RIP Chris Wesseling

[ScotsRam]

Chris was known to lots of NFL fans across the world as one of the "heroes" of the Around the NFL podcast. He passed away from recurrent, aggressive cancer this weekend. He was a good guy. Just wanted to post to recognise Chris and to send best wishes to his wife Lakisha (rams fan fwiw) and his baby son Lincoln.

It's weird that people you never meet can have an impact on your life... I listened to the pod 3 times a week for a decade and it's sad to know that we will never hear from Chris again.

 

[RamsFanCK]

Dude, this is the worst news ever! Prayers to the Wesseling family and all his good friends on the Around the NFL podcast. So sad he couldn’t beat the cancer a second time.

 

[Memento]

May he rest in peace. Cancer can go to hell.

 

[ProGen]

May he rest in peace. Cancer can go to hell.

Amen.

Fuck cancer. It is a ruthless bastard.

RIP to Chris, and condolences to his family. I always enjoyed listening to him.

 

[Legatron4]

This hit me harder then expected. As @ScotsRam said, I listened to his podcast quite often. Feels like I lost a friend without ever actually knowing him. Fuck cancer indeed.

Rest In Peace, Chris.

 

[TexasRam]

Man, That’s rough. 46.

My wife 46 just had a cancerous breast tumor removed. Just finishing radiation.

Looks like we dodged a bullet here.

Count each day as a blessing and spend time with your loved ones as if it was your last few days together.

 

[Zodi]

Damn, I didn't even know the dude was sick.

 

[Mackeyser]

Damn, I didn't even know the dude was sick.

This is personal to me.

As men, it's okay to be vulnerable. I really struggled with this once I became fully disabled. Still do.

I know it's easy for us to just say, "no one cares. Don't burden others with your problems. Tough it out," and a host of things like that.

And yet, as we focus on a team sport where the human virtues are brotherhood, support and camaraderie... as we embrace ethos like "we, not me"... it's still so easy to internalize it all.

I'm so sorry the dude was sick. I wish we'd known about it so we could have maybe given more support?

I dunno. Just feels to me like the pendulum has swung so far in the direction of "rugged individualism" that it's harmful and that we've forgotten that we're herd animals (or solitary confinement and deep space travel wouldn't be so difficult for our brains). We need each other.

RIP Chris.

 

[mst1981]

This is personal to me.

As men, it's okay to be vulnerable. I really struggled with this once I became fully disabled. Still do.

I know it's easy for us to just say, "no one cares. Don't burden others with your problems. Tough it out," and a host of things like that.

And yet, as we focus on a team sport where the human virtues are brotherhood, support and camaraderie... as we embrace ethos like "we, not me"... it's still so easy to internalize it all.

I'm so sorry the dude was sick. I wish we'd known about it so we could have maybe given more support?

I dunno. Just feels to me like the pendulum has swung so far in the direction of "rugged individualism" that it's harmful and that we've forgotten that we're herd animals (or solitary confinement and deep space travel wouldn't be so difficult for our brains). We need each other.

RIP Chris.

His illness was often talked about on the around the nfl podcast and on twitter. He was open about it and spoke about his treatment and how it made him feel.

He initially went into remission, then he got married and had a child before the cancer returned. Very sad news.

RIP Chris.

 

[Mackeyser]

His illness was often talked about on the around the nfl podcast and on twitter. He was open about it and spoke about his treatment and how it made him feel.

He initially went into remission, then he got married and had a child before the cancer returned. Very sad news.

RIP Chris.

I didn't listen to it often enough, I guess. Mostly I just caught segments. And I agree, very sad news, indeed.

 

[Ramit]

This is personal to me.

As men, it's okay to be vulnerable. I really struggled with this once I became fully disabled. Still do.

I know it's easy for us to just say, "no one cares. Don't burden others with your problems. Tough it out," and a host of things like that.

And yet, as we focus on a team sport where the human virtues are brotherhood, support and camaraderie... as we embrace ethos like "we, not me"... it's still so easy to internalize it all.

I'm so sorry the dude was sick. I wish we'd known about it so we could have maybe given more support?

I dunno. Just feels to me like the pendulum has swung so far in the direction of "rugged individualism" that it's harmful and that we've forgotten that we're herd animals (or solitary confinement and deep space travel wouldn't be so difficult for our brains). We need each other.

RIP Chris.

I agree. I'm a former Marine Infantryman. Went to Afghanistan in early 2009 and late 2010.

My first deployment changed me mentally. There was a lot of extended firefights; my vehicle hit an IED from which I got a TBI and PTSD.

The TBI changed my personality. I went from an easy go lucky guy to one on edge and angry all the time.

It took me a long time to come to terms with it and seek help due to the suck-it-up-you-pussy mentality that the Marine Corps gave us. I'm talking 8 years post service and a suicide attempt. That mentality had its purpose when in war, but has no place anywhere else in society.

May this man rest in peace. I dont know who he is, but cancer can suck a camel dick.

 

[Mackeyser]

I agree. I'm a former Marine Infantryman. Went to Afghanistan in early 2009 and late 2010.

My first deployment changed me mentally. There was a lot of extended firefights; my vehicle hit an IED from which I got a TBI and PTSD.

The TBI changed my personality. I went from an easy go lucky guy to one on edge and angry all the time.

It took me a long time to come to terms with it and seek help due to the suck-it-up-you-pussy mentality that the Marine Corps gave us. I'm talking 8 years post service and a suicide attempt. That mentality had its purpose when in war, but has no place anywhere else in society.

May this man rest in peace. I dont know who he is, but cancer can suck a camel dick.

M*A*S*H fans will get this reference...

I got Frank Burns'd... Also a TBI, but from a Grand Mal Seizure. I stopped breathing for more than 4 minutes and it left a lesion in my brain. Happened due to being over-medicated by a Navy Doc who it turns out had failed upward so much that he was working sick call as an O-6 full bird Captain. I actually ran into some vets at VA Hospital in West Los Angeles and I told them what happened to me and they looked at each other with a knowing look and said, "bet we can name the doctor". I laughed in their faces... no way they could.

"Dr. Epstein, right?"

"Holy shit...how?"

"Treated me at Walter Reed..."

Other guy, "treated me at Bethesda..."

Apparently, that guy was famous for his "gipper" speeches before over-medicating the shit out of people...

I was so bent on not going to the Dr because I didn't want to be a burden that I was literally laying down to die (no exaggeration) when the wife said, "nope, not today" and dressed me and dragged me to the ER. Took 6 liters of saline to get my BP up to 100/60 and Dr said once I'd stabilized that he was surprised I was alive coming in and would def have died if I'd gone to sleep.

And I STILL struggle asking for help...

Anyway, this probably deserves its own thread in the off-topic, but I agree. The mentality is a necessity of war, but doesn't work after...at all.

 

[Ramit]

M*A*S*H fans will get this reference...

I got Frank Burns'd... Also a TBI, but from a Grand Mal Seizure. I stopped breathing for more than 4 minutes and it left a lesion in my brain. Happened due to being over-medicated by a Navy Doc who it turns out had failed upward so much that he was working sick call as an O-6 full bird Captain. I actually ran into some vets at VA Hospital in West Los Angeles and I told them what happened to me and they looked at each other with a knowing look and said, "bet we can name the doctor". I laughed in their faces... no way they could.

"Dr. Epstein, right?"

"Holy shit...how?"

"Treated me at Walter Reed..."

Other guy, "treated me at Bethesda..."

Apparently, that guy was famous for his "gipper" speeches before over-medicating the shit out of people...

I was so bent on not going to the Dr because I didn't want to be a burden that I was literally laying down to die (no exaggeration) when the wife said, "nope, not today" and dressed me and dragged me to the ER. Took 6 liters of saline to get my BP up to 100/60 and Dr said once I'd stabilized that he was surprised I was alive coming in and would def have died if I'd gone to sleep.

And I STILL struggle asking for help...

Anyway, this probably deserves its own thread in the off-topic, but I agree. The mentality is a necessity of war, but doesn't work after...at all.

What a horrible thing to happen due to the negligence of someone else, and while in the service at that.

I trust that you are being compensated accordingly by the V.A.? (No need to answer that if you don't want to, just one vet to another...doing my due diligence....you absolutely deserve to be compensated as that is a disability incurred during service due to no fault of your own).

I am glad that you had the social support needed to survive your own mentality. Thank God for good women.

 

[Mackeyser]

Yeah, lots of fighting the bureaucracy but yeah, I’m taken care of.

And too right about having a good spouse.