O-town Gator
Gator Fan
"Aaron Hernandez thought he had it all figured out.
He had committed to Connecticut early in his high school career and was ready to play with his brother D.J. on the Huskies team. It would be close to his home in Bristol, Conn., and his family could watch him play.
It was all set.
But it all changed in January of 2006. Dennis Hernandez went in for a routine hernia operation, surgery that he had several times before. The 49-year-old, who was a custodian at another Bristol high school, was looking forward to his 50th birthday in February.
But he didn't make it.
"He was fine," Hernandez said Tuesday at Florida's Media Day. "Four days later, he started getting sicker and sicker and sicker. They left toxins in his body."
On Jan. 6, 2006, Dennis Hernandez passed away. His son still carries the pain in his heart three years later.
Asked if he could say one thing to his father, Hernandez said, "I don't know, but it wouldn't be about sports. I'd probably just cry."
With the void that suddenly invaded the tight end's life, Hernandez needed an ear. He found one in Urban Meyer.
"I was on the phone with him a lot," Hernandez said, recalling that difficult time in his life. "He helped me through a lot of stuff. Coach Meyer has made me a better person."
Link: http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20090811/COLUMNISTS/908119901/1044?Title=Emotional-time-leads-Hernandez-to-Florida
He had committed to Connecticut early in his high school career and was ready to play with his brother D.J. on the Huskies team. It would be close to his home in Bristol, Conn., and his family could watch him play.
It was all set.
But it all changed in January of 2006. Dennis Hernandez went in for a routine hernia operation, surgery that he had several times before. The 49-year-old, who was a custodian at another Bristol high school, was looking forward to his 50th birthday in February.
But he didn't make it.
"He was fine," Hernandez said Tuesday at Florida's Media Day. "Four days later, he started getting sicker and sicker and sicker. They left toxins in his body."
On Jan. 6, 2006, Dennis Hernandez passed away. His son still carries the pain in his heart three years later.
Asked if he could say one thing to his father, Hernandez said, "I don't know, but it wouldn't be about sports. I'd probably just cry."
With the void that suddenly invaded the tight end's life, Hernandez needed an ear. He found one in Urban Meyer.
"I was on the phone with him a lot," Hernandez said, recalling that difficult time in his life. "He helped me through a lot of stuff. Coach Meyer has made me a better person."
Link: http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20090811/COLUMNISTS/908119901/1044?Title=Emotional-time-leads-Hernandez-to-Florida
