Miami defensive tackle Bryan Pata was shot and killed on Tuesday November 7th. He was 22 years old. He had just left practice. He was three games away from ending his career at The U and embarking on one in the NFL; the ultimate dream for any college baller.
We are still numb to this news here. This doesn’t make sense. It’s not fair. I doesn’t even seem real.
Try to get it off your mind and you’ll only dwell on it more. Try to wrap your arms around it and prepare to come up empty. Yet another cruel blow delivered by the world we live in and in this case, there are no answers.
allCanesBlog.com will share our thoughts on Wednesday once we’ve had time to let this sink in.
Many fans and customers have written in regards to allCanes doing some sort of tribute to #95. We will discuss that in the coming days. We’ve commemorated and paid tribute to past fallen Canes and I can’t see any reason why we wouldn’t do the same for Bryan Pata.
More to come tomorrow. In the interim, please say a prayer for the family and friends of Bryan – as well as his University of Miami family. As if these kids haven’t been through enough during this nightmarish season. Losing games means little when you’ve just lost a brother.
Rest in peace, Bryan Pata.
.:Canes305:.
For those looking for more information on the tragic death of Bryan Pata, here are some links. We will add more as they become available:
Rest in peace, Bryan Pata – Dennis Dodd, CBS Sportsline
Death of Pata Ruled a Homicide – ESPN.com
Hurricanes Pata Shot, Killed – Herald.com
Tragedy reduces football issues to instant insignificance – Greg Cote, Miami Herald
University of Miami football Player shot, killed – Omar Kelly, Sun Sentinel
Time For Tears – Omar Kelly’s Blog
Please make sure to comment on #95 and leave your thoughts below.