Cincinnati Bengals Travel To San Diego with Heavy Hearts

The only certainty in life is death. 

Think about how powerful that statement is.  It does not matter what color skin your is or to whom you pray.  After God calls you home, your loved ones are faced with the unenviable task of moving on without you.

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming down the home stretch of an emotional season.  On the field, a dedication to the running game and attacking defense has them at the top of the AFC North.  Off the field, tragedy has now struck the team on three separate occasions.

When a tsunami devastated American Somoa in September, three Bengals were worried about the fate of their friends and family.  Jonathan Fanene, Rey Maualuga, and Domata Peko all finally received good news after many failed attempts to contact loved ones.

In October, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer suddenly lost his wife of 27 years.  He elected to coach the following Sunday and was awarded the game ball in an emotional moment in the locker room after the Bengals beat the Ravens.

The passing of Chris Henry is different.  While I am sure all players were concerned about the individuals affected by the tsunami and stunned to learn of the death of their coach's wife, they have now lost one of their own.

"Family" is a term often used when referring to the bond formed between teammates.  Professional athletes can become very close, usually spending more time with each other than their wife and kids.  They will fight, scream and cuss each other out but at the end of the day, they are still brothers focused on a common goal.

Despite the well-documented past of Chris Henry, the Bengals lost a brother when he passed away on Thursday.

Carson Palmer broke the news to the team.  Chad Ochocinco gave a tearful interview, wondering why his teammate was taken from this world at such a young age.  Palmer also spoke about dedicating the remainder of the season to Henry and Vikki Zimmer.

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