Chargers Daily Links: Most-recent moment in Chargers history that made you cry

It’s a new week with a new theme at SB Nation and this one is going to likely force some of you to re-live some things you’d probably prefer to keep repressed. The official theme is “Sports moments that mad you cry.”

You’re probably already thinking to yourself, “Well, that one’s easy!” and I’m sorry.

For my first theme week post this week, we’re going to discuss the most-recent sports moment that caused me to shed a few tears. I’m also going to make sure you all know this is a safe place to vent. You’ve all been through these types of moments together and you can re-live them together. There are never any individuals in this community we have built. Maybe a few odd neighbors, but we’re one big family, regardless.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the last sports moment that caused to me to cry.

The year was 2017 and the Chargers just landed one of the most talented players in the entire NFL draft at the top of the second round. His name was Forrest Lamp and he was glorious.

Lamp was a four-year starter at left tackle for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and was pegged to make a transition to guard at the next level. Even with that in mind, many draft pundits believed him to be one of, if not, the best overall offensive lineman coming out that year. WKU had faced off against Alabama during his senior season and Lamp put on a clinic against a defensive front full of future NFL players.

When the Chargers drafted Lamp, we were in the middle of our annual draft show here at BFTB and the entire stream erupted in euphoria at the sound of his name. It’s still a moment we have recorded and love to look back on in the history of the site.

We couldn’t believe it. All of us were huge fans of Lamp but none bigger than me. The wait for training camp to begin to see him wearing the Bolt for the first time with the rest of the team couldn’t come soon enough.

The first few days of camp were to be expected. Nothing crazy came out of the practices, especially from the offensive line. But then came the first day of pads and the beginning of a harrowing three years for me and my adoration for Lamp.

That day, like most days during that period of my life, I went to a lunch-time Crossfit class. For an hour I beat my body into a pulp and contemplated passing out while running for way too long. When the workout ended, I knew I had probably missed a thing or two from that day’s practice so I jaunted over to my gym bag after the life came back to my body.

If I had known the type of news I was about to read, I would have told you to send me through that workout three more times because it probably would have still hurt less.

As I sat on the bench and stared at the notification, I kept rolling the headline around in my head over and over again.

“Chargers OL Forrest Lamp tore his ACL...”

It utterly shook me. After all the struggles with the offensive line, I thought they found themselves a player to be the cornerstone for the unit’s turnaround. This was also my first year covering the draft and to have my favorite team draft my favorite player? It was surreal.

This injury was also surreal, but in the way you don’t want it to settle into your brain. You want it to be fake more than anything else in the world.

No matter how many times I refreshed my feed and restarted the Twitter application, the news wasn’t going away. Sooner than later, then came the prickling sensation on the corners of my eyes. It may have just been one or two of them, but something surely streaked down my cheek.

The rest of the day was spent in immense depression. The thought of not seeing Lamp play for well over a year from then was excruciating. I was his biggest fan. I knew he was bound for greatness. But alas, it wasn’t in the cards. To this day, it still isn’t.

A year as a back-up and another season ending on the IR, here we are having yet to really see what Lamp can do. But this year may bring a little more hope than normal. A new offensive line coach can mean changes. I want to get my hopes up, but I can’t at this point. If Lamp is destined to star for the Chargers, then he will. If not, well...we’ve all had to, at one point or another, watch our first draft crush to crash and burn.

I’ll get over it. Some day.

It’s time to flip this over to the community. In the comments, don’t be afraid to let out that anguish. Tell us about the most-recent sports moment that made you cry.

Also, the links, of course.

Chargers News:

Hayley Elwood on how former NFL star Cris Carter and his relationship with rookie K.J. Hill (Chargers.com)

The Chargers’ “Bolt Up Your Small Business” was featured on CBSN (Chargers.com)

Gavino Borquez lists four variables that could make or break the Chargers’ 2020 season (Chargers Wire)

Jason Reed highlights the best trade ever made with the Arizona Cardinals (Bolt Beat)

Steven Haglund discusses numbers worn by former Chargers that should be retired (Bolt Beat)

NFL News:

Kristopher Knox spotlights every NFL team’s to-do list (Bleacher Report)

Michael David Smith reports on Adrian Peterson’s goal to pass Barry Sanders’ career rushing yards mark (Pro Football Talk)

Jared Dubin ranks the NFL’s best QB-RB-WR trios (CBS Sports)

Maurice Moton picks a dark horse to win each division (Bleacher Report)

Bob Harig talks everything Peyton v. Brady in The Match w/ Mickelson and Tiger (ESPN)