Wed, Nov 24, 2004
Bucs' WR Joe Jurevicius Scores, Then Gives Ball To Airmen
Though they wear different uniforms and fight different battles,
for a brief moment, an NFL football player and an Air Force pilot
met eye to eye.
Capt. Ryan Silver, a pilot with the 89th Flying Training
Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base, TX, stood on the sidelines in
Tampa, FL, on Nov. 21 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the
visiting San Francisco 49ers. He was at the game as part of the
ground control team guiding in a four-ship formation flyover during
the opening ceremony to the surprise of the Buccaneers and crowd.
But Captain Silver walked away from the game with the biggest
surprise of the day.
Near the end of the second quarter, wide receiver Joe Jurevicius
caught a 42-yard pass from quarterback Brian Griese at the 2-yard
line and sliced through two defenders for a touchdown. He then
looked to the sidelines where the captain and a group of Airmen
were gathered.
"When I saw him coming toward me, my first thought was to get
out of the way," Captain Silver said. "I know that players will
often run to the stands and give a game ball to a kid in the
stands, so I thought that was what he was doing."
Instead, Jurevicius planted the ball into Captain Silver's
chest, then rendered a crisp salute to the puzzled pilot.
"I was just shocked and honored when I saw him do that," Captain
Silver said. "I realized that he was not only saluting me, he was
giving a salute to the entire military."
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