EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This was the game Julian Love eagerly talked about with Joey Ramos and Tony Lemon, seemingly from the moment he was drafted by the New York Giants.
Sunday’s trip to Soldier Field stood out there on the schedule as if it were arranged for the three childhood friends who met more than a decade earlier while playing youth football at the age of 9.
Love would be on the field, Ramos and Lemon had planned on being in the stands cheering him on.
A cruel twist of fate and tragedy has intervened.