Very Sad Story: RIP Nick Bell
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 3:51 pm
Five weeks ago, Nick Bell played in a college football game.
In fact, he started at defensive end for Mississippi State in its 24-12 win over Georgia.
It was the start of what has been one of the most successful runs for Mississippi State’s football team in a long time. They’ve won six straight games and are No. 20 this week in the BCS standings.
But the cheers have been replaced by tears all across Mississippi State’s campus.
Tragically, Bell died Tuesday at the age of 20, losing his fight with cancer.
He’d undergone emergency surgery on Monday after taking a turn for the worse. The cancer had spread throughout his body. Several of his teammates and university officials went to see him on Monday night at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
Bell was just barely hanging on and unable to communicate. But during the time that his teammates were there, his heart rate spiked.
By Tuesday afternoon, he was gone.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen delivered the somber news to the players in a team meeting. The Bulldogs were practicing this afternoon, as much as anything to get away from the pain of losing their teammate.
Again, Bell was right there with them in the huddle five weeks ago. He was on the sideline two weeks ago for the UAB game and looked fine.
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In fact, he started at defensive end for Mississippi State in its 24-12 win over Georgia.
It was the start of what has been one of the most successful runs for Mississippi State’s football team in a long time. They’ve won six straight games and are No. 20 this week in the BCS standings.
But the cheers have been replaced by tears all across Mississippi State’s campus.
Tragically, Bell died Tuesday at the age of 20, losing his fight with cancer.
He’d undergone emergency surgery on Monday after taking a turn for the worse. The cancer had spread throughout his body. Several of his teammates and university officials went to see him on Monday night at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
Bell was just barely hanging on and unable to communicate. But during the time that his teammates were there, his heart rate spiked.
By Tuesday afternoon, he was gone.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen delivered the somber news to the players in a team meeting. The Bulldogs were practicing this afternoon, as much as anything to get away from the pain of losing their teammate.
Again, Bell was right there with them in the huddle five weeks ago. He was on the sideline two weeks ago for the UAB game and looked fine.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/1 ... dog-family" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;