Post by rkozak201 on Apr 27, 2008 8:26:26 GMT -5
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
Ian Cooper tried to keep a smile on his face as fans welcomed him back to the Reading Express.
Cooper’s long-awaited return Friday was expected to be a happy day. But it was by far the worst in his 29-year-old life.
Earlier in the day, Cooper learned the details of the shocking death of his older brother, James Henry Cooper IV.
Growing up, Ian always looked up to his James, who was 4 years his elder. James showed Ian how to play games and later taught him some more valuable lessons he will carry with him the rest of his life.
Ian was as proud as anyone when his older brother graduated from the Reading Police Academy last year and joined the city’s police force.
Suddenly, because of the pain in his life he could no longer endure, James was gone from Ian’s life and all the others who loved him.
Few expected Ian would play Friday.
“I didn’t want to play,” said Ian, who only days earlier said how much he anticipated an emotional return to the Sovereign Center. “My parents actually said my brother would have wanted it.”
So with heavy heart, Ian Cooper made his 2008 season debut with the Express.
The boxscore shows Cooper finished with three catches for 23 yards. But Cooper accomplished so much more in those nearly three hours spent with many of the guys who have become his second family in the last three years.
“It’s the one chance throughout the whole day I can kind of escape what’s going on outside this arena,” Cooper said. “It was good for my family to get out and get their minds off things as well.”
But the short diversion of football failed to fill the emptiness that Cooper knows will endure for the rest of his life.
He had to bite his lower lip to hold back the tears when he said: “This was the game he (James) was going to come to, probably one of the only ones all season.”
Although Ian could have ducked into the locker room shortly after the Express’ 36-7 win over Canton, he decided to stay on the field with the rest of his teammates for a 30-minute postgame autograph session.
A few relatives and friends offered Cooper their condolences. But most of the fans who had no idea what Cooper was going through asked him to sign their shirts, pennants, programs or anything else.
The fans shook his hand, hugged him and said how happy they were to see him Ian back for a third season after short stints with two other indoor football teams. All the while, Cooper wore a smile to mask his pain.
It had to be extremely difficult when a mother brought her week-old son to meet Cooper. As he looked into the carefree, baby blue eyes of the boy introduced to him as Jamie Jr., Cooper’s heart could only feel for a troubled brother who was no longer with him.
“You’ve got to put on a happy face and try not to think about it for as long as you can,” Cooper said. “Once you leave here the reality sets back in.”
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
Reading Eagle
Ian Cooper tried to keep a smile on his face as fans welcomed him back to the Reading Express.
Cooper’s long-awaited return Friday was expected to be a happy day. But it was by far the worst in his 29-year-old life.
Earlier in the day, Cooper learned the details of the shocking death of his older brother, James Henry Cooper IV.
Growing up, Ian always looked up to his James, who was 4 years his elder. James showed Ian how to play games and later taught him some more valuable lessons he will carry with him the rest of his life.
Ian was as proud as anyone when his older brother graduated from the Reading Police Academy last year and joined the city’s police force.
Suddenly, because of the pain in his life he could no longer endure, James was gone from Ian’s life and all the others who loved him.
Few expected Ian would play Friday.
“I didn’t want to play,” said Ian, who only days earlier said how much he anticipated an emotional return to the Sovereign Center. “My parents actually said my brother would have wanted it.”
So with heavy heart, Ian Cooper made his 2008 season debut with the Express.
The boxscore shows Cooper finished with three catches for 23 yards. But Cooper accomplished so much more in those nearly three hours spent with many of the guys who have become his second family in the last three years.
“It’s the one chance throughout the whole day I can kind of escape what’s going on outside this arena,” Cooper said. “It was good for my family to get out and get their minds off things as well.”
But the short diversion of football failed to fill the emptiness that Cooper knows will endure for the rest of his life.
He had to bite his lower lip to hold back the tears when he said: “This was the game he (James) was going to come to, probably one of the only ones all season.”
Although Ian could have ducked into the locker room shortly after the Express’ 36-7 win over Canton, he decided to stay on the field with the rest of his teammates for a 30-minute postgame autograph session.
A few relatives and friends offered Cooper their condolences. But most of the fans who had no idea what Cooper was going through asked him to sign their shirts, pennants, programs or anything else.
The fans shook his hand, hugged him and said how happy they were to see him Ian back for a third season after short stints with two other indoor football teams. All the while, Cooper wore a smile to mask his pain.
It had to be extremely difficult when a mother brought her week-old son to meet Cooper. As he looked into the carefree, baby blue eyes of the boy introduced to him as Jamie Jr., Cooper’s heart could only feel for a troubled brother who was no longer with him.
“You’ve got to put on a happy face and try not to think about it for as long as you can,” Cooper said. “Once you leave here the reality sets back in.”
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.