A strange sight indeed

He looked like he always did, super amped and as if he might catch on fire. Brian Dawkins didn't warm up with his Broncos teammates before the game, choosing instead to take the field at 4:03 p.m., when he was introduced as the last member of the Denver defense. Dawkins walked in a crouch, did a somersault, flipped backwards into a handstand and took off, almost accidentally taking out a photographer. He paced on the sideline, swayed during the singing of the national anthem, bounced to midfield for the coin toss and then sprinted back to the sideline. Constant motion. A tornado no doubt rumbling through his body.

It was all so strange, and so sad. Fans seemed almost paralyzed. Some wore green Dawkins jerseys. Some wore orange ones. There even was a split variety, green on one half, orange on the other. And in the strangest of moments, the Eagles press box announcer, contrary to normal form, pointed out when Dawkins missed a tackle of LeSean McCoy in the first half. That never happens. And yet, on this day when the normal was anything but, it did.