almost instantly.
Since that day, fans have gathered at a candlelight vigil,
created a memorial of poems and flowers at Arrowhead's iron gates
and donated more than $25,000 to his Third and Long Foundation,
which encourages youngsters to read.
On Sunday, about 75 people affiliated with the foundation
gathered at a branch of the Kansas City Public Library to pay
tribute to Thomas and what he had done for them.
"Nobody graduates from Third and Long. It just remains part of
you," said the program's coordinator, Donna Woolard.
What Thomas started as a club active only during the football
season turned into a year-round program, with participants meeting
at the library on Saturdays. Thomas would bring other NFL stars by
to meet the young people, and once an astronaut was the guest
speaker.
"We're not here because Derrick Thomas died," the Rev. Saundra
McFadden-Weaver said. "We're here because he lived. No child will
go illiterate if everybody in here goes out and does what Derrick
Thomas wants them to do."
"It wasn't enough that he became a great football player,"
said Barbara Arttell of Lee's Summit, Mo. "I felt it was the other
things that he did."
On Monday evening, a private viewing was scheduled for family,
friends and Chiefs players. Another service was set for Tuesday at
Kemper Arena, where speakers will include NFL commissioner Paul
Tagliabue and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. Among others attending will be Thomas' former Alabama teammate Bobby Humphrey, Marcus Allen, Thomas' agent Leigh Steinberg (and 18 of his clients), Junior Seau, Cortez Kennedy, Tim Brown and Howie Long.
Among the mourners Monday was Fred Patek, the Kansas City
Royals' star shortstop during much of their glory years in the
1970s.
His daughter Kim was paralyzed in an accident in 1992 not far
from Thomas' crash. Kim Patek had no insurance and a big part of
the expense was paid for by fans' donations and events like charity
basketball games between Chiefs and Royals players.
"What I think back to most of all is how this community comes
together and all the beautiful people there are in this town,"
Patek said. "All the things they did for me and all the things you
see now, what's happening."
He stopped to wipe away a tear.
"It kind of stirs up a lot of things in my past. But I guess
the thing most of all -- it really hit me -- you can't believe."
Unable to continue, he apologized and hurried away.
| |
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