SportsPants

If you were like me this weekend, you were sitting in front of you television dumbfounded as the New York Jets finished off an incredible upset of the San Diego Chargers.

I know the Jets talked about being playoff favorites and the team is built for a post-season run (good defense, running game, mistake free football), but come on, the Jets? This is a team that only made the playoffs because they got to play two teams that were resting the starters at the end of the season. The Chargers were torching their way through the end of the season and were hotter than any team around. Then they came out on Sunday and played timid, frightened football while the Jets let loose…and won.

Hey, it’s the NFL and upsets happen. What was lost in the big Chargers choke was that LaDainian Tomlinson might have played his last game for the Bolts in blue. Now that is something that’s truly upsetting.

In today’s NFL, we’re used to players leaving teams suddenly whether by free agency or by the team’s doing. As soon as a player loses a step, they get dumped because of contract issues or salary cap problems, its just part of the game now. That’s why I’d like to remind you just what L.T. has done during his nine year career with the Chargers.

First of all, the way the Chargers got L.T. was perfect. They had the top pick of the 2001 draft and the big player coming out of college out the time was Michael Vick. Atlanta traded up from the fifth spot to grab him. San Diego dropped down and managed to get LT and then drafted quarterback Drew Brees in the second round. Let’s see, Vick vs. L.T. and Drew Brees…advantage Chargers. Brees, of course, got hurt one year, which prompted the San Diego to draft Phillip Rivers and send Brees to New Orleans. I think he’s done okay there.

Through all of that, L.T. just ran. He managed to rush for more than 1,200 yards in each of his first seven seasons in the league. He’s also first player ever to catch 100 passes and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season showing his versatility. Currently, he has 12,490 yards, which places him in the top ten of all time rushers. He’s gotten more yards than Jim Brown, Thurman Thomas, or Franco Harris, all of who are in the Hall of Fame. If Tomlinson just plays a few more seasons of mediocre football (700 yards rushing per season or so), he’ll be one of the top five all-time rushers.

Then there are the touchdowns. L.T. knows how to finish the job. He’s scored the most touchdowns in a season with 31 and he already sits at third all time on the touchdown list behind Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice, two shoe-in Hall of Famers.

The stats are enough to easily make him a Hall of Famer. But what sets L.T. apart from many players is not the size of his stat book, but the size of his heart. Tomlinson is well known as one of the classiest and nicest players in the NFL. He holds annual golf tournaments, the proceeds of which go to the L.T. “School is Cool” scholarship fund. He oversees the Tomlinson Touching Lives Foundation that helps under-privileged kids in both San Diego and L.T.’s home state of Texas.

Now there are probably some cynics out there that scoff at these charitable acts as something every celebrity does for good P.R. and a tax write-off. It’s understandable. But L.T. actually gives his time to charity.

Every home San Diego Chargers games, he donates tickets to 21 under-privileged kids from his "The 21 Club" attend the game. After the game, he takes the kids out for dinner and a night on the town. At the end of the night, each kid leaves with a goodie bag full of games and school supplies.

Oh, and on Thanksgiving, Tomlinson and his wife volunteer at a food shelter to feed the homeless.

In this modern day world of sports where millionaire athletes bicker with billionaire owners about sums of money most of us won’t ever dream of seeing, Tomlinson remembers where he came from, not by carrying a gun and “keeping it real” with his posse, but trying to help others make a success of their own lives.

He’s given us excitement on the field and others hope off of the field. I hope San Diego fans know what they had because a player like L.T. doesn’t come around very often.

Read more of Brad Seal at the original "SportsPants" blog.