Columns

Victories in a void

Marquise Hill is remembered every day by his Pats teammates.

By JOHN ROMANO
Published February 2, 2008

PHOENIX - This story does not have a happy ending. Not yet, anyway.

No matter how the Super Bowl plays out, no matter who comes away swathed in glory, this story will not change significantly from Sunday to Monday.

It will be spun on television as poignant. It will be painted in newsprint as inspirational. It will even be talked about in a locker room as a sort of destiny. But, in the end, it is simply sad. Tragically, heartbreakingly sad.

At some point during Super Bowl XLII, you may notice the small No. 91 decal on the back of New England's helmets. It is there to honor defensive lineman Marquise Hill, who drowned in a Jet Ski accident in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain in May at the age of 24.

He left behind a mother, who still grieves. Teammates, who still remember. And a 2-year-old son, Ma'Shy, who still waits for his father to come home.

"Every time Ma'Shy sees a black Escalade, he thinks it's his dad," said Patriots defensive tackle and longtime friend Jarvis Green. "His mother says whenever he sees a black truck he says, 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.'

"Marquise always talked about how his dad was never there for him. He used to say if he had a son he would be the best dad in the world, and he would be there the way his dad wasn't there for him."

In a season that will forever be remembered for cheating and controversy, for perfection and records, this is the story that was forgotten far too soon.

Forgotten because Marquise Hill was not a star. He was just another second-round draft pick who was still struggling to find his role on the defensive line after three seasons in the NFL.

Forgotten because his death came in the offseason, and the world had already begun to move on by the time the Patriots returned for training camp two months later.

Forgotten, maybe, because it's just easier that way.

So perhaps it is appropriate today, on the eve of Super Bowl XLII, to consider the ramifications of a life that passed by too soon.

Did you know, for instance, that Hill's locker was left untouched in New England? His jersey still hangs there. His equipment remains waiting. Before the team flew to Arizona on Sunday, coach Bill Belichick told his players to stop by Hill's locker and pay respects.

"I get up every day and, as I walk past his locker, I remember him and I thank God for the opportunity to wake up in the morning," said safety Rodney Harrison. "It's the small things, like saying 'I love you' to my wife and my mom and my kids. Not taking anything for granted or letting a day go by where I don't bust my butt.

"He was a young guy, and he was tragically lost. So for me, and I think most of my teammates, we honor him by looking at his locker and appreciating things in this life."

Did you know Green has been wearing Hill's shoulder pads all season? They met eight years ago when Green was a junior at LSU and Hill was a hot-shot recruit. Since they had both grown up in Louisiana and played defensive line, then-coach Nick Saban assigned Green to be Hill's escort on a recruiting visit.

They bonded quickly and, eventually, Green's wife and Hill's fiancee, Inell Benn, became close friends.

It was Green's wife who called Inell when they first heard rumors that Hill had gone missing in the lake. Inell said she knew nothing about it, that she had just talked to Marquise on the phone a little while ago.

It would be another 17 hours before his body was found.

After the funeral, Benn and Ma'Shy stayed with Hill in Louisiana for two weeks before moving to Texas to be near her family. Benn went to a Patriots game in Dallas this season but told the Boston Globe it was too difficult for her to watch players with their children afterward.

"She's a strong woman," Green said. "But when I talk to Inell, I know it hurts."

Did you know Patriots owner Robert Kraft paid for flights for players to attend the wake in New Orleans, and this week invited Hill's mother, Sherry, to attend the Super Bowl in Arizona?

Receiver Randy Moss, who had joined the Patriots just weeks before Hill's death, said he began to understand the devotion of teammates and the front office in New England when he attended the wake.

Did you know Hill began buying baby clothes from the moment he found out Inell was pregnant? And when Green told him to slow down because he didn't even know the baby's gender, Hill said he was absolutely certain he was going to be raising a boy.

It has been eight months since Hill passed away, and Ma'Shy has already lived nearly half of his life without his father around. And so he will grow up to share the same regret his father had.

"His mom is going to remind him how much his daddy loved him," Green said. "I feel a little (responsibility), but I can never replace Marquise as a father to Ma'Shy."

John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 2, 2008, 00:48:24]