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http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...no-told-his-story-to-rams-before-sundays-game
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- [URL='http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/stl/st-louis-rams']St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Will Jimeno, the New York/New Jersey Port Authority police officer who survived 13 hours under the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, first met at a function in 2003.
Fisher and Jimeno have kept in touch since, to the point that they've forged a friendship. In search of some inspiration for his team and aware of the season opener's date in relation to 9/11, Fisher decided to have his friend come to St. Louis to speak to his team the day before Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Fisher strategically planned Jimeno's appearance and had more than just motivation in mind.
Jeff Fisher celebrated a win the day after 9/11 hero Will Jimeno spoke to his team. Jasen Vinlove/Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
"Tremendous story, tremendous man," Fisher said Monday. "I thought because so many of those guys might have been 6, 7, 8, 9 years old and not really remember what happened, it was an opportunity to close the history gap for them and expose what was in essence the worst tragedy this country has ever faced. Will, in my eyes, was a hero. Those guys got an opportunity to listen to him.”
Jimeno, whom the Rams honored during a stoppage in play in Sunday's 34-31 win against Seattle, spoke to the team at its hotel on Saturday night. His message was one of resilience and never giving up even under the most dire of circumstances. It's a message found in Jimeno's story, a story that was turned into the movie "World Trade Center" in 2006. Actor Michael Peña played Jimeno in the film.
Jimeno was a 33-year-old rookie on the job at the time of the attacks on the Twin Towers and joined a group of Port Authority officers who rushed to the scene to try to help. He and four other officers were between the towers when the South Tower fell. The debris from that tower killed two of the officers in the group. When the North Tower fell, Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin were trapped about 30 feet below the surface.
McLoughlin and Jimeno were discovered after about 10 hours under the rubble and it took another three hours to free Jimeno. McLoughlin was saved later, about 21 hours after he had first been buried in the wreckage. Jimeno underwent 13 surgeries after his rescue.
Today, Jimeno is retired but still tells his story, focusing on the selflessness of those who helped save his life and the idea of keeping hope alive even when all is lost. Upon speaking to the team, Jimeno told them he'd bring them a win.
Fisher couldn't help but think that Jimeno did indeed know something he didn't when he saw how much time was on the clock as the Rams made their final defensive stand to hold off the Seahawks in overtime.
"We just thought because of the closeness of 9/11 to kickoff, that we reached out to him and he came in," Fisher said. "That was pretty cool and I noticed that when we made that fourth-and-1 [stop], there was 9:11 left on the clock. So that's pretty cool. I haven't had a chance to tell Will that yet, but he'll appreciate it."[/URL]
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- [URL='http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/stl/st-louis-rams']St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Will Jimeno, the New York/New Jersey Port Authority police officer who survived 13 hours under the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, first met at a function in 2003.
Fisher and Jimeno have kept in touch since, to the point that they've forged a friendship. In search of some inspiration for his team and aware of the season opener's date in relation to 9/11, Fisher decided to have his friend come to St. Louis to speak to his team the day before Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Fisher strategically planned Jimeno's appearance and had more than just motivation in mind.
Jeff Fisher celebrated a win the day after 9/11 hero Will Jimeno spoke to his team. Jasen Vinlove/Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
"Tremendous story, tremendous man," Fisher said Monday. "I thought because so many of those guys might have been 6, 7, 8, 9 years old and not really remember what happened, it was an opportunity to close the history gap for them and expose what was in essence the worst tragedy this country has ever faced. Will, in my eyes, was a hero. Those guys got an opportunity to listen to him.”
Jimeno, whom the Rams honored during a stoppage in play in Sunday's 34-31 win against Seattle, spoke to the team at its hotel on Saturday night. His message was one of resilience and never giving up even under the most dire of circumstances. It's a message found in Jimeno's story, a story that was turned into the movie "World Trade Center" in 2006. Actor Michael Peña played Jimeno in the film.
Jimeno was a 33-year-old rookie on the job at the time of the attacks on the Twin Towers and joined a group of Port Authority officers who rushed to the scene to try to help. He and four other officers were between the towers when the South Tower fell. The debris from that tower killed two of the officers in the group. When the North Tower fell, Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin were trapped about 30 feet below the surface.
McLoughlin and Jimeno were discovered after about 10 hours under the rubble and it took another three hours to free Jimeno. McLoughlin was saved later, about 21 hours after he had first been buried in the wreckage. Jimeno underwent 13 surgeries after his rescue.
Today, Jimeno is retired but still tells his story, focusing on the selflessness of those who helped save his life and the idea of keeping hope alive even when all is lost. Upon speaking to the team, Jimeno told them he'd bring them a win.
Fisher couldn't help but think that Jimeno did indeed know something he didn't when he saw how much time was on the clock as the Rams made their final defensive stand to hold off the Seahawks in overtime.
"We just thought because of the closeness of 9/11 to kickoff, that we reached out to him and he came in," Fisher said. "That was pretty cool and I noticed that when we made that fourth-and-1 [stop], there was 9:11 left on the clock. So that's pretty cool. I haven't had a chance to tell Will that yet, but he'll appreciate it."[/URL]
