Casually I’ve been a fan of Tony Gonzalez over the years not only because he’s been a great tight end during his NFL career in Kansas City, but also because he appears to be an overall good guy. (His FFL numbers haven’t disappointed for the most part either). That said, his ‘good guy’ image got a fluffy bonus recently as you’ve probably seen on ESPN’s Sportscenter or your local news.
You see, last Thursday, Tony was having dinner with his family out and about in Huntington Beach, CA, when a man at a nearby table started to choke. Ken Hunter, 45, started to turn blue and was unable to breathe when his girlfriend went into a panic, which caught the attention of everyone within earshot. Unfortunately it seemed everyone was just staring at Hunter in shock not knowing what to do. Fortunately for Hunter, Tony rushed over and used the Heimlich maneuver dislodging the clogged food from Hunter’s throat.
Tony Gonzalez. Star receiver. Hero. Nice resume, huh?
Irony is Hunter is a huge Chargers fan. On a phone interview I heard this morning on ESPN, after freshening up in the restroom following the incident, Gonzalez said Hunter even tried to pick up the bill for Tony and his family. Gonzalez declined.
Hunter also has tickets to the San Diego/KC game coming up on Nov. 9. ESPN.com ran an article today posing a late-game scenario to Hunter. If the Chargers have a 4-5 point lead in the final minutes and Gonzalez has the opportunity to catch the game-winning TD pass for KC, what would Hunter’s reaction be?
“I’m going to be yelling for Tony to catch the ball,” Hunter said. “I think all my friends will understand.”
Amen.
