Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Pompei emphasized their competitiveness as kids playing 1-on-1 hoops games.
If their bedroom was the place they learned trust, the basement was the place they learned courage. Area rugs covered some of the cold concrete floor. There was a couch and coffee table on one side, and on the other side, a Nerf hoop hung on the wall. No one ever tried harder in an NBA Finals game than Rick and Chris in those games with spongy foam balls. To Rick, losing to his kid brother was shameful. To Chris, beating his big brother was crossing a line of demarcation.
With their father egging them on — "Oooooh, you're not going to let your little brother do that to you, are you?" — basketball sometimes morphed into wrestling. They didn't need any encouragement, though. They were alone one time when a basketball game got out of hand. They didn't stop until Chris' head slammed against the corner of the coffee table, opening a sizeable gash. A trip to the hospital and Mom's wrath were unavoidable.
The bond between the brothers continued as they grew up and exceled as high school football stars. Rick wound up heading to Southern Illinois, and Chris became an All-American at Ohio State. And it grew as they turned into adults and made their careers — with Chris playing in the NFL as an All-Pro linebacker and Rick navigating his way in the front office realm.
The brothers also leaned on each other during tough times, especially when Chris' wife Stefanie died in November 2009 after an 11-year battle with breast cancer.
Pompei noted that Rick rarely left his brother's side in the days that followed.
Rick felt especially bad because he had not been able to spend much time with them during the ordeal.
Stefanie was waked at the Longaberger Alumni House on the Ohio State campus, right across from the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility. During more than seven hours of viewing, Rick never left his broken-hearted brother's side. Chris insisted on standing the entire time, so Rick stood the entire time. Chris didn't want anything to eat. Rick refused food. When Chris had to go to the bathroom, that's when Rick went.
"I think because he was out of town when my family was going through that, it was his way, now I'm getting emotional thinking about it, it was his way of saying, 'I was always with you,'" Chris said. "It was probably one of the top five feelings of love I've ever had in my life. And that day, I needed it the most, to be quite honest with you."
Pompei also wrote that Chris didn't sleep for two days after Minnesota lost the 2009 NFC title game in heartbreaking fashion.
In the present day, the brothers still call each other at least once a week, although football isn't always the main topic.
Instead, they talk about their families, crack jokes and simply chat as brothers … not rivals.
"He's been such a positive force in my life that I don't know if I would have got to where I am without him," Chris said. "I don't think there's a brother that could love his brother more than I do. I don't open up to a lot of people, but I'm grateful he's been in my life."
Rick's admiration is mutual: "He's my brother, my best friend and has shown me unwavering support and unconditional love, making me the husband, father and man I am today."
Pompei's full feature can be found here.