LaDainian Tomlinson to Retire a Charger: A Broncos Fan’s Tribute

Since 2001, I have been trained with every ounce of the Broncos fan that is in me to hate LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers. When San Diego opted for Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson over Mike Vick in the 2001 draft, he immediately became my team’s enemy, and he absolutely killed the Broncos for the better part of the decade.

But why hate Tomlinson? The only possible reason to hate the guy is because he consistently the best player on the field, and that was more often than not the case with LT.

Every year that guy had a thunderbolt on his helmet, I remember him being a fantastic player. Tomlinson was not only one of the most dominant running backs I have ever seen, he could truly do it all. I have seen him throw touchdown passes, catch touchdown passes, and obviously run for them. He is truly a rare treat to have watched, and while I never actually rooted for Tomlinson’s team to do well, I think every Bronco fan could honestly tell you that we’d have taken him on our team at any point in time, even in his later years.

Tomlinson is a true pro’s pro. He was a fantastic player who deserves to be a first ballot hall of famer, and re-signing with the Chargers to retire in powder blue is the right move for both parties. Despite the fact that San Diego let him go when they believed he was well past his prime (and he was), you have to think that it was a mutual agreement to move on.

Still, LT’s career wasn’t over when he moved to New York. There were still some flashes of the guy we once knew back in San Diego, but nothing as dominant as he was in the early stages of his career.

I have never seen a back with such a complete repertoire in my (admittedly short) life. Tomlinson brought so much to a San Diego team that it’s really a shock they never won a Super Bowl with him and two different All-Pro quarterbacks (Drew Brees, Philip Rivers) at the helm.

When I think about the greatest running backs of all-time, Tomlinson’s name will be up there. In fact, I was wondering to myself the other day what he was planning on doing for this season, hoping that he might choose to play a year or two in Denver Broncos orange.

There is really no other way to describe the career of a guy like Tomlinson than incredible, but he ultimately fell short of football’s greatest prize. His 2006 season, however, will go down as arguably the greatest single season by a running back in NFL history.

I am truly saddened to see the career of this player to come to an end, even from enemy eyes. Job well done to Tomlinson, and my hat is off to him. A truly remarkable career for a first class human being.