Brandon Bostick, the tight end whom the Vikings claimed off waivers last week, has shared an interesting first-person piece for MMQB.com about his emotions and experiences in the aftermath of that botched attempt at recovering an onside kick late in last month's NFC title game.
After Bostick's special-teams miscue, the Seahawks went on to defeat his now-former team, the Packers, in overtime. He immediately became a scapegoat and is still trying to cope with the loss.
"There have been a few deaths in my family, and when I was in high school, a favorite uncle passed away. When he died, I didn't cry because it didn't feel real. The night of the NFC championship game kind of felt like that," Bostick told MMQB.
"I knew it was a big deal. I knew it was a key mistake that cost us a trip to the Super Bowl. But, with all due respect, I think the media kind of took it and ran with it. I became the singular scapegoat. Social media didn't help, either. I don't know how many death threats I received, but there have been a lot. I still haven't read most of the messages that people sent me, but I want to so I can deal with the consequences and use it as motivation. But it is physically impossible for me to read every troll's comment; the volume is simply too much. So their comments sit there, untouched, maybe forever."
Interestingly, former Browns running back Earnest Byner, who lost "The Fumble" in 1987 that cost the Browns the AFC title, called up Bostick in the days after the game and offered to give him guidance. Bostick said he and Byner have since talked once or twice a week.
I don't want to steal all of Bostick's thunder, so read the whole piece for yourself right here.
