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NFL
Honors Its Own at
Super Bowl with "TD"
Bear
The Super Bowl XXXVI Program, above, included a special
note about the "TD" Bear that was a gift to all
77,000 attendees in the New Orleans Superdome as a token
of "the spirit, resolve and determination of the people
who make this nation great." The initials commemorate
Tommy and Diane, the two members of the NFL "family"
who were lost so tragically in the World Trade Center attacks.
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NFL
PreGame show
The NFL recognized Tommy and Diane Lipari (wife of NFL Management
Council lawyer Ed Tighe) during the Super Bowl pregame program
in New Orleans. In a moving tribute to members of the NFL
family lost during the past year, Tommy and Diane’s
photos were shown on the Superdome’s Jumbotron just
before the opening kickoff. The two families sat together,
along with several members of the New York Port Authority
and Police and Fire Departments.
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Ithaca
College Quarterly
The college lost four young Ithaca alumni, including two
expectant fathers, who were killed in the World Trade
Center attacks. We mourn along with their families and
friends.
"We
were friends since junior high, and we spoke together
every day of our lives after college," says Dean
Cirella of his friend and classmate Thomas J. Collins
'87. "It's hard."
Tommy was a managing director of Sandler
O'Neill and
(Article
continues below)
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A
Celebration of Life
The NFL family specially commissioned this handsome calf-bound
book that commemorates the lives of Tom and Diane. Julia
and Ed were both presented
with these beautiful keepsakes which they can cherish
for a lifetime. If you
would like to see a close-up and more details about the
book, you can logon
to the Web site of the company that created
them at
www.
minsky.com/nfl.htm
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| Ithaca
College Quarterly (Continued
from above) |
| Partners,
a full-service investment banking firm on the 104th floor
of 2 World Trade Center, where he'd worked for 13 years. "Tommy
had a real gift for friendship. He was great friends with
everyone, and not just who you'd expect, but also the hot
dog vendor, the dry cleaner. He was best man at nine
weddings, including mine," says Cirella. "That says
a lot about the man." Tommy's friend David Silverstein
'87 (for whom he also served as best man) adds, "There
were nearly 3,000 people at his funeral, including clients
from as far away as Florida." A four-year IC varsity
lacrosse starter, Tommy was an avid boater, golfer, skier,
and all-around sportsman. He married his "perfect match,"
Julia, in August 2000. She works for the National Football
League and is "just as much of a fireplug as Tommy,"
says Cirella. Tommy is also survived by his parents, Thomas
and Dorothy, sisters, Colleen and Jennifer, and brother, Tim. |
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Here
is the letter Doug Carlucci sent to the Sports Editor
of the New York Times,
which appeared in the Sports Section on February 3,
2002:
A
Special Tribute From N.F.L.
To the Sports Editor:
I'm
going to the Super Bowl! My Giants did not make the playoffs.
And the Bears - I now live in Chicago - are not in the
hunt anymore. Doesn't really matter. I'm going to the
Super Bowl!
I'm
excited because I'll be in New Orleans in person to see
the tribute to my best friend, Tom Collins, and all of
the other people we collectively lost in the terrorist
attacks on America on Sept. 11. Tom's wife, Julia, works
for the National Football League as a manager of database
marketing.
Julia
Collins was on her way back to New York after attending
the Monday night game between the Broncos and the Giants,
when the captain advised passengers and crew that two
planes had crashed into the World Trade Center that morning.
The plane headed back to Denver. Before boarding her flight,
Julia had spoken to Tom, an investment banker who was
at his desk at Sandler O'Neill on the 104th floor of th
South Tower.
A
lot of organizations talk about a family culture, but
this has been demonstrated at the N.F.L. in many ways.
When Julia was unable to get out of Denver because national
airspace was closed to commercial airline activity, Giants'
co-owner Robert Tisch and Milt Ahlerich, the league's
security chief, who gave up his seat, allowed Julia onto
Tisch's private jet that brought people back to ground
zero. Thanks to this kindness, Julia was with family and
friends when the news came that Tom's body had been found
on the night of Sept. 15.
At
Tom's wake on Monday and Tuesday, several big men stood
with us in the funeral home. Julia's boss, Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue, came up and cried with her. On the day
of Tom's funeral, Commissioner Tagliabue, along with two
busloads of N.F.L. employees, again came out to Long Island
to attend the mass. After the funeral, the N.F.L. let
Julia know that her job would be waiting for her when
she was ready to return, with flexible hours and plenty
of assistance.
Since
the tragedy, Julia’s current and former colleagues
have built a Web site and the N.F.L. has put together
a leather-bound book to celebrate Tom’s life and
allow his memory to endure. And today, Tom and Diane Lipari,
the wife of the N.F.L. Management Council lawyer Ed Tighe,
who also lost her life in the attacks, will be remembered
in the Super Bowl program and in a pregame tribute. All
77,000 fans in the Superdome will receive red,
white and blue "TD" Bean Bears inside their
seat cushions; the "TD" stands for Tom and Diane.
(Click bold type to see "TD" Bear.)
At
the Super Bowl, I'll be cheering for Tom's memory, for
the future of his wife and for the N.F.L.'s kindness and
generosity.
Doug
Carlucci
Chicago
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Special Tribute from Uncle Danny
At
the FAA building where I work we established a wall of heroes
where the employees could post a picture or narrative about
a lost relative or friend. We posted Tommy's picture as
well as the newspaper article about all the cousins. I see
Tommy every day when I walk past and that smile of his just
makes me happy.
I
thought you would like to see a picture of our display and
maybe you could post it on the Web page for everyone else
to see.
Thanks,
Uncle
Danny
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Tribute
in Light commemorates six-month anniversary of 9/11
Nearly
six months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the site where
the World Trade Center once stood is more scar than
debris field. The space above the site, once dominated
by the brawny Twin Towers, more vacuum than air. A
coalition of architects intends to fill that vacuum
at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 11th but not with concrete
and steel – with beams of light. The exhibition,
at one time called "Towers of Light" and
now, at the behest of victims' families who felt the
focus should be on the lives, rather than the buildings
lost, "Tribute in Light," will be temporary.
It will be a fixture in the sky from dusk to 11p.m.
for the next 32 nights until the installation is taken
down April 13th. (Click on photo to see enlargement)
Article
by Amy Ellis Nutt of Star-Ledger
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Here
is a poem that was submitted to the website.
When
Life Starts Without Me
When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to
see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with
tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things we didn't get to say.
I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
And each time you think of me I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name and took me by the
hand,
And said my place was ready in heaven far above
and that I'd have to leave behind all those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I'd always thought I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for and so much yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you .
I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the
bad,
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we
had.
If I could relive yesterday I thought just for awhile
I'd say good bye and kiss you and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized that this could never be,
for emptiness and memories would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things that I'd miss come
tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did, my heart was filled
with sorrow.
But when I walked through heaven's gate, I felt so much
at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me, from His great
golden throne,
He said, " This is eternity and all I've promised
you".
Today for life on what is past but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last,
and since each day's the same day, there's no longing
for the past.
but you have been so faithful, so trusting, so true.
Though there were times you did some things you knew you
shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven and now at last you're free.
So won't you take my hand and share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think we're
far apart.
for everytime you think of me, I'm right here in your
heart.
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News Dated 2/02 |
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