Rest in peace, Sid Brooks.

I just heard that my former boss in the USC Football Equipment Room, Sid Brooks, has passed away. Sid was the head of equipment operations for USC Football for two of the three years I was part of the USC Football program. While Sid did a lot of things that made us make confused faces at each other and really asked a lot (oftentimes seemingly unreasonable requests) of us, he always treated me with respect and cared a lot about me.

It was always funny how Sid always tried to get on TV with Coach Carroll and how he liked to be the first person off the bus or the first person to walk into a stadium so that he could lead the team. It seemed ridiculous at the time, but looking back, I knew it was because he really cared. Of course, all of the student managers had their battles with Sid, but that's inevitable in any sports environment. At the end of the day, Sid was always there to give me a firm handshake, or even a hug for a job well done. I remember when he came into the room, shook my hand, and gave me a hug, congratulating me on becoming the head student manager for the team for the 2005-2006 season. Yes, I already knew and the paperwork had already been signed and turned in, but Sid just had so much pride that he felt like he had chosen me to do a great job for the program, even though he was retiring. I remember that he told me that he knew he was leaving the student managers in good hands and that he'd still "be around," if we ever needed him. At the time, we laughed about it. Now that I look back on it, it almost brings tears to my eyes.

Now that I think about it, it's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye. Rest in peace, Sid.